Joyride Grabs $30M, Alli Webb Returns to Haircare 👀

Author

CPG WIRE
June 07, 2025

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

  • Conagra sells more brands 🐟

  • Harken Sweets wins pitch slam 🍫

  • Glossier expands into bodycare 📈

  • Alec’s and Graza release collab 🍦

  • Lucky Energy lands major hire ⚡️

Joyride Grabs $30M 🍭

According to a recent SEC filing, better-for-you candy brand Joyride raised $30M in growth equity funding. Trevor Nelson of Aria Growth Partners is listed on the Form D, so Aria presumably led the round.

Joyride as we know it today is the result of a series of pivots. Tyler Merrick, an Austin-based veteran of the consumer goods industry, launched a better-for-you gum brand called Project 7 in 2008. In 2022, Project 7 became Joyride, a candy brand that offers products with 70 to 80% less sugar than major candy brands. 

In early 2024, YouTuber Ryan Trahan joined Joyride as an investor and Chief Creative Officer. With over 20 million subscribers on YouTube and another 2.1 million followers on TikTok, Trahan is one of the fastest-growing creators on the planet. That’s when Joyride really began to find its rhythm in retail where most candy sales occur.

In addition to nailing creator-product fit with Ryan Trahan, Joyride nailed a few other things:

  • Instead of going the 0-3 grams of sugar route like most better-for-you candy brands, Joyride focused on creating products with around 7-10 grams of sugar. They solved a problem for consumers who wanted to cut down on sugar, but didn’t necessarily want to go down to 0-3 grams. They met consumers in the middle.

  • They also nailed naming and branding. Joyride is a fantastic name for a candy brand, and the branding is everything a candy brand should be: bright, fun, energetic, and a little nostalgic. 

Based on their current trajectory, Joyride should exceed $100M in annual revenue by the end of 2026.

Aria Growth Partners is a great fit for Joyride, too. The firm makes concentrated bets in high-growth consumer brands, and their recent home runs include Hero Cosmetics (acquired for $630M) and LesserEvil Snacks (acquired for $750M).

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Conagra Brands (NYSE: CAG) is selling two frozen seafood brands — Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s — to High Liner Foods for $55M in cash. Conagra has been busy reshaping its brand portfolio lately. They sold Chef Boyardee for $600M in May but they’ve also added snack brands like FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks to their portfolio. PR Newswire

  • Kering, the owner of Gucci, Balenciaga, and a variety of other luxury brands, is in talks to sell a stake in a Fifth Avenue property it acquired last year. Kering would use the proceeds from the stake sale to pay down its mountain of debt. Business of Fashion

Fundraising

  • Better-for-you candy brand Harken Sweets came in 1st place at NIQ’s Founders Pitch Slam. As a result, the brand took home $700K in cash and prizes. Instagram

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Alli Webb, the co-founder of Drybar, is back in the haircare space with a new brand called Messy. Messy, which is backed by Unilever Ventures and a handful of other investors, will debut at Sephora on June 27th. Webb launched Drybar in 2010 and Helen of Troy acquired the business in 2020 for $255M. WWD

  • Glossier is betting on bodycare with a variety of new products including body wash, body lotion, and body mists. The new collection will hit shelves at Sephora on June 17th. Glossier continues to cook. New Beauty

  • After selling Dockers to ABG a few weeks ago, Levi’s is doubling down on Beyond Yoga, the activewear brand it acquired in 2021 for $440M. Beyond Yoga is opening a larger format store in Greenwich, Connecticut which will be its first store on the east coast. Nancy Green, who grew Athleta to over 170 retail stores, is now the CEO of Beyond Yoga. WWD

  • Hally Hair partnered with Sour Patch Kids to launch a range of colorful hair accessories that glow under black light. Very fun collab. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Alec’s Ice Cream teamed up with Graza to launch a limited edition ice cream — Pistachio Crunch. The pistachio butter ice cream base contains extra virgin olive oil, candied pistachios, and dark chocolate flakes. The new flavor is now available exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Instagram

  • Lucky Energy just landed a huge hire. The roughly two-year-old beverage company has hired Lou Fabiano, the former Chief Sales Officer at AriZona Iced Tea, as its new President. Fabiano was responsible for growing AriZona’s C-store business from $320M in 2016 to over $680M today. PR Newswire

  • Grillo’s Pickles is building a $54M manufacturing facility in Indiana. The 155,000-square-foot facility is expected to create 150 jobs. The new facility will be adjacent to a $175M manufacturing facility for King’s Hawaiian, another brand owned by Irresistible Foods Group. PR Newswire

  • Nightingale Ice Cream is also investing in a new manufacturing facility in Richmond, Virginia. The fast-growing ice cream sandwich maker is investing $5.8M to establish a new production facility and corporate headquarters. The 29,000-square-foot facility will create 160 new jobs. FoodBev

  • GOAT Gummies, the better-for-you gummies brand founded by Tom Brady, officially launched on Gopuff with three flavors. The gummies are organic, vegan, and free of artificial dyes, sweeteners, and flavors. Delish

  • Sharelle Klaus Azeroual, the co-founder of DRY Soda Co., launched a low ABV gin brand called Second Sip. Love the sleek bottle and slim label. BevNET

  • Modern Chinese food brand MìLà released a frozen noodle kit line with three flavors: Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, Sweet & Savory Noodles, and Caramelized Scallion Noodles. The new line is available at 1,600 Target and Whole Foods Market stores. NOSH

  • ALLDAY Energy Spray is a new company that’s putting ultra-concentrated organic caffeine in oral spray form. ALLDAY is currently available in two flavors: Strawberry Blast and Tropical Burst. Each spray contains 32mg of caffeine. Trend Hunter

Data 🖥️

  • Per IWSR, non-alcoholic beer volume jumped 9% in 2024. Non-alc beer is expected to surpass ale as the second largest beer category by the end of this year. USA Today

Distribution News 🚚