Hero Bread Lands $21M, MOSH Refreshes Packaging 🍞

Author

CPG WIRE
June 27, 2024

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Here’s what we’re getting into this morning:

  • LVMH buys another manufacturer 🕰️

  • JamJar backs XOXO 🫧

  • Slate launches Modern Magic 🪄

  • Little Sesame x Vista Hermosa 🔥

  • Wildwonder heads to Safeway ✅

Just an FYI there will be no newsletter on Saturday, June 29th due to the fact that I’ll be at a wedding in Boulder, CO! Our Twitter and Instagram accounts will both remain active, however.

Hero Bread Lands $21M 🍞

Hero Bread, a California-based startup that sells low-carb, high-protein baked goods like croissants and tortillas, secured an additional $21M in funding as it looks to scale its retail business. Founded in 2021 by Cole Glass, Hero Bread has doubled revenue every year since launching, and scored distribution at the likes of Albertsons, Sprouts, and Publix.

This $21M round was co-led by existing investors Cleveland Avenue, DNS Capital, and Composite Ventures, and comes on the heels of a $15M Series B round that was announced in May of 2023. 

Thus far, Hero Bread has raised a whopping total of $68.5M in funding. This is a particularly impressive feat given that a) fundraising is difficult right now and b) most of the alt ingredient startups that came before Hero Bread turned out to be interminable money pits and a lot of investors lost their shirts. 

The fact that Hero Bread was able to get sophisticated investors like Cleveland Avenue and Composite Ventures to double down on their business leads me to believe that they have something that companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods always lacked: strong fundamentals e.g. good margins and a solid repeat purchase rate. 

More on the fundraise from Douglas Yu at Forbes.

Drive Retail Sales with Crafted 📈

Crafted is the only influencer platform that drives brick & mortar sales for CPG brands. Clients have reported anywhere from 30-70% sales lift at major retailers like Walmart and Target. Creators are geo-located and rates are set by CPM based on their projected reach. No juggling logistics of in-store content, negotiating rates, or wondering what your ROI was from an influencer campaign. Everything is handled through a hilariously easy-to-use platform.

Brands like Jack Daniels, Meat District, Bulletproof, Botticelli, and Hella Cocktail Co. trust Crafted for their drive-to-retail micro-influencer campaigns.

Book a demo or email the founder Sarah to learn more. Mention CPG Wire for 10% off your first campaign.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • LVMH has acquired the owner of L’Epée 1839, a small but prestigious manufacturer of high-end clocks. LVMH’s watchmaking division includes Hublot, Tag Heuer, and Zenith. Business of Fashion

  • Swander Pace Capital purchased a stake in Inovata Foods, a leading manufacturer of private label frozen entrées. Founded by Steve and Lisa Parsons in 1989, Inovata manufactures a diverse range of frozen meals across two facilities in Canada. Business Wire

Fundraising

  • JamJar Investments participated in a £4M seed funding round for XOXO, a UK-based prebiotic soda brand that launched in late 2022. The brand retails at Whole Foods UK and already hopped the English Channel to secure distribution at Albert Heijn, BILLA, and MPREIS. The Grocer

  • Scent Beauty, an omnichannel marketer of fine fragrances, raised $7.5M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The company owns fragrance licenses for Dolly Parton, Stetson, Kylie Minogue, etc. SEC

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Slate Brands, the Brooklyn-based beauty brand incubator, launched a contemporary fragrance brand called Modern Magic. This is Slate’s third fragrance brand in their five-year history. Their other beauty brands include Auden Lueur, Me Nails, and Vagitaminz. Glossy

  • Futurewise, the slugging skincare brand from the co-founders of Starface, unveiled their newest product — Lip Slug. Instagram

  • Model Anastasia Mackay has launched a premium textured haircare brand called LOBIE. Their debut product is a Peptide Leave-In Mask that restores and repairs hair. Beauty Independent

  • K18, the premium biotech haircare brand that Unilever acquired in late 2023, has named Simone Biles as a brand ambassador. Sports Business Journal

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • MOSH, the brain health-focused nutrition brand co-founded by Patrick Schwarzenegger and his mother, Maria Shriver, finally refreshed their packaging. They increased the size of the logo, added a lot of color, and improved the flavor imagery. Great work. Food Business News

  • Atomo, a Seattle-based purveyor of beanless coffee, launched a new product called Remix that features 50% Arabica beans and 50% beanless coffee. Instagram

  • Little Sesame collaborated with Vista Hermosa on an awesome new product — Mexican Street Corn Hummus. Little Sesame has been on a hot streak with collaborations and retail announcements lately. Instagram

  • Allagash Brewing Company launched its first non-alcoholic product with the release of Allagash Hop Water. Brewbound

  • London-based spirits firm Quintessential Brands launched Chamère, a RTD cocktail brand that’s inspired by the Netflix series Emily in Paris. The Spirits Business

  • Chinese baijiu producers like Shede Spirits are attempting to reformulate their products in order to appeal to consumers in Western markets like New York, Los Angeles, and London. Another producer, Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye Group, has partnered with Campari to promote baijiu internationally. Reuters

  • Sprinkles expanded their CPG range with a new line of Cupcake Cups. Three flavors are available: Red Velvet, Birthday Cake, and Double Chocolate. It’s a pretty interesting product. Curious how it tastes. Business Wire

Data 🖥️

  • BeatBox, the fast-growing bev alc brand that sold 4.5 million cases in 2023, expects triple-digit growth in 2024. Beer Business Daily

Distribution News 🚚