Melitas Backs Harken Sweets 🍫

Author

CPG WIRE
March 22, 2025

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

  • Unilever sells plant-based brand 🥩

  • Yepoda raises Series B funding 💄

  • Orgain launches creatine 💪

  • PLEZi relaunches soda line 🫧

  • Laurel’s lands at Wegmans 🥛

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Unilever officially divested The Vegetarian Butcher, a plant-based meat brand that it acquired in 2018. The buyer is Vivera, a Dutch plant-based meat producer that’s owned by JBS. Look out for more divestitures from Unilever over the next few months. Food Dive

  • Kim Kardashian is consolidating her business interests. Yesterday, SKIMS announced that it acquired SKKN BY KIM, the beauty brand that Kardashian launched in 2022. The beauty line will relaunch under the SKIMS brand in 2026. The Hollywood Reporter

Fundraising

  • Better-for-you candy brand Harken Sweets raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Melitas Ventures. Harken Sweets was founded in 2021 by Katie Lefkowitz, the former COO and first employee at CAULIPOWER. Each bar contains 13g of prebiotic fiber, plant-based protein, and zero added sugar. Their retail partners include Albertsons, Walmart, and Hy-Vee. Instagram

  • German K-Beauty brand Yepoda raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding from Verlinvest and existing investors. Yepoda’s revenue jumped 120% year-over-year to around $71M and the brand is now launching at Sephora. Beauty Independent

  • Golf media and lifestyle brand Good Good Golf raised $45M in funding. The round was led by Creator Sports Capital and included participation from Omaha Productions, Peyton Manning’s entertainment company. Bloomberg

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Alexandra Spunt and Franchesca Hashim, two former marketing execs at Everlane and MasterClass, launched a mineral sunscreen brand called Good Weather Skin. The brand is positioned as mineral sunscreen meets luxury skincare. The packaging is pretty compelling. Beauty Independent

  • Luxury fashion label CELINE released an elevated pilates collection that includes yoga mats, kettlebells, and dumbbells. Hypebae

  • Safely, the household cleaning brand co-founded by Kris Jenner and Emma Grede, launched a sleek range of multi-surface cleaning wipes. The new line is available exclusively at Kroger. Instagram

  • Orgain, acquired by Nestle in 2022, is expanding into a new category with their latest product — Creatine Monohydrate Powder. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • PLEZi officially launched their refreshed soda line. PLEZi Fizz has 75% less sugar than the leading soft drink brands and comes in three flavors. The new packaging looks A LOT better. You can find PLEZi Fizz at Albertsons and on Amazon. Excited to see their new sports drink with Steph Curry. Instagram

  • It appears that Poppi is settling its class action lawsuit for $8.9M. The lawsuit was filed in California federal court and claimed that Poppi falsely advertised some of its gut-health claims. Just Drinks

  • New Jersey-based Kre18 is bringing a line of ready-to-drink creatine beverages to market in Q3. Their Pre-Workout Booster and Energy Booster SKUs contain 3g of creatine and 200mg of paraxanthine. Their other SKU, Muscle Fuel & Recovery, contains 3g of creatine along with 30g of whey protein. Kre18

  • According to Bloomberg, Ben Stiller is planning on launching a better-for-you soda brand called Stiller’s. The actor is currently seeking investors and strategic partners for the beverage venture. Bloomberg

  • Savor, a San Jose-based food tech startup, is bringing its animal-and-plant-free butter to market. The company is reportedly capable of converting carbon and hydrogen into fatty acids that resemble butter. Savor is backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Synthesis Capital, and others. AgFunderNews

  • Chef and TV personality Ming Tsai is expanding his frozen food business with Mings, a new frozen meal line. The company offers four SKUs like Spicy Dan Dan Noodles and Sweet Chili Chicken and Broccoli. Sign me up. PR Newswire

  • New York’s Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish launched a range of ready-to-bake bagels. Three flavors are currently available: Plain, Sesame, and Everything. PR Newswire

  • Surfside, the fastest-growing beverage alcohol brand in the U.S., is now an official partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and will open a branded concession stand at the stadium. MLB

Data 🖥️

  • Waldencast (NASDAQ: WILD) — the owner of Milk Makeup and Obagi — had a great Q4 with net sales increasing over 30% to $72.1M. Adjusted EBITDA also doubled to $11.2M. Exec Edge

Distribution News 🚚