Marzetti Acquires Bachan's, CAVU Closes Fund V 📈

Author

CPG WIRE
February 05, 2026

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

  • AG Barr buys two beverage brands 🥤

  • SEMCAP backs Good Culture again 🐮

  • Vacation collabs with Pepsi 🍒

  • Koia experiments with creatine 💪

  • Ketone-IQ lands at Life Time ⚡️

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • The Marzetti Company, an Ohio-based manufacturer of dips and sauces, has acquired Japanese barbecue sauce brand Bachan’s for $400M. Launched in 2019 and based in Sebastopol, Bachan’s has grown 50% per year over the past three years and generated $87M in net sales in 2025. Bachan’s was backed by Prelude Growth Partners, Sonoma Brands Capital, Simple Food Ventures, and New Fare Partners. In January, Highlander Partners acquired Tapatio for an undisclosed sum. Business Wire

  • Scottish beverage firm AG Barr has acquired Fentimans for £38M and Frobishers for £13M. Fentimans is a premium mixers brand with a global distribution footprint while Frobishers is a UK-based purveyor of fruit-forward beverages. AG Barr is best known for owning Irn-Bru. The Spirits Business

Fundraising

  • CAVU Consumer Partners exceeded its $275M target by securing $325M for Fund V. The consumer-focused investment firm now has nearly $1.4B under management. In 2025, CAVU led a $30M investment in Recess and a $12M investment in Sauz. Other prior investments include Poppi, Bai, ONE Brands, Vital Proteins, Once Upon a Farm, and several others. GlobeNewswire

  • SEMCAP Food & Nutrition doubled down on Good Culture by investing $55M into the cottage cheese brand. SEMCAP first invested in Good Culture in 2021 and will be riding shotgun alongside majority investor L Catterton for the next chapter. GlobeNewswire

  • Proper Wild, a New York-based purveyor of clean energy shots and gummies, raised $10M in fresh equity funding. The company’s energy shot sales jumped 550% year-over-year and their retail footprint grew to more than 65,000 doors in 2025. BevNET

  • According to an SEC filing, clean haircare brand Ceremonia secured $3.5M in equity funding. Ceremonia launched in 2020 and retails at Sephora, Credo, Mecca, and Oh My Cream. SEC

Drive Shoppers From Screen To Shelf With Minisocial 🛒

Securing retail distribution is a huge win, but driving velocity is the real challenge. minisocial helps you bridge the gap between digital awareness and in-store sales. It’s already trusted by retail favorites like Bero, MadeGood, Halfday Iced Tea, Lundberg, and many more.

Here’s how it works:

📍 Hyper-Local Influence: We match you with creators local to your specific retailers (Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Pop Up Grocer, etc.) to produce content and share it with their own local audience.

🚀 Power Your Paid Media: Leverage whitelisting access to run creator content as ads. Target specific zip codes around your retailers to drive even more foot traffic. Plus you're safe to use the content across ALL of your owned channels, forever! 

💯 High-Quality Creators = High-Quality Results: minisocial is not an open database for just anyone. Each creator is hand-picked for each project from our pre-vetted database. We only work with creators who have a track record of producing high-quality content and the engagement to prove it. 

The best part? minisocial is a project-based service. Just pay per project you choose to spin up, no longterm commitments. Although once you do a minisocial campaign it's hard to go without!

Book a call with Kirsten or see more here. Mention CPG Wire and save 15% on your first campaign.

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Vacation and Pepsi joined forces on a limited-edition Wild Cherry Lip Balm. It looks like the SPF 30 lip balm is available exclusively at Target. The packaging is very on-brand for Vacation. Instagram

  • Dyson expanded its beauty offering yet again with Amino, a leave-in scalp treatment that supports hair growth and reduces oils. The core active ingredient in the product, Amino11, is powered by barley grown on Dyson Farms. Instagram

  • Naterra, the Texas-based owner of Tree Hut and Baby Magic, unveiled a colorful personal care brand for Gen Alpha called Splash. In short, Splash was created to make bath time fun and stress-free for both parents and kids. The products are formulated with gentle ingredients and available exclusively at Walmart. WWD

  • Jude, a UK-based bladder health brand, just revealed a refreshed brand identity and a reformulated range of products. The new look and messaging is an improvement. LinkedIn

  • Science-backed haircare brand Goddess Maintenance Co. dropped two new products: BioTech Blowout Shampoo and BioTech Blowout Conditioner. Both products retail for $36. Goddess leverages a proprietary molecule to protect hair from environmental and chemical damage. PR Newswire

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • SkinnyDipped just announced the SkinnyDipped Female Founder Fund. Applications are now open and the winner will receive a $25K grant along with six months of hands-on mentorship from SkinnyDipped’s founder & CEO. LinkedIn

  • Venturi Bold Brew is a new RTD coffee brand that differentiates via its bold flavors. The Atlanta-based nitro cold brew brand launched with six intriguing flavors like Strawberry Hibiscus, Blueberry Basil, Maple Vanilla Chai, and Sweet Tea Lemonade. The branding is strong too. Venturi

  • Canadian whisky brand J.P. Wiser’s teamed up with Canada Dry on an RTD Whisky & Ginger. The 7% ABV canned cocktail is available nationwide across Canada. The Spirits Business

  • Tea Drops successfully brought manufacturing in-house after their co-packer shuttered. The company purchased the equipment, hired former co-packer employees, and now they’re self-manufacturing. Incredible. BevNET

  • California juice maker Langers released a GLP-1 support beverage called No Worries. The functional beverage is formulated with inulin, magnesium, calcium, tart cherry, pineapple juices, and a number of other active ingredients. Each can contains 12g of dietary fiber. Food Business News

  • THC beverage brand Nowadays released a limited-edition Black Cherry flavor. The LTO flavor is available in two formats: ready-to-serve and ready-to-drink. Instagram

  • Asian-inspired sparkling water brand Sanzo dropped a new flavor, Paradise Punch, exclusively at Whole Foods Market. It’s an unbelievably good product. Grab some while you can. Instagram

  • Koia combined protein and creatine with its latest product: Strawberry Elite +Creatine. Each serving contains 32g of protein and 1g of creatine. The new SKU is available exclusively at Publix. PR Web

Data 🖥️

  • Tony’s Chocolonely beat the odds in 2025 and had a big year. Revenue jumped 20% to just over €240M in the period thanks to volume and price increases. While the wider chocolate industry saw volumes decline for the second straight year, Tony’s bucked this trend with a 4% volume increase. The U.S. also overtook the Netherlands as Tony’s biggest market in terms of net sales. Reuters

  • According to a LinkedIn post from co-founder Angela Vranich, Little Spoon is now feeding ~3% of U.S. babies. LinkedIn

  • Mintel shared that 5% of new beverages in 2025 had gut health claims, up from 1% in 2020. Beverage Industry

Distribution News 🚚

  • Bloom launched their BFY soda line at Sam’s Club.

  • Ketone-IQ launched nationwide at Life Time Fitness.

  • Odyssey launched at CIBO Express and Stop & Shop.

  • SEEQ launched nationwide at The Vitamin Shoppe.

  • SickScience is launching online & in-store at Ulta Beauty.

  • Lucky Energy launched 5 SKUs at 200+ H-E-B doors.