ODDITY Files To Go Public 💄

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Yesterday was an eventful one so we have lots to cover today. Here’s a quick preview:

• ODDITY plans IPO 💄

• Kering bets on luxury fragrance 💵

• Pernod Ricard divests a brand 🥃

• Chamberlain Coffee x Verb ⚡️

• New coffee brand from Taylor Sheridan ☕️

• Mad Rabbit rolls out at Walmart 📈

The Big Story 📰

ODDITY, the Israeli consumer tech firm behind beauty brands IL MAKIAGE and SpoiledChild, has filed to go public in the U.S. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker ODD.

ODDITY has been on a tear since being founded by siblings Oran Holtzman and Shiran Holtzman-Erel in 2018. The company reached profitability by 2020 — an impressive feat for an industry with high inventory requirements and marketing expenses — and their year-over-year revenue growth has been remarkable:

2020 - $110.6m

2021 - $222.5m

2022 - $324.5m

Inflation and economic uncertainty haven’t slowed down ODDITY, either. For the first three months of 2023, the company posted net sales of $165.6m, which was an increase of 83% compared to the same period in 2022.

So, what’s the key to their massive success? ODDITY leverages technology to make finding and purchasing the right cosmetics easier for consumers. With IL MAKIAGE, for example, instead of going to Sephora and sampling a number of different shades to find the right foundation, one can use their AI-enabled matching engine to find the perfect foundation from the comfort of home. In short, ODDITY is successful because they make life easier for customers.

Now is as good a time as any for ODDITY to go public. The company is profitable, growing fast, and due to the much-discussed IPO drought, there’s a high likelihood that shares will perform well. The appetite for IPOs is such that when CAVA — the fast-casual Mediterranean chain that remains unprofitable after 12 years — went public on June 15th, its shares surged 117%.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Kering — the owner of Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta — has acquired 100% of heritage fragrance brand Creed. The sellers are BlackRock and Javier Ferran, the chairman of Diageo. House of Creed was founded in 1760 by James Henry Creed, making the brand almost 100 years older than Louis Vuitton. The luxury fragrance category has been on a heater. Puig acquired Byredo for over $1B last June, and last week Advent International purchased the parent company of Parfums de Marly. Kering

• French spirits firm Pernod Ricard has decided to sell Clan Campbell, a premium blended Scotch whisky brand, to Stock Spirits Group for an undisclosed sum. Pernod sold another Scotch whisky brand, Tormore, last summer. Based on their recent acquisition history, Pernod is focused on tequila, rum, American whiskey, and RTD cocktails. Pernod Ricard

Fundraising

• Minism Coffee, a Beijing-based coffee retailer, raised just over $62m in Series B funding. The round was led by Qingwang Capital. Prior to this round, Minism Coffee had raised $41.6m. DealStreetAsia

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Ceremonia, the clean haircare brand that’s rooted in Latinx heritage, will open its first-ever retail store on June 30th. The store is located at 413 Broome St., NYC. Instagram

• Pleasing, the beauty & lifestyle brand founded by Harry Styles, has a new CEO in Shaun Kearney. Kearney is currently Chief of Design and Merchandising at Goop. Soon we could be seeing Pleasing’s gorgeous but affordable products at Sephora. Vogue Business

• Austin-based Criquet Shirts has collaborated with Tangerine on a pickleball collection. The collection includes Court Shorts, Players Shirts, Bags, and Paddles. A really well-executed collaboration. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Verb Energy collaborated with Chamberlain Coffee on a Vanilla Latte Energy Bar. Love the packaging. Verb

• Community Coffee, one of the largest family-owned retail coffee brands in the US, partnered with Taylor Sheridan to launch a new craft coffee brand — Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee. Sheridan, the creator of popular television series Yellowstone, continues to make a fortune selling the western lifestyle to coastal consumers 🤠 Business Wire

• Non-alcoholic wine brand Proxies introduced a new rosé-style sparkling beverage. Good-looking can. The Dieline

• Carbone Fine Foods released its iconic Spicy Vodka sauce. The product will begin rolling out nationwide in July. PR Newswire

• Energy drink brand Juvee brought back its limited edition Cherry Slushie flavor for good. The redesigned can looks great. Juvee

Data 🖥️

• L’Occitane Group — the owner of Sol de Janeiro, Elemis, and their namesake brand — delivered a strong fiscal 2023. Net sales grew 19.8% to €2.1B. Sol de Janeiro, which the group acquired in late 2021, delivered stellar sales growth of 135.2%. Happi

Distribution News 🚚

• Tattoo care brand Mad Rabbit will launch at 1,800 Walmart stores.

• Better-for-you ramen brand immi is now available nationwide at Whole Foods Market.

• French cider brand Galipette launched in the UK.

• Kama Ayurveda, a holistic beauty brand based in India, also launched in the UK.

• South Korean matcha brand Super Matcha is preparing to launch in the US.