Melitas Backs Hanni, Froneri Bags €1.4B 🍦

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

• Uncle Nearest explores options 🥃

• Mother Root scores on Dragons’ Den 🍹

• Harry’s unveils cologne line 🔥

• Red Bull bets on U.S. manufacturing ⚡️

• Create launches nationwide at Target 🎯

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Mars is reportedly set to receive approval from the European Commission on its $36B acquisition of Kellanova. The mega-merger will bring multiple billion dollar brands like M&Ms, Skittles, Pringles, and Pop-Tarts under one roof. Reuters

• Uncle Nearest, the Tennessee-based spirits company that recently went into receivership after defaulting on $108M in loans, is exploring the sale of assets related to its unlaunched Cognac business. The receiver is also exploring the sale of various vineyards along with Square One Organic Spirits, a recently acquired organic spirits producer. The Spirits Business

Fundraising

• Melitas Ventures just invested in Hanni, a premium body care brand that’s based in Atlanta, Georgia. Leslie Tessler, a former marketer at L’Oreal and Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, launched the brand in 2020. Hanni retails exclusively at Sephora. Twitter

• Climax Foods, a producer of plant-based cheeses, rebranded as Bettani Farms and raised $6.5M in Series A funding from S2G Investments. Bettani Farms also appointed Sandeep Patel, the former CFO of Califia Farms, as CEO and Chairman. AgFunderNews

• Froneri, the second largest ice cream producer in the world, secured €1.4B in equity financing from one of its private equity sponsors, PAI Partners, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Froneri was created in 2016 when PAI Partners merged R&R Ice Cream with Nestle’s European ice cream unit. The company is now valued at €15B. WSJ

• Mother Root, a London-based producer of non-alcoholic aperitifs, bagged an investment from Steven Bartlett on Dragons’ Den. The beverage brand sold a 5% stake for £90K. Mother Root previously raised £1.1M at a pre-money valuation of £8M and recently rolled out at Sainsbury’s. The Spirits Business

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Harry’s (owned by Mammoth Brands) just entered the fragrance category with a line of colognes. Harr'y’s currently offers three scents — Moonrise, Cowboy Classic, and Kin — which are affordably priced at $35. The line is available exlusively via their website. PR Newswire

• Fenty Skin from Rihanna launched its first-ever body care collection. The collection features a body wash, body mist, and a bubble bath product in two scents: Hey, Bouquet and Vanilla Flowers. The line is available exclusively at Ulta Beauty. Global Cosmetics News

• AG1 announced a new partnership with UC Davis to discover nutrition science and metabolic health breakthroughs. AG1 works with a number of other universities like Hofstra, Texas Tech, and the University of Arkansas. AG1

• FOULPLAY is a new performance nutrition company from Singapore. The company’s debut product is Hi-Creatine Bites which delivers an impressive 1.8g of creatine monohydrate per chew. LinkedIn

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Red Bull just broke ground on a 2.36-million-square-foot manufacturing & distribution facility in Concord, North Carolina. The massive development is a collaboration between Ball Corporation, Red Bull, and another Austrian beverage company, Rauch. The facility is expected to be operational by 2028. LinkedIn

• Two celebrity-led brands, BERO and Happy Coffee, collaborated on two products. First, Tom Holland’s BERO released a Coffee Draught Non-Alcoholic Beer, while Robert Downey Jr’s Happy released Eternal Hoptimist Ground Coffee. Instagram

• ForElle is a company that’s creating organic and nutritious snacks for new moms. Their debut product is a line of Granola Bites called Afterbirth Bites. Their granola bites are a good source of protein, fiber, iron, zinc, and magnesium. They’re also free from seed oils and added sugars. ForElle

• KISSY, a new ready-to-serve espresso martini brand, officially launched with one SKU. Very excited to try this one. Instagram

• Sauce Revival is a new chickpea-powered condiments brand. Their debut product, Buff Chick Mild Buffalo Sauce, is packed with 2g of fiber per serving thanks to the chickpeas. The branding is really solid, too. Instagram

• Magnolia, the home and lifestyle brand co-founded by Joanna Gaines, just launched a line of frozen baked goods under its Magnolia Table banner. The line launched exclusively at Target and includes Jo's Buttermilk Biscuits, Classic Cinnamon Rolls, After School Banana Bread, and a handful of other products. Parade

• Better Sour, the better-for-you candy brand that L.A. Libations backed earlier this year, just dropped a new product: Tart Cherry Gummy Stars. Instagram

Shine a Light on the Best Innovation in CPG Tomorrow 🗓️

Highlight’s second annual virtual summit, Showcase, is back and better than ever. Join from anywhere in the world to hear:

• Consumer insights professionals discuss the power of protein

• How to crack the code on baby products parents love and trust

• Year-over-year research predicting consumer spending this holiday season

…and much more! Tune in on Wednesday, October 8 at 1pm ET / 10am PT for an afternoon of in-depth learning sessions for Consumer Insights, R&D, and Brand Marketing professionals across the CPG and retail spaces.

Visit the registration page to learn more and secure your spot.

Data 🖥️

• Unaudited Q3 net sales for Lifeway Foods will land between $55M and $57M, marking a year-over-year increase ranging from 21% to 24%. Lifeway also reached a cooperation agreement with Danone so they can now focus all their efforts on growth. PR Newswire

• Creator-led beauty brand point of view sold $1M worth of merchandise during its first 7 minutes. Now the brand is weighing whether to launch at Sephora or Ulta Beauty. LinkedIn

Distribution News 🚚

• Create launched 3 SKUs nationwide at Target.

• Caliwater launched at 3,500 Walmart stores.

• MUTO Longevity launched on Healf.

• Ritual launched at select Walmart stores across the U.S.

• Liquid Death partnered with Big Geyser for NYC distribution.

• Lentiful launched at 200+ Target stores.