Morinaga Buys My/Mochi, Crazy Mountain Debuts 🍺

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

• Henkel expands haircare portfolio 🧴

• Novos Labs grabs funding 💊

• Hims & Hers partners with Novo 📊

• Super Lyte gears up for launch 🍸

• Joyride lands at Publix 🌴

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Japanese confectionery firm Morinaga is acquiring My/Mochi for an undisclosed sum. Founded in the 1990s and based in Los Angeles, My/Mochi is a vertically integrated producer of mochi ice cream and the largest mochi brand in the U.S. Lakeview Capital purchased My/Mochi in 2020. According to SPINS, My/Mochi achieved $80M in LTM sales as of January 25th. Last June, Marubeni Corporation purchased Bubbies Ice Cream, the top-selling mochi brand in the natural channel. Instagram

• German consumer goods giant Henkel is acquiring affordable haircare brand Not Your Mother’s for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2010 by Bethany & Rocky Pagliarulo, Not Your Mother’s is a modern haircare brand that offers high-performance products at approachable prices. Main Post Partners invested in NYM in 2019 and the company is reportedly doing around $220M in annual sales. PR Newswire

• Estée Lauder is buying the remainder of Forest Essentials. Estée secured a minority stake in the Indian beauty brand in 2008, upped its stake to 49% in 2020, and will now be its outright owner. Mira Kulkarni launched the ayurvedic skin, body, and hair care manufacturer in 2000. Forest Essentials operates a network of nearly 200 stores. WWD

Fundraising

• Novos Labs, a New York-based developer of clinically-backed longevity supplements, scored a minority investment from Unilever Ventures. Founded in 2019 by Chris Mirabile, Novos takes a biology-first approach to developing solutions that support healthspan and longevity. Unilever’s other recent VMS investments include Create, Perelel, and Plant People. Instagram

• Good Girl Snacks, the parent company of Hot Girl Pickles, scored an investment from Nucleus Ventures. Hot Girl Pickles is #1 in the category at Erewhon and will be in over 2,000 doors by end of year. LinkedIn

• High-protein ice cream brand Smearcase won the Innovation Launchpad Pitch Competition from Albertsons. The cottage cheese innovator walked away with a $198K check. Bezi came in second while Croots came in third. Albertsons

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Viral beauty brand Summer Fridays is releasing its debut fragrance, Sunlit Vanilla, on March 17th. Sephora app users will be able to purchase the $82 fragrance ahead of time on March 16th. Sunlit Vanilla will also retail at Revolve, Cult Beauty, Space NK, and Mecca Beauty. Instagram

• Make Time Wellness, the women’s brain health brand founded by Emma Heming Willis, expanded its offering with three new products. The new products include Make Time for NAD+ & Rhodiola, Make Time for Menopause & Brain Health, and Make Time for Brain, Body, and Beauty. PR Newswire

• Hims & Hers has ended its legal dispute with Novo Dordisk and will begin offering Ozempic and Wegovy on its platform. Hims & Hers share price jumped 40% after the news hit the wire. CNBC

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• The creators of Casamigos are back with a non-alcoholic beer brand. Yesterday, George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman launched Crazy Mountain, a premium non-alc beer brand. Crazy Mountain debuted with two lager-style brews: Original and Lime. Their products are available exclusively via their website and will launch in select U.S. markets via retail soon. Crazy Mountain 

• Bachan’s has entered its licensing era. After releasing a limited-edition flavor with SPAM last week, Bachan’s partnered with Top Ramen on three co-branded instant noodle bowls. The new line is available exclusively at Walmart while supplies last. PR Newswire

• Sadly we learned that Ibraheem Basir, the founder of A Dozen Cousins, has passed away. I never met Ibraheem but the outpouring of love over the weekend is indicative of his outsized impact on the food industry. RIP. Instagram

• Super Lyte, a new RTD cocktail brand from the company behind Surfside, is launching later today. The uncarbonated cocktail line features vodka and is inspired by sports drinks. Jason Cohen launched a similar product, SpikedAde, last year. Super Lyte

• Naani’s Authentic Chai is a new beverage brand co-founded by Coca-Cola alum Rohit Dixit. Dixit has spent more than 12 years at Coca-Cola, most recently as Senior Director of Corporate Development. Naani’s launched with two chai varieties: Whole Milk and Oat Milk. Naani’s 

• It’s Skinny, an Austin-based low-carb pasta and rice company, repositioned itself as It’s That Simple. The company is wisely ditching its diet-focused messaging in favor of focusing on convenience. Nosh

• Celsius Holdings is partnering with Suntory to bring the energy drink brand to Spain. Four flavors will begin rolling out across Spain later this month. International sales increased 24% YoY in 2025. Celsius Holdings 

• Busch Light released a limited-edition collab with Bass Pro Shops. Anheuser-Busch has been on a roll with Busch Light and it’s the #2 fastest-growing beer in America per Circana. Anheuser-Busch

Data 🖥️

• According to NielsenIQ, the best performing beverage sectors in February were energy drinks (no surprise there) and coconut water (kinda surprising). RTD coffee also delivered a small gain as well. Beer Insights

Distribution News 🚚

• CauliPuffs is launching nationwide at Target.

• SkyPop Protein Soda also launched nationwide at Target.

• Joyride launched storewide at Publix.

• Stimmie is now available at Fresh Thyme Market.

• Low and Slows Snacks launched at Costco in the Northeast.

• Miracle Mama launched at Central Market.