Gervais Makes Big Vodka Bet🍸

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Despite a painfully slow start to the week, CPG news is back. We have lots to chew on so let’s dive in:

• Golden Goose hires bankers 💰

• Lucky F*ck lands $4M ⚡️

• Castore closes massive round 🎽

• Zara expands into hair 👀

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Ricky Gervais Bets Big on Vodka 🍸

Comedian Ricky Gervais has entered the celebrity spirits fray after investing a significant sum in Ellers Farm Distillery, a UK-based sustainable spirits producer. As part of the agreement, global brand incubator AIG Holdings will also become a shareholder. 

Founded in 2021 and based in North Yorkshire, Ellers Farm Distillery is known for its commitment to sustainability and its carbon-neutral spirits. Though they produce a variety of products — gins, liqueurs, and even a single malt whisky — they are best known for Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka, a carbon-neutral vodka brand that launched in early 2022. 

Despite being a fairly new brand, Dutch Barn seems to have struck a chord with consumers, and they’ve secured distribution at Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, and many others. I attribute their quick rise to a few different factors. 

First, Ellers Farm Distillery has taken a novel approach to producing Dutch Barn Vodka, one that gives it a clear edge against its myriad competitors. Instead of using grains or potatoes during the fermentation phase like most vodka producers, they primarily use British apples (along with a dash of potatoes). This approach is more difficult than using grains or potatoes, but the end result is a smoother, crisper, and slightly sweeter spirit. 

Second, because Ellers Farm Distillery is using British apples, some of which are produced on their North Yorkshire farm, there’s a certain farm-to-bottle element that consumers find quite appealing. In short, Dutch Barn can tell an ingredient or provenance story that brands using commodified grains or potatoes simply cannot.

Third, Dutch Barn Vodka is branded and positioned unlike any other vodka brand of scale on the market. The dark amber bottle, which you just don’t see in the vodka category, is more akin to a bottle of fine wine than a clear spirit. The label — with its pastoral imagery and emphasis on barn, orchard, farm, and hand made — also evokes winemaking.

The rise of Dutch Barn Vodka is a masterclass in differentiation. From their production methods to their branding and storytelling…they’re just different, and that’s an enormous asset in a crowded category with deep-pocketed competitors. 

It’s early days for Ellers Farm Distillery and Dutch Barn Vodka, but with significant capital from Ricky Gervais, and, more importantly, his global influence, combined with their hot start in the UK, they have a real shot at building a globally significant spirits brand.

Somehow vodka has remained one of the few spirits categories unmolested by celebrities and their eager talent managers. We all know celebrities can’t help themselves when it comes to agave spirits, and every country musician or western-adjacent actor is launching a whiskey, but vodka has remained largely untouched. This is doubly remarkable when you consider that vodka is the top-selling spirit in the United States, and #2 by volume in Europe. 

Celebrity interest in vodka has certainly picked up lately — Jason Momoa recently launched a neat brand with a great-looking bottle called Meili Vodka, and obviously Ricky Gervais just entered the space — but I’m curious what the hell took ‘em so long.

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Luxury fashion label Temperley London sold a majority stake to Dubai-based Times Square Group and its investment arm, Luxutte Capital. British designer Alice Temperley launched the label in 2000. With TSG’s resources behind it, Temperley plans to expand into new categories and open a flagship store in London. Apparel Resources

• Luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose has hired bankers to coordinate its IPO on the Milan stock exchange. Private equity firm Permira acquired the brand in 2020 for €1.3B and anticipates a €3B valuation. The Industry

Fundraising

• Clean energy drink brand Lucky F*ck secured a $4M investment from Imaginary Ventures. The brand was founded by Richard Laver who previously co-founded Kate Farms, a producer of plant-based nutrition shakes. Imaginary Ventures has an impressive venture portfolio. They’ve backed brands like Glossier, SKIMS, Westman Atelier, and Nécessaire. BevNET

• UK-based premium sportswear brand Castore raised a whopping £145M from The Raine Group, Hanaco Ventures, and Felix Capital. The Manchester-based brand was founded by brothers Tom and Phil Beahon in 2016. According to the Financial Times, Castore was valued at £950M. Business Wire

• Swiss sustainable footwear brand VYN raised £500K from Hohle Gasse AG and a number of angel investors. VYN’s leather sneakers are handcrafted in Italy and come with replacement components, so customers can replace parts as they decay. Interesting concept 🔽 The Industry

• New Hampshire-based whiskey brand New England Barrel Company secured funding from Pronghorn, a Diageo-backed investor in black-owned spirits brands. Terms of the arrangement weren’t disclosed. Good-looking bottles IMO. The Spirits Business

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Zara partnered with celebrity hair stylist Guido Palau on their first-ever collection of hair products. The four styling products will be available online and in-store later today. Zara launched into cosmetics with Zara Beauty in May of 2021 with terrific results. The Inditex-owned brand plans on launching more hair products early next year. Marie Claire

• Lifestyle brand Madhappy recently opened their first permanent store in West Hollywood. The store features a stunning cafe dubbed Pantry by Madhappy which sells products from Gjusta, Jon & Vinny’s, Courage Bagels, and others. Twitter

• Phoebe Philo, the former Creative Director of Céline and Chloé, released the second collection under her eponymous fashion label. Phoebe Philo launched her debut collection about a month ago which sold out within hours. Vogue

• Copenhagen-based lifestyle brand Tekla released their popular hooded bathrobes in a number of new colorways. Beautiful. These folks don’t seem to miss. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Kraft Heinz and NotCo released their latest plant-based collaboration — NotMac&Cheese. The vegan mac & cheese is available in two flavors: Original and White Cheddar. This is the third collaboration from Kraft Heinz x NotCo. Business Wire

• Chamberlain Coffee ever so slightly refreshed their canned latte line. Spotted it at Walmart in Park City yesterday. An improvement, IMO 🔽 Twitter

• Non-alcoholic aperitif brand Ghia released a new flavor — Berry. Yet another gorgeous bottle and label from Ghia, one of the few non-alc brands that will go the distance. Instagram

• Another non-alcoholic aperitif brand, Australia-based Etota, released a stunning ready-to-drink beverage. Instagram

Data 🖥️

• Turning around Victoria’s Secret is an expensive proposition. Q3 losses topped $71M but the company mentioned that holiday sales were trending in the right direction. WWD

Distribution News 🚚

• Wholly Veggie launched their frozen entrées at Albertsons and HEB. Their packaging is so fun.

• Stryve Biltong announced new distribution at Fresh Thyme, Lowes Foods, and Southeastern Grocers.

• Ghost Energy will be launching their RTD products in Australia and New Zealand in the very new future.