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  • Pernod Buys RTD Cocktail Brand, Ryl Tea Heads to Publix 🍵

Pernod Buys RTD Cocktail Brand, Ryl Tea Heads to Publix 🍵

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CPG WIRE
April 23, 2024

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Hope y’all had a terrific weekend. If you missed our Q1 Consumer Review, you can download it here.

Let’s dive into the newsletter:

  • Vitamin Well explores sale đź’§

  • Little Sesame scores grant 🌱

  • Tan-Luxe x Paris Hilton đź’Ż

  • Montauk Brewing N.A. IPA 🍻

  • Lemon Perfect goes nationwide at WFM 🍋

Pernod Buys RTD Cocktail Brand 🍸

Ace Beverage Group, the Canadian ready-to-drink cocktail manufacturer that Pernod Ricard acquired last summer, scooped up RTD cocktail brand Nude for $11M. The acquisition will be funded by an existing credit facility. 

Founded in 2017 and based in Vancouver, Nude produces canned cocktails that are sugar and sweetener-free and contain only 100 calories and 0 carbs per serving. Nude also owns two other RTD cocktail brands — Los Flamingos Cocktails and Slappy’s.

Since launching, Nude has become a dominant RTD cocktail player in Western Canada, and they’ve built a formidable distribution network from British Columbia to Saskatchewan. Ace Beverage Group, which is based in Toronto, is acquiring Nude in order to juice up its presence in Western Canada.

Pernod has been staying busy:

  • sold Czech bitters brand Becherovka to Maspex 

  • acquired a majority stake in flavored whiskey brand Skrewball

  • sold blended Scotch whiskey brand Clan Campbell 

  • sold Tormore Scotch Whisky

  • acquired a majority stake in ultra-premium tequila brand CĂłdigo 1530

  • increased its stake in spirits firm Sovereign Brands 

  • partnered with Coca-Cola to launch Absolut & Sprite RTD cocktail

More on the transaction here.

Deals đź’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • London-based private equity firm Bridgepoint is exploring a sale of Vitamin Well, a Swedish CPG firm that operates three brands: Vitamin Well, Nocco, and Barebells. The company generates around €500M of annual revenue and EBITDA of €150M. Bridgepoint first backed the business in 2016 then doubled down again in 2021. Financial Times 

  • Gallo sold two Washington-based wineries — Columbia Winery and Hogue Cellars — to local peer Ackley Brands. The two wineries produce 130,000 cases annually. Last year, Ackley Brands acquired craft brewery Mac & Jack’s. Just Drinks

Fundraising

  • Little Sesame, a DC-based producer of hummus, landed a $2.2M grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. The grant will enable Little Sesame to develop its business and continue to support organic chickpea farmers. Love it. Fast Company

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Self-tanning brand Tan-Luxe collaborated with Paris Hilton on a new product — THE FUTURE Airbrush 360 Self-Tan Mist. It’s a well-executed collaboration. The packaging is great 👇 PR Newswire

  • Serial beauty entrepreneur Jennifer Yen launched a new scalp care brand called Jooy. The brand’s hero ingredients include fermented apple cider vinegar, algae, avocado, tea tree oil, and others. Previously Jennifer Yen co-founded Yensa and Purlisse. Beauty Independent

  • Luxury florist Venus et Fleur opened a beautiful store in Houston’s River Oaks District. The concept was developed by New York-based Ringo Studio and will be the brand’s physical retail identity moving forward. The Architect’s Newspaper

  • Boll & Branch, the organic bedding and home textiles brand, introduced a new feature called Origin Track which lets customers see the exact origin of their products. Business Wire

  • Tennis brand Prince created a pickleball collection exclusively for Target. It’s a great-looking collection and Prince has been on a hot streak in terms of collaborations and partnerships. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Zacal, a premium mezcal brand from London, officially made its debut with two expressions: Ensamble and Manso. Zacal

  • Montauk Brewing Company released a non-alcoholic IPA which is available at Citi Field. Instagram

  • I came across an interesting cider brand from Southern California called Shoreline. I can’t speak to the quality of the product but it’s a great-looking can 👇 Instagram

  • Magic Spoon is dropping two new cereals — Strawberry Milkshake and Lemon Cake. Stack3d

  • TALEA Beer Co. joined forces with Gotham Greens and Black Seed Bagels on a limited-edition lager called Weekender Lemon Basil. The beer is brewed with upcycled bagels from Black Seed and basil from Gotham Greens. Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • According to IWSR, global travel retail is expected to become the most lucrative channel for status spirits by 2027. Status spirits are products priced over $100. The Spirits Business

Distribution News đźšš