Oats Overnight Grabs $35M, CORE Buys Winky Lux 💄

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CPG WIRE
July 30, 2024

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. If you enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to others who might enjoy it too! Let’s dive in:

  • LARK Distillery sells stake 🥃

  • AETHER bets on mezcal 💰

  • Lemme launches lollipops 🍭

  • Carlsberg releases fonio beer 🍻

  • Tilray bounces back 📈

Oats Overnight Grabs $35M 🥣

Oats Overnight, a fast-growing producer of high-protein oatmeal products, secured $35M in Series B funding. The round was led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), Danny Meyer’s private equity vehicle, with additional funding from BFG Partners, Sonoma Brands, Singh Capital Partners, and others.

This fundraising announcement comes on the heels of a $20M Series A round they closed in March of 2023.

Founded in 2016 by Brian Tate, a former professional poker player, and based in Tempe, AZ, Oats Overnight is best known for their drinkable, high-protein overnight oats which come in flavors like Salted Toffee, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie, Bananas Foster, and many others. 

The company boasts 250,000 active subscribers via its website — a staggering sum — and their retail partners include Albertsons, Target, and Walmart. If we do some back-of-the-napkin math on their subscriber numbers, that comes out to north of $10M in monthly recurring revenue, an impressive feat for any CPG brand.  

Beyond their large active subscriber base, another edge that Oats Overnight has is manufacturing. In 2023, they opened a 62,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Ohio, and earlier this year opened an even larger manufacturing facility in Arizona. By controlling procurement, manufacturing, and fulfillment, Oats Overnight can iterate faster than the competition while ensuring a high-quality product and experience for its customers. 

More on the fundraise here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Australia’s LARK Distillery sold a minority stake to Seppeltsfield Wines for $9.4M. The deal grants LARK Distillery access to Seppeltsfield’s barrels. These barrel tie-ups are becoming more common as the demand for aged whiskey goes up. Edrington, the owner of Macallan and Wyoming Whiskey, acquired Spain’s Vasyma last year in order to access their sherry casks. Just Drinks

  • AETHER Brand Group, an acquirer and operator of consumer brands, made their first acquisition with Corte Vetusto Mezcal. The premium mezcal brand was co-founded by David Shepherd and Richard Black. The brand offers three core SKUs ranging from $69.99-$134.99. BevNET

  • Winky Lux, a masstige beauty brand that launched in 2015, sold a majority stake to CORE Industrial Partners. Winky Lux retails at Target and Ulta Beauty. CORE first entered the beauty industry in 2020 via an investment in Cohere Beauty, a beauty and personal care contract manufacturer. Business Wire

Fundraising

  • High Rise Beverage Co., a purveyor of CBD and Delta-9 THC beverages, secured $320K in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The company was founded in 2022 and is based in South Carolina. SEC 

  • Craft soda maker Jones Soda Co. raised just over $3M via a private placement. The company will use the funds to support growth. PR Newswire

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Lemme is launching its popular Lemme Glow product in lollipop form. Lemme Glow Lollipops will debut on August 1st. In June, Lemme launched soft chews which are basically low-sugar Starbusts with active ingredients. The candy-ification of wellness continues. Instagram 

  • Ethical fragrance brand Sana Jardin revealed a sleek packaging refresh. The orb-like cap is a nice way to elevate the brand into luxury territory. The Industry

  • Strange Luxury is a newish skincare brand from Australia with absolutely stunning packaging. Great work from Petitmoulin Studio. Packaging of the World

  • Veteran makeup artist Victoria Jackson launched her own cosmetics brand — No Makeup Makeup. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Danish brewer Carlsberg worked with Brooklyn Brewery to release a new type of beer that’s made with fonio. Fonio is a West African grain that’s drought-resistant and can thrive in poor soil. Yolélé is another brand that’s doing interesting things with fonio. The Drinks Business

  • Loom, a new beverage brand from New Jersey that’s revolutionizing the juice category, officially made its debut. Loom takes traditional juices and cuts them with water and other active ingredients to lower the sugar content. Great-looking packaging. Loom

  • Aura Bora is discontinuing two flavors — Peppermint Watermelon and Lemongrass Coconut — in order to make room for new flavors. Instagram

  • Best Day Brewing, a non-alc brewer from Northern California, partnered with The Conservation Alliance to release a new product — Nature’s Pils. 100% of the profits from Nature’s Pils will be donated to The Conservation Alliance. Instagram

  • Graza is launching smaller format bottles later today. The minis look even cuter than the original. Instagram

  • Ghost released a co-branded grape energy drink with Welch’s. The new flavor will hit shelves at Walmart and Kroger shortly. Stack3d

  • 150-year-old Italian confectionery brand Pastiglie Leone unveiled a gorgeous packaging refresh. The Dieline

Data 🖥️

  • Tilray Brands, the company best known for its cannabis products, made a huge bet on craft beer that’s already paying off. In Fiscal 2024, Tilray achieved net revenue growth of 26% while Q4 bev alc revenue jumped 137% to over $76M. MarketWatch

Distribution News 🚚

  • Barker Wellness launched their Mushroom Gummies at Sprouts Farmers Market.

  • Latin pantry staples brand Loisa also launched at Sprouts Farmers Market.

  • Pretzelized scored nationwide distribution at Sprouts Farmers Market.