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  • L’Oréal Sells Sanofi Shares, KUDO Refreshes Packaging 🍿

L’Oréal Sells Sanofi Shares, KUDO Refreshes Packaging 🍿

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CPG WIRE
February 04, 2025

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

  • Maesa divests EMEA arm 💄

  • Perfect Moment expands team 🎿

  • Partake x Found Coffee collab 🍻

  • Church & Dwight stays hot 🔥

  • Koia lands at Target 🎯

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • L’Oréal is selling a 2.3% stake in Sanofi back to the drugmaker for a clean €3B. The move will allow L’Oréal to shore up its balance sheet. Upon completion of the transaction, L’Oréal will own 7.2% of Sanofi and control 13.1% of its voting rights. Business of Fashion

  • Ireland’s Blackwater Distillery sold Velvet Cap Irish Whiskey for an undisclosed sum. The buyer is RoCo Brands, a Dutch spirits incubator and distributor. Velvet Cap was founded in 1880 in County Waterford. The Spirits Business

  • Beauty incubator Maesa divested its European & Middle Eastern operations in order to focus on its core U.S. business. The buyer is Knowlton Development Corporation, a global leader in beauty formulation and manufacturing. New York-based Maesa will now be able to focus on core brands like Kristin Ess, Being Frenshe, and Fine'ry. Terms were not disclosed. PR Newswire

Fundraising

  • Indian craft beer brand Medusa secured $6.5M in funding to expand its presence across India. Tech in Asia

  • Since we’re light on fundraising news today, here’s Kiva Dickinson from Selva Ventures breaking down some common CPG investing misconceptions. Interesting and quick read. Twitter

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • OMI, a new celebrity-backed hair supplement brand, officially debuted with one hero SKU. Dubbed Hair Growth Peptides, the supplement promotes hair growth and improves follicle health. A 1-month supply costs $69. OMI was co-founded by Naomi Whittel, a dietician and media personality, and is backed by Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner. WWD

  • Brooklyn-based Young Jerks refreshed the Original Shave Gel line from Edge. They really nailed the landing. The new wordmark and refreshed iconography are both great. Instagram

  • Fazit unveiled a new product line — Team Spirit Glitter Speckles — ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Taylor Swift helped Fazit go viral earlier in the regular season, so it only makes sense for the brand to continue riding this momentum. Happi

  • Luxury outerwear brand Perfect Moment hired a number of Canada Goose execs in order to accelerate its next phase of growth. Business Wire

  • Kristin Ess is expanding into bond repair and color protection with their new Kristin Ess+ line. The new line is available exclusively at Target. PR Newswire

  • Popular skincare brand BYOMA unveiled its newest innovation, Phyto-Musin Glow Serum. The 5-in-1 formula is a skin barrier repair serum. Trend Hunter

  • D.S. & Durga launched a new limited edition fragrance called Cowgirl Grass. The scent is intended for rhinestone cowgirls. Good-looking label. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • A number of Canadian food companies like Flourish Pancakes and Mid-Day Squares are now planning to move their headquarters to the U.S. due to tariffs. Mid-Day Squares was planning to expand their manufacturing facility in Montreal, but with 70% of its sales coming from the U.S., a manufacturing facility in Ohio, Wisconsin, or Missouri is in play. The Globe and Mail

  • KUDO Protein Popcorn reformulated its product and refreshed its packaging. Each bag now contains an impressive 16-32g of protein. The updated packaging is a vast improvement too 👇 KUDO 

  • Diageo is building a 360,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Alabama that will cost $415M. The new facility will have a multi-million case annual production capacity for Diageo’s vast spirits portfolio. The Spirits Business

  • FitCrunch is doubling down on wafer protein bars by adding a number of new flavors like Vanilla Gelato, Lemon Cream, and Raspberry Tart. Based on Ferrero Group’s acquisition of Power Crunch last week, wafer protein bars must be performing well. Stack3d

  • Canadian non-alc brewer Partake partnered with Found Coffee to release a Coffee Stout. The new brew will debut later today. Instagram

  • Habiza Hummus is now officially seed oil free certified. Instagram

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Data 🖥️

  • Church & Dwight reported strong FY 2024 results with net sales increasing 4.1% to $6.1B. The net sales growth was largely attributable to ARM & HAMMER, Hero Cosmetics, and TheraBreath. Hero continues to be a strong performer for Church & Dwight. MSN

Distribution News 🚚

  • Koia launched three of its top-selling SKUs at Target.

  • Skincare brand Wildfleur is launching at 600 Ulta Beauty stores.

  • DAISE Beauty launched nationwide at Target.

  • Hot Girl Pickles launched at Erewhon.

  • Sustainable oat milk brand MYOM launched at Whole Foods in the UK.

  • WonderPop launched at Sprouts in Southern California.