Pronghorn Backs Mocktail Club, Fenty Hair Launches 👀

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. If you find this newsletter helpful or informative, please pass it along to others who might enjoy it too.

Yesterday was a sluggish news day so today’s edition is a shorter one. Let’s get into it:

• Warfield Distillery & Brewery acquired 🍸

• Cafe Bustelo expands into RTS ☕️

• Snoop Dogg x 19 Crimes 🍷

• Hard tea is booming 📈

• Pretty Smart launched at Walmart 💄

Shout-out to Numeral for making e-commerce sales tax as easy as pie.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Warfield Distillery & Brewery, an Idaho-based producer of organic beer and spirits, has been acquired by Steve Landers Jr. for an undisclosed sum. Landers owns the largest chain of auto dealerships in Arkansas and hopes to turn Warfield into a national brand. Arkansas Money & Politics

Fundraising

• Pronghorn, a Diageo-backed investor in black-owned spirits brands, invested in Mocktail Club, a premium non-alcoholic cocktail brand. This is Pronghorn’s first investment in a non-alcoholic beverage brand. Mocktail Club was founded by Pauline Idogho and retails at Whole Foods Market, Giant, Safeway, and Target. PR Web

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Rihanna officially expanded into the haircare category with the launch of Fenty Hair. The Fenty Hair collection features a variety of haircare products like shampoo and conditioner, as well as styling products like gel and curl defining cream. They did a great job with the packaging — it’s clearly premium and there are some thoughtful details, but it’s not trying too hard to be premium like other haircare brands. Instagram

• Pharrell Williams has launched his first fragrance since becoming Creative Director at Louis Vuitton. Dubbed ‘LVERS, the fragrance was developed with master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud and retails for £255. The Industry

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Cafe Bustelo, the iconic espresso brand that’s owned by J.M. Smucker, is getting into ready-to-serve beverage game with their Espresso Style Iced Coffee Beverages. The new line is available at Target and will launch at Kroger and Walmart in the near future. Food Dive

• UK-based soft drinks brand Punchy launched a new range of hydration beverages. Two flavors are available: Blueberry and Mango. It’s a good-looking line. Instagram

• Belgian Boys unveiled two new products: Griddle Pancakes and Bite-Sized Belgian Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Both products are available at select Target stores. PR Newswire

• Naked Nutrition, the clean label sports nutrition brand, launched a cute kids nutrition line. It’s a smart move, too. Kids nutrition is often overlooked by supplement brands and this is a compelling way to juice up AOV 👇 Stack3d

• Snoop Dogg collaborated with 19 Crimes to launch a RTD cocktail brand called Cali Cocktails. Two flavors are available: Strawberry Margarita and Long Beach Lemonade. The Spirits Business

Data 🖥️

• Hard Seltzer sales are getting decimated and consumers are seemingly fleeing to RTD cocktails. Twitter

• The Hard Tea category is up 24% YTD according to NIQ. Twisted Tea still owns the vast majority of dollar sales. Beer Insights

Distribution News 🚚

• Gut Nuts is now available nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market.

• BFY candy brand TiDBiTS also launched at Sprouts Farmers Market.

• Oat Haus launched four SKUs storewide at Publix.

• Makeup brand Pretty Smart launched at 2,800 Walmart stores.