HOLY Nabs $11.5m 💰

Author

CPG WIRE
August 26, 2023

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

  • Beverage brand HOLY nabs funding 💰

  • Rolex buys a retailer ⌚️

  • Pronghorn backs more spirits brands 🥃 

  • Erling Haaland joins PRIME ⚽️

  • Mad Rabbit heads to Walmart 🚚

The Big Story 📰

Powder-based soft drinks brand HOLY is ready to scale across Europe after closing an $11.5m Series A funding round. Brooklyn-based Left Lane Capital led the round while existing investors like FoodLabs, Simon Capital, and V3 Ventures, a subsidiary of Verlinvest, also participated.

HOLY, which is based in Berlin, Germany and was founded in 2020, sells powder-based energy drinks and iced teas in Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland. The DTC beverage brand differentiates by focusing on sustainability and clean label ingredients. Another differentiator is their loud, whimsical, and sometimes anthropomorphic branding which is quite similar to the likes of Ghost, Sneak, and G FUEL.

Per Frederick Jost, the co-founder and co-CEO of HOLY, “we love soft drinks but incumbents are outdated, shipping sugary drinks in plastic bottles around the world.” The CMO of HOLY, Philipp Nass, added that “with low sugar, low calories, functional ingredients like vitamins, nootropics, antioxidants and fiber, as well as natural flavors and colors, our drinks really appeal to the next generation of consumers.”

Consumers are seeking healthier, more sustainable versions of their favorite soft drinks and HOLY plans on meeting the demand. The team of 25 will use the funding to introduce new products, launch into new markets, and push into retail.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Luxury watchmaker Rolex has purchased luxury watch retailer Bucherer for an undisclosed sum. Bucherer was founded in 1888 and operates more than 100 luxury watch stores across the globe. Bucherer is the world’s largest luxury retailer in the world so other luxury watchmakers aren’t thrilled. Bloomberg

  • Global fast fashion player Shein has purchased a stake in SPARC Group, the owner of Forever 21. In turn, SPARC Group will now own a minority stake in Shein. The deal will give Forever 21 access to Shein’s massive online user base and Shein can take advantage of Forever 21’s considerable retail presence in the U.S. CNBC

  • Private equity firm Roark Capital officially acquired Subway for $9.55B, beating out late bidders like Goldman Sachs. Roark Capital now owns Subway, Sonic, Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and many others. Reuters

  • Private equity firm PAI Partners acquired Alphia, a major pet food manufacturer based in Denver, CO. The seller is J.H. Whitney Capital Partners. In addition to Alphia, PAI Partners also owns majority stakes in a number of other food, beverage, and pet food manufacturers. FinSMEs

Fundraising

  • Pronghorn, a Diageo-backed investor in black-owned spirits brands, invested in three more brands: Abisola Whiskey, Los Hermanos Tequila 1978, and Alexander James Whiskey. In one year Pronghorn has invested in twenty black-owned spirits brands. The Spirits Business

  • Qatar Investment Authority invested $1B in Reliance Retail for a 1% stake. Reliance is India’s largest retail chain and boasts a network of over 18,000 stores. They also own a number of digital commerce platforms in the country. TechCrunch

A Message From Numeral

E-commerce sales taxes are an absolute nightmare and utter headache.

That’s why Numeral was founded. We’re the most comprehensive sales tax compliance solution for ecommerce brands. Brands spend less than five minutes a month thinking about sales tax once Numeral is implemented.

Let Numeral turn sales tax compliance into an afterthought instead of an anxiety-inducing undertaking.

If you’d like to see Numeral in action, schedule a demo here.

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Sustainable personal care brand Wild just launched a refillable, single-use plastic free body wash. They spent over 2 years creating the refill bottle which is compostable and biodegradable. Both the refill bottle and dispenser are gorgeous. Wild

  • Tekla Fabrics, the Copenhagen-based home textiles brand known for their bedding and blankets, introduced a line of unisex boxers that look cozy AF. Tekla

  • Oddity has appointed Gil Efrati as the CEO of the skincare brand SpoiledChild. Previously Efrati was the CMO of the world’s largest online mattress company. Happi

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Prebiotic beverage brand Mayawell unveiled a terrific rebrand. The Austin-based company has some great products so it’s exciting that they finally upgraded their packaging. Beautiful. BevNET

  • Chamberlain Coffee introduced a new line of espresso pods which are compatible with most espresso machines besides the Nespresso Vertuo. Instagram

  • Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland is now a brand ambassador for PRIME. What a fantastic, globally significant signing for the young beverage brand. Twitter

  • Functional nutrition brand Barebells just launched a line of protein shakes called Fast Food. The packaging is brilliant but they could’ve done better with nutritional callouts on the label. Overall they don’t do a great job communicating the value proposition. The concept is still fantastic, though. Stack3d

Data 🖥️

  • Ulta Beauty delivered Q2 net sales of $2.5B vs. $2.3B in the same period last year. Net income was $300m. Ulta Beauty

Distribution News 🚚

  • Tattoo care brand Mad Rabbit launched at nearly 2,000 Walmart stores.

  • LolaVie, the haircare brand founded by Jennifer Aniston, launched at Credo Beauty.

  • Swedish nutrition brand Barebells launched two protein bars at H-E-B.

  • Ayurvedic skin & haircare brand RANAVAT will expand storewide at Sephora.