Mondelez Unveils Latest Cohort 🍫

Author

CPG WIRE
May 09, 2023

GM and Happy Tuesday, folks. Yesterday was a sluggish news day but thankfully we have a handful of exciting stories to dive into. Here’s a quick preview:

  • Mondelez announces 2023 CoLab class 🍫

  • Wellness brand Riley crowdfunds 💰

  • Buoy closes round 💦

  • Lemon Perfect launches new flavor 🥳

  • Keds x Recreational Habits 🏓

The Big Story 📰

Mondelez — the confectionery & snacks giant that owns dozens of iconic brands like OREO, RITZ, Cadbury, and Sour Patch Kids — announced the startups participating in its 2023 CoLab accelerator program.

Through CoLab, Mondelez provides early-stage snack brands with a $20,000 grant along with a 12-week growth-centric curriculum. The program has only been around for three years but the alumni list is impressive. Past participants include Moonshot Snacks (acquired), Love Corn (backed by Lotus Bakeries), Oat Haus, Yolele, Sourse, NuSkool Snacks, and many others.

CoLab’s 2023 cohort is just as impressive as past ones:

  • DreamPops — A Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based desserts that are dairy, gluten, and soy free. All under 100 calories per serving too. Their products are delicious.

  • Mezcla — A plant-based protein bar brand from NYC. Their products are vegan, gluten free, and non-GMO. Some of their flavors like Mexican Hot Chocolate, Japanese Matcha Vanilla, and Canadian Maple Blueberry sound incredible.

  • Legally Addictive — A female-founded cookie brand that was founded in Brooklyn but is now based in North Carolina. Their products look insanely good.

  • Whoa Dough — A Cleveland-based producer of better-for-you cookie dough bars. They sell six flavors and their packaging is pretty cute.

  • Freezcake — A Hollywood, FL-based producer of freeze dried cheesecake snacks. Basically little cheesecake bites for on-the-go snacking.

  • Steiner’s Coffee Cake — Better-for-you coffee cake producer from Glen Cove, New York. Featured on QVC. Their coffee cakes are gluten and nut free.

If you’d like to see the full list, you can find that here.

Deals 💰

Fundraising

  • Buoy, a hydration supplement brand from San Diego, secured $3.5m in funding. Phoenix Suns star and active CPG investor Chris Paul participated in the round. BevNET

  • Riley, a UK-based period care brand that sells organic tampons, pantyliners, and supplements, has raised over $800K on crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Founded in 2021, the brand has grown revenue 10x YoY. Seedrs

  • Good Dog Food, a London-based producer of cultivated pet food products, raised £3.6m in seed funding. Agronomics and Siddhi Capital both participated along with a number of angel investors. Vegconomist 

  • Canadian alt dairy brand Bettermoo(d) aims to raise $10m via a private placement. The company will launch its new alt dairy beverage brand, Moodrink, across Canada this summer. Yahoo Finance

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, Wellness, and Home

  • Modern fragrance brand Snif is preparing to launch Vow Factor — a green, fig-forward fragrance made in collaboration with perfume influencer Professor Perfume — on May 11th. Beautiful bottle. Snif has been on a roll lately. Snif

  • Spell, a modern boho clothing brand from Australia, opened a pop-up on Abbot Kinney in Los Angeles for festival season and summer. Some of their products are stunning. WWD

  • Keds and Recreational Habits, a tennis apparel brand, collaborated on a new court sneaker. Very cute. Scroll down for better pics. Footwear News

  • Lifestyle retailer Anthropologie collaborated with Danish designer Pernille Rosenkilde on an apparel & homewares collection. Anthro

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Lemon Perfect, the fastest-growing functional hydration brand in the United States, launched its newest flavor — Watermelon. It’s now available in variety products at Costco. PRNewswire

  • Moet & Chandon partnered with streetwear designer Don C to release a clothing collection inspired by the NBA. VIBE

  • Organic marshmallow brand Mojave Mallow is getting a brand refresh. Lovely pouch. Twitter

  • PepsiCo is launching their sparkling water play, bubly, in Australia. This is the first time in 30 years that PepsiCo has introduced a new brand outside of its core range in Australia. Wild. Inside FMCG

  • There’s a new dumpling brand from San Francisco called Sobo Foods. I don’t have much information on the brand because their website isn’t live yet, but the packaging looks good. Instagram

Premium 🎟️

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Data 🖥️

  • Q1 net sales at Zevia increased 13.8% to $43.3m while their net loss narrowed to $2.9m from $17.4m. Business Wire

Distribution News 🚚