Ferrero Group Buys Power Crunch, Diageo Divests Rum Brand 🍹

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

• SKKY Partners backs skincare brand 👀

• Hiyo secures $19M 🍹

• Bloom expands colostrum line 📈

• Something new from Lexington Bakes 😍

• BERO launches on Amazon 🍻

Ferrero Group Buys Power Crunch 🍫

Ferrero Group, the global confectionery firm and the owner of brands like Butterfinger, Blue Bunny, Kinder, Keebler, Nutella, and many others, agreed to acquire Power Crunch for an undisclosed sum. The seller is Bio-Nutritional Research Group.

Founded in 1996 and based in Irvine, California, Power Crunch is best known for their popular line of protein wafer bars. Power Crunch also produces high-protein potato chips and a handful of protein powders, but wafer bars are their meal ticket. 

Ferrero Group will always be first and foremost a confectionery company, but they’re also eager to tap into the fast-growing healthier snacks category. In April of 2022, Ferrero Group acquired FULFIL Nutrition, an Irish protein bar producer with strong distribution across the UK and Europe. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but industry sources indicated that FULFIL was valued north of €150M. 

Now, with Power Crunch, Ferrero Group not only has its North American protein bar play, but a portfolio of protein products that will likely perform well in key international markets. 

Ferrero’s playbook for Power Crunch probably won’t be too dissimilar from their playbook for FULFIL: 

• Plug Power Crunch into their extensive distribution network, especially internationally

• Invest in marketing to raise brand awareness

• Dial up innovation and push Power Crunch into new categories 

• Leverage popular confectionery IP like Butterfinger or Crunch to create co-branded protein bars

More on the transaction here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Diageo continues to divest non-core brands. The spirits giant officially sold Venezuelan rum brand Cacique to La Martiniquaise-Bardinet, a French spirits company. Diageo’s recent divestments include Safari Liqueur, Windsor Scotch, TYKU Sake, Picon, and Archer Schnapps. According to Bloomberg, Diageo is also considering a sale of Guinness which could be valued at $10B. The Spirits Business

• UK-based Bramble Foods has acquired Whitakers Chocolates, a producer of branded and private label chocolate products, for an undisclosed sum. Whitakers was established in 1889 and has been a key supplier to Bramble Foods for nearly two decades. PE Insights

• SKKY Partners acquired a significant minority stake in 111SKIN, a luxury skincare brand that launched in 2012. The co-founders of 111SKIN — Eva and Dr. Yannis Alexandrides — will retain majority ownership and continue to lead the company. This is the second deal for SKKY Partners who acquired a significant stake in TRUFF in late 2023. PR Newswire

• Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group acquired a controlling interest in Pangaia, the buzzy, eco-friendly apparel brand that launched in 2018. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. AGBI

Fundraising

• Project Eaden, a German producer of realistic plant-based meats, secured €15M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Planet A and REWE Group. Other investors like Happiness Capital, FoodLabs, and Creandum also participated in the round. Vegconomist

• Hiyo, a Los Angeles-based purveyor of non-alcoholic social tonics, secured $19M in fresh funding. The funding was a mix of Series A funding and prior convertibles. Here’s the SEC filing if you’re interested. BevNET

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Bloom Nutrition expanded its Colostrum & Collagen Peptides line with a new flavor — Strawberries & Cream. This is their second Colostrum & Collagen Peptides flavor and it’s available exclusively at Target. Stack3d

• Sustainable personal care brand Wild expanded into the hand wash category with four unique scents and twelve different refillable vessels. Some of the vessels are stunning. Instagram

• Supplements brand Legion expanded its creatine gummies range with two new flavors: Sour Blue Raspberry and Sour Watermelon. Legion gummies contain 1g of creatine monohydrate while Create gummies contain 1.5g. Stack3d

• RIMOWA and Rick Owens collaborated on a carry-on silhouette called Lord of Darkness. Only 500 units were produced. Hypebae 

• Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand Rhode is launching a new lip liner range called Peptide Lip Shape. The new line comes in 11 different shades and will launch on January 30th at 9am PST. NYLON

• Khaite opened a new store on the northwest corner of Madison Ave and 69th Street. The 2,000-square-foot store is Khaite’s second retail location in New York. Vogue

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Siete Small Batch unveiled its newest product — Sour Crema and Onion Kettle Cooked Potato Chips. Somehow their packaging keeps getting more badass. Instagram

• Luxury baked goods brand Lexington Bakes is launching a great-looking range of Chilled Oat Bars. The oat bars are gluten-free and 100% organic. Two flavors will be available: Raspberry Crumble and Maple Brown Butter. Food Business News

• According to NOSH, Chubby Snacks is reportedly shutting down due to mounting legal and financial troubles. J.M. Smucker filed a lawsuit against Chubby Snacks roughly three months ago which accused the company of trademark infringement and false advertising. What a bummer. NOSH

• FRUGA, another new player in the prebiotic soda category, officially debuted with three flavors: Pink Guava, Pineapple, and Mango. FRUGA is available via their website and on Amazon. PR Newswire

• Second Nature Brands expanded its leadership team with a new CFO and Chief Customer Officer. The acquisitive snack company also opened an office in the Chicago area. PR Newswire

• There’s a newish Mexican RTD cocktail brand called Cantadrink. The branding is fun and the vessel itself is pretty novel. Twitter

• Another newish beverage brand that’s making waves is Pioneer Pastures, a purveyor of ultra-filtered A2 milk and protein shakes. As Isabel Washington pointed out, the company was co-founded by Jeff Mroz, one of the founders of OWYN. The packaging is compelling and the brand just launched exclusively at Target. Bullish. Pioneer Pastures

• LesserEvil Snacks refreshed their Space Balls snack line. Instagram

• C4 Energy is now the official energy drink of the Miami Heat. Instagram

Data 🖥️

• Infant formula company Bubs posted record results in Q2. Net revenue jumped 42% YoY to $27.8M AUD. U.S. gross revenue increased by 26% while China gross revenue surged by 68%. The company also expects to hit breakeven by the end of this year. Inside FMCG

• DTC wine sales were down 5% in 2024 to $3.94B while volumes dipped 10% to 6.4M cases. Beer Business Daily

Distribution News 🚚

• Recently acquired Yerbae is launching at Casey’s in the near future.

• Skincare brand Emma Lewisham launched at Credo Beauty.

• THC beverage brand WYNK launched in Florida.

• Beekeeper Coffee is now available on Amazon.

• BERO also launched on Amazon.

• Korean skincare brand AESTURA launched at Sephora in the U.S.