General Mills Divests Yogurt Biz, L'Oreal Backs Abolis Biotech 🧪

GM and Happy Saturday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

• The Row raises funding 💰

• Lemme launches “all-natural” GLP-1 💊

• Orveda opens NYC boutique 👀

• Banza packaging refresh 🍝

• Klimon heads to 7-Eleven 🍦

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• General Mills is selling its North American yogurt biz to Lactalis and Sodiaal, two leading French dairy firms, for $2.1B in cash. Included in the deal were three manufacturing facilities along with brands like Yoplait, Liberte, Go-Gurt, Oui, and others. The yogurt division generated $1.5B in net sales last fiscal year. General Mills is divesting the division in order to focus on its much larger cereal and snacks units. Food Dive

• French dairy firm Lactalis is acquiring Cremora — a South African creamer brand — from Nestle for an undisclosed sum. Two manufacturing facilities were also included in the deal. Cremora has been active in the South African market for over 75 years. Just Food

• Swander Pace Capital (SPC), a consumer-focused private equity firm, has sold Reliance Vitamin, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of premium dietary supplements. The buyer is Impetus Wellness Group. SPC first invested in Reliance Vitamin in 2017. Business Wire

• 65 Equity Partners acquired a significant minority stake in Kendra Scott, the Austin-based jewelry unicorn. Kendra Scott launched the eponymous jewelry brand in 2002 and will remain the largest shareholder. PR Newswire

Fundraising

• Abolis Biotechnologies, a French producer of sustainable ingredients for the cosmetics and food industries, raised $38.6M in fresh equity funding. The round was co-led by L’Oreal and Evonik Venture Capital. L’Oreal has backed a wide variety of biotech startups as it searches for an intellectual property edge over its competitors. Tech EU

• The Row, the popular but under-the-radar fashion brand founded by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, raised an undisclosed amount of funding at a valuation north of $1B. Investors in the round include Mousse Partners and Tethys Invest. Mousse Partners is the family office of the Chanel heirs. Bloomberg

• Novameat, a Spanish purveyor of plant-based meats, secured €17.4M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Forbion. Existing investors Unovis Asset Management, Praesidium, and Rubio Impact Ventures also participated in the round. Business Wire

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Lemme, the wellness brand founded by Kourtney Kardashian Barker, is launching an all-natural GLP-1 supplement called Lemme GLP-1 Daily. The product utilizes ingredients like Eriomin and Supresa to reduce cravings and support weight management. PR Newswire

• Orveda, a luxury biotech skincare brand that launched in 2017, just opened a spa and boutique in New York’s Upper East Side. The two-story boutique is Orveda’s first in the United States. Coty invested in Orveda in 2021. Beauty Packaging

• Haircare brand Jupiter is launching its Dry Scalp Care System on September 23rd. Jupiter was founded in 2020 and is backed by Willow Growth Partners and Springdale Ventures. Instagram

• Interesting interview with the folks behind Wonderfeel, a San Francisco-based longevity startup that relies on nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). Beauty Independent

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Diageo has released what it claims to be the world’s lightest whisky bottle. The 700ml glass bottle only weighs around 6 oz. without its closure, an impressive feat. Diageo has been trialing lighter packaging options in order to reduce its carbon footprint. In May, Diageo released Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur in a paper-based bottle. The Spirits Business

• Stroop Club, a Dutch purveyor of stroopwafel, has released the first-ever vegan, organic, and palm oil-free stroopwafel. Love the packaging. Vegconomist

• Ethical chocolate brand TCHO launched a fun new product called Culture Shock. The product combines 62% dark chocolate with Pop Rocks. The packaging is pretty iconic too. Twitter

• Banza refreshed its mac & cheese packaging. They supersized their logotype, improved the product photography, and made the callouts much clearer. An improvement IMO. Twitter

• Damian McKinney, the former CEO of Stoli Group, and Steve Wilson, the former Head of Innovation at Diageo, have joined forces to launch a non-alcoholic beverage venture called DioniLife. Backed by Invus, DioniLife’s first move was acquiring Mash Gang, a non-alc beer brand from the UK. Global Drinks Intel

Data 🖥️

• The sports drink category continues to take a beating. Gatorade volume was down 10.1% while Powerade & BodyArmor volume dipped 5%. My guess is that hydration powders like Liquid IV and water enhancers like Waterdrop are partly responsible for the dip. Twitter

• Fever-Tree posted tepid results for the first half of 2024. U.S. sales increased 7% while U.K. sales dropped 6%. Overall revenue for the period was flat year-over-year. The Spirits Business

Distribution News 🚚

• Klimon, a dairy-free dessert brand, is launching at 7-Eleven.

• Haircare brand Epres launched in India and Japan.

• Couplet Coffee launched at Andronico’s in the Bay Area.