Little Sesame Bags $8.5M, No Cap Raises $3M 💰

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

• Perrigo sells derma unit 🧴

• AWAKE secures $8M 🍫

• Cymbiotika heads to Las Vegas 🎲 

• New look for Hazard’s Hop Water 🔥

• Trevi launches at Walmart 💧

Little Sesame Bags $8.5M 🥣

Little Sesame, a fast-growing challenger brand in the hummus category, just closed an $8.5 million funding round led by InvestEco. InvestEco’s previous F&B investments include LesserEvil Snacks, Om Mushroom Superfood, and Vital Farms, a publicly traded company that’s now valued at $1.6 billion.

Founded in 2016 by Nick Wiseman and Ronen Tenne, Little Sesame originally debuted as a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C. Their flagship restaurant is still open, but today Little Sesame is best known for its retail-ready hummus line. Since launching it in 2021, the line has hit shelves storewide at Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, and a variety of regional grocery chains.

The hummus category is at an interesting inflection point. The category is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% through 2031. This is largely due to the fact that it’s a clean label product with very reasonable macros. The category is looking so attractive that PepsiCo paid $244 million to acquire full control of Sabra and Obela from their JV partner, Strauss Group, in late 2024. For context, Sabra does around $400 million in retail sales in the United States. 

In addition to Little Sesame, a number of other hummus brands like Habiza, Zahav, and Ithaca are looking to become the next king of the category. Habiza and Zahav recently made their nationwide retail debuts at Target, while Ithaca has been producing high-quality hummus since 2013 and already has impressive retail distribution across the country. 

Given that Sabra does over $400 million in annual sales with a pretty subpar product — the texture is chalky and the taste is muted — one or two of the abovementioned players is positioned to become a 9-figure brand. We’ll see if it’s Little Sesame, Habiza, Ithaca, or Zahav.

Other investors in Little Sesame’s most recent round include Watchfire Ventures, Santatera Capital, Beliade Consumer Partners, and a number of strategic angel investors.

More on the investment here.

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Perrigo, a global producer of personal care and OTC pharmaceutical products, sold its dermacosmetics unit for an upfront cash payment of €300M and a potential earnout of €27M. The buyer is Kairos Bidco, an investment vehicle controlled by KKR. Fierce Pharma

Fundraising

• Canada’s AWAKE Chocolate secured $8M in funding from Btomorrow Ventures, the corporate venture arm of British American Tobacco, and BDC Capital. AWAKE markets a variety of caffeinated chocolate products and expects sales to hit roughly $30M this year. Canadian Manufacturing

• Better-for-you soda brand No Cap closed a $3M funding round led by Pinnacle Investment Group. Founded in 2024 by father-son duo Sam & Vinny Wilson, No Cap retails at Five Below, Rouses, and select Kroger and Albertsons banners. Twitter

• UK-based canned cocktail brand Arrowtown secured just over $530K in funding as the brand expects to grow by more than 300% this year. Investors in the round include Mark Philip-Sorensen, an early investor in recently acquired personal care brand Wild, as well as a number of strategic angel investors and seasoned CPG executives. Arrowtown is best known for its low-sugar vodka sodas. The Spirits Business

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Premium supplements brand Cymbiotika is opening a wellness cafe at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas later this summer. Patrons will be able to order Cymbiotika-infused smoothies, salads, juices, acai bowls, wraps, and other items at the cafe. Some of the brand’s bestselling products will also be available for purchase at the venue. WWD

• Christina Peng, the former CMO of suncare brand Coola, co-founded a clean, allergen-free fragrance brand called Havyn. Havyn originally launched with a line of candles last year but recently expanded into perfumes and hand creams. Beauty Independent

• Women’s health brand O Positiv launched a new sexual wellness product called URO Vaginal Moisture + Mood. The daily supplement was designed to support healthy sexual function, natural lubrication, and emotional well-being. PR Newswire

• TYPEBEA, the haircare brand co-founded by Rita Ora and Anna Lahey, just released a 3-in-1 Dry Shampoo called G5. The new SKU is formulated with clinically proven Baicapil and retails for $33. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Catalina Snacks just launched a protein granola line with three flavors: Peanut Butter, Honey Cashew, and Vanilla Almond. This subcategory is getting very crowded with brands like Magic Spoon, Three Wishes, Seven Sundays, NuTrail, PBfit, and Kodiak all vying for eyeballs and dollars. PR Newswire

• Rhythm, the #2 cannabis brand in the U.S. by total revenue, is entering the beverage category with a line of hemp-derived THC drinks. Rhythm launched two SKUs: Mandarin Orange Sativa and Mango Pineapple Kush. BevNET

• Hazard’s Hop Water just unveiled a fantastic brand refresh. The new branding is much cleaner, more premium, and overall just a huge improvement. Great work. Instagram

• Athletic Brewing Company and Arsenal announced a multi-year extension of their partnership. Arsenal fans will be able to enjoy Athletic’s Run Wild IPA in cans throughout the stadium and on draft across the Club Level. PR Newswire

• French rosé producer Maison Saint Aix partnered with The Zero Proof, a non-alcoholic beverage retailer, to launch non-alcoholic rosé brand BEAU VIVA in the United States. PR Newswire

• Jordan’s Skinny Mixes just released a new line of energy syrups. Each serving contains 100mg of caffeine, 0 sugar, and 0 calories. Three flavors are available at launch: Wild Berry, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Dragon Fruit. This is a very clever line extension. Business Wire

• Quinn Snacks revealed a brighter and cleaner brand identity. The new look is expected to hit shelves later this month 👇 NOSH

Data 🖥️

• According to FABID, Q2 2025 saw a 13% increase in total U.S. food & beverage venture funding, reaching $342M. Smaller checks and later-stage investments were a consistent theme throughout Q2. Twitter

Distribution News 🚚

• Hydration brand Trevi launched at select Walmart stores.

• Culture Pop Soda is now available at Aldi in the U.S.

• Fortune Favors launched 3 SKUs storewide at Publix.

• Infant formula brand ByHeart expanded to 2,800 Walmart stores.

• Nutrafol is launching online and in-store at Ulta Beauty.