Mondelez Explores Hershey Acquisition 🍫

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CPG WIRE
December 10, 2024

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. If you enjoy this newsletter or find it informative, please forward it to others who might get a kick out of it too. Let’s dive into the news:

  • Full Glass Wine Co. continues buying spree 🍷

  • Planet A Foods grabs $30M 🧪

  • Natty Ice Cream launches 🍦

  • Puig’s stock tumbles 💄

  • SideDish lands at H-E-B 🥗

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Mondelez Explores Hershey Acquisition 🍫

According to a report from Bloomberg, Mondelez is exploring another takeover of The Hershey Company. Mondelez, the confectionery and snacking giant that’s worth over $80B, first approached Hershey about an acquisition in 2016, but Hershey’s board rebuffed the $23B offer, and talks soon fell apart.

A deal between Mondelez and Hershey would bring a variety of iconic brands — Cadbury, CLIF, KitKat, OREO, Ritz, Reese’s, Sour Patch Kids, and Wheat Thins — under one roof. Several of these brands, like Chips Ahoy! and OREO, generate more than $1B in annual revenue in their own right, a rare milestone in CPG.

Based on 2023 numbers, the combined entity would have around $47B in revenue and net income north of $6.5B. As seen below, Mondelez would be responsible for the lion’s share of revenue and net income.

With Hershey suffering due to high cocoa prices and other input costs, and a more outspokenly pro-business administration heading to the White House, Mondelez must’ve felt that the time was right to pounce.

Earlier this year, Mars shelled out $36B to acquire Kellanova, suggesting that CPG mega-deals are back.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Full Glass Wine Co. made two more acquisitions with Wine Access and Cameron Hughes Wine. Wine Access is an online platform for wine discovery, while Cameron Hughes Wine is a purveyor of premium wines at affordable prices. Full Glass Wine Co. has made 7 acquisitions over the past 17 months. Impressive. Business Wire

  • UK-based Surya Foods acquired Karma Bites, a producer of popped lotus seed snacks. Karma Bites is based in London and retails at Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, Ocado, and Holland & Barrett. The Grocer

Fundraising

  • Planet A Foods, a producer of a sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate, secured $30M in Series B funding. Investors include Cherry Ventures, World Fund, and Bayern Kapital. The global chocolate market is valued at $130B and there’s an arms race to find a sustainable, affordable alternative to cocoa. Vegconomist

  • Former Campari Group CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti invested in Cygnet Gin, a UK-based gin producer. Fantacchiotti was also named Chairman of the Welsh distillery. Just Drinks

  • Luxury apparel brand Zeus+Dione scored a strategic investment from Halcyon Equity Partners. The brand was co-founded by Dimitra Kolotoura and Mareva Grabowski over a decade ago. WWD

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Glow Recipe unveiled their newest product — Cloudberry Bright Moisture Cream. The new product is available exclusively via the Sephora app. Hypebae

  • Flavia Lanini, a lymphatic drainage specialist with star clients like Dua Lipa and Jennifer Aniston, is expanding beyond Los Angeles and will open a new clinic in Newport Beach. The clinic is expected to open in January. WWD

  • Dior opened a pretty stunning concept store in Bangkok. The designers replicated the facade of Dior’s Paris HQ albeit with gold tiles. Pretty impressive. Hypebeast

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Natty Ice Cream, another player in the high-protein ice cream category, officially debuted in its home market of Phoenix with two flavors: Dutch Chocolate and Madagascar Vanilla Bean. Each serving contains 20-21 grams of protein and only 10-12 grams of sugar. Curious to hear what y’all think about the packaging 👇Instagram

  • Cannabis spirits brand Nowadays released a limited-edition Cranberry flavor to celebrate the holidays. Love it. Nowadays 

  • There’s a new canned water brand from Georgia called Free Bird Southern Spring Water. I kinda dig the packaging. Imagine if Black Rifle Coffee and Liquid Death had a baby. Free Bird

  • Crooked Tea, a new player in the hard tea category, is launching soon. The brand differentiates by using organic ingredients. The packaging is pretty compelling but I’m curious if their organic bonafides are enough of a differentiator to build a loyal following 👇 Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • Puig shares fell to their lowest after the Spanish beauty firm issued a voluntary recall of select Charlotte Tilbury products. Shares recovered a little on Monday but Puig’s market cap still sits at 3.35B EUR. Reuters

Distribution News 🚚