La Bouche Rouge Finds New Home đź’„

Author

CPG WIRE
October 10, 2023

GM and Happy Tuesday, folks. Yesterday was a rather slow news day due to the federal holiday and the tragic situation unfolding in Israel, but we still have a few exciting items to cover:

  • Nolet buys Lucas Bols 🍸

  • TOAST-IT scores funding đź’°

  • Buly announces new CEO 🆕

  • Coca-Cola kills AHA 🔪

  • Fly By Jing x Woolworths 🍜

Shout-out to our partner Rivo.

The Big Story đź“°

La Bouche Rouge, the luxury beauty brand that’s known for their clean, eco-friendly makeup products, officially has a new home after being placed in administration (AKA bankruptcy court) in July.

Founded in 2017 by Nicolas Gerlier — an alum of L’Oreal and apparel retailer Vivarte — La Bouche Rouge was an early mover in the eco-luxury beauty space. Their products are 100% organic and free of both petrochemical derivatives and microplastics. They’re also packaged in vessels that are refillable, recyclable, and wrapped in gorgeous vegan leather.

Despite raising €12.5M from the likes of Bpifrance and Mirabaud Asset Management, La Bouche Rouge ran into dire financial straits and was forced into administration by the Paris Commercial Court.

The new owner of La Bouche Rouge is Beauty Brands Global, a new holding company founded by Dilesh Mehta, the Chairman & CEO of Designer Parfums which markets fragrances for Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Porsche, and Formula 1.

In addition to finding a new home, La Bouche Rouge also announced that Florence Rollet, a former Dior and Tiffany & Co. exec, will take over as CEO. Nicolas Gerlier will step into the role of Creative Director.

La Bouche Rouge is a terrific brand with a strong mission that was either too early of a mover or had a fundamentally unsound business model. Perhaps both. But given that La Bouche Rouge is a strong brand with some traction — they generated net sales of €3.5M in 2022 — it’s a relief that they found a second home.

The graveyard is full of good brands like La Bouche Rouge that never had the luxury of a second chance.

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Deals đź’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Nolet Group, the Dutch owner of Ketel One Vodka and Nolet’s Gin, agreed to acquire global spirits firm Lucas Bols for around $285M. Lucas Bols owns Bols Gin, Passoa, and liqueur brand Galliano. Reuters

Fundraising

  • TOAST-IT, a Miami-based producer of better-for-you arepas and bunuelos, secured funding from KIND co-founder Daniel Lubetzky on Shark Tank. The company raised a total of $150K. TOAST-IT was founded by Venezuelan sisters Coco and Mafe Cabezas. Their retail partners include Publix, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market. Biz Journals

  • Israeli cultivated seafood startup Wanda Fish landed $7M in seed funding which will allow the company to scale its lab-grown bluefin tuna. Netherlands-based Aqua-Spark led the round with participation from The Kitchen Hub and Peregrine Ventures. PR Newswire 

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Luxury fragrance brand Officine Universelle Buly named Nathalie Elbaz as its new CEO. Previously Elbaz was General Manger of GUERLAIN France. LVMH acquired Buly in late 2021 and is clearly bullish on its potential as a global beauty brand. WWD

  • Le FLEUR*, the luxury lifestyle brand founded by Tyler, the Creator, dropped a very fun new collab with Lacoste ⬇️ Culted

  • Diptyque, the luxury fragrance brand owned by Manzanita Capital, is preparing to open a multilevel boutique in London. Diptyque just opened a new store in Shanghai, too. The Industry

  • Former SoftBank exec Marcelo Claure was named Group Vice Chairman of global fast fashion firm Shein. Fashion Network

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Coca-Cola is killing its sparkling water brand AHA in the United States. AHA got off to a good start and appeared to be a major internal success for Coca-Cola, but sales began plummeting. Big win for the likes of Waterloo and Polar (the sparkling water GOAT IMO). Ad Age

  • Australian wine brand Gonzo launched a beautiful collection of boxed wines called cardboardeaux. So fun ⬇️ Food & Beverage Industry News

  • Molson Coors unveiled a non-carbonated boozy beverage brand called Happy Thursday. The “Spiked Refreshers” come in four flavors: Strawberry, Pineapple Starfruit, Black Cherry, and Mango Passionfruit ⬇️ Food Dive

  • UK-based mixers brand London Essence introduced a new line of craft sodas. FoodBev

Data 🖥️

  • PepsiCo posted strong Q3 results. Beverage sales were up 8% to $7.16B while Frito-Lay North America sales jumped 7% to $5.95B. BevInsights

Distribution News đźšš

  • Asian pantry staples brand Fly By Jing launched at Australia’s Woolworths.

  • Pillow brand Marlow launched at Walmart.