Refresh Gum Grabs $2M, Hershey Bounces Back šŸ«

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CPG WIRE
February 06, 2025

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Iā€™m in a fugue state due to some seasonal bug so apologies if there are more typos than usual. Letā€™s dive into the newsletter:

  • Legacy Bakehouse buys competitor šŸŖ

  • UPTIME and RISE join forces ā˜•ļø

  • Drip raises $5M šŸ’§

  • Tilt Beauty launches šŸ’„

  • Kindling launches at Costco šŸ„Ø

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Deals šŸ’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Legacy Bakehouse, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of baked goods and a portfolio company of Benford Capital Partners, acquired Classic Cookie, a Tennessee-based producer of premium cookie products. This is the second acquisition for Legacy Bakehouse over the past six months. Business Wire

  • UPTIME Energy, a California-based energy drink brand, has acquired Stamford-based cold brew manufacturer RISE Brewing Co. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hereā€™s some additional context from Joshua Schall. BevNET

Fundraising

  • Refresh Gum, a New York-based purveyor of better-for-you gum, secured $2M in a seed funding round led by Santatera Capital. Founded in 2022 by Ryan Stafford, Refresh Gum uses tree sap as its gum base as well as plant-based sweeteners and real colors from fruit and vegetables. The brand retails at Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Raleyā€™s, Erewhon, and other chains. NOSH

  • UK-based canned water brand Drip raised $5M in funding from Raya Holding, an Abu Dhabi investment manager. Drip launched in October 2023 and will debut in the U.S. later this year. The company is now valued at $125M. PR Newswire

  • According to an SEC filing, Zabā€™s scored $1M in fresh equity funding from undisclosed investors. The LA-based company was co-founded by Miles Soboroff and PJ McNall. Zabā€™s is available at Bristol Farms, Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, and other retailers. SEC

  • PlantBaby, a purveyor of nutrient-dense, plant-based milk products, secured an undisclosed amount of funding at a $20M post-money valuation. The round was led by B2 Partners and included participation from Big Idea Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, and others. PR Newswire

  • Angela Caglia Skincare, a fast-growing skincare brand that leverages patented human stem cell technology, raised $3.6M in new equity funding from undisclosed investors on February 4th. SEC

Whatā€™s New šŸ¤©

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Eight Sleep, the sleep fitness brand known for its high-tech sleep solutions, launched its first-ever sleep supplement, Sleep Elixir. Active ingredients include Valerian Root, Tart Cherry, Ashwagandha, and L-Tryptophan. Instagram

  • Herman Miller launched an impressive collection of height-adjustable desks. PR Newswire

  • Plant-based nutrition brand Vega unveiled a whole new brand identity. Curious what yā€™all thinkā€¦seems like a miss to me šŸ‘‡ Athletech News

  • 21-year-old Aerin Glazer launched an accessible beauty brand called Tilt Beauty. 50 million Americans currently suffer from arthritis and Tilt Beauty utilizes ergonomic, patented packaging to make beauty products accessible for this demographic. Neat. Hypebae

  • CĆ©cred, the 1-year-old haircare brand founded by Beyonce, just launched a variety of sleek haircare tools. Instagram

  • Starface and Hello Kitty collaborated for the sixth time on a very fun collection. Love it. Hypebae

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • VUUM, a purveyor of sparkling protein beverages, reformulated and relaunched its entire range. In short, the updated formula offers a lighter and brighter taste. Still havenā€™t tried VUUM but I am curious. BevNET

  • Another huge partnership for Mikeā€™s Hot Honeyā€¦the popular hot honey brand is launching a number of limited-edition menu items at KFC. The two menu items will be available starting Monday, February 10th. Food & Wine

  • SweetWater Brewing Company, the largest craft brewer in the Southeast and a Tilray Brands company, launched a new lager called Dive Beer. Good-looking branding. GlobeNewswire

  • Real American Beer, the light beer brand co-founded by Hulk Hogan and an AB InBev alum, is going big with their new 24 oz tallboys. GlobeNewswire

  • MALK, Kacey Musgraves, and Erewhon collaborated on a limited-edition smoothie called The Deeper Wellness Smoothie. Instagram

  • Natureā€™s Path introduced two protein granola SKUs. Each serving contains 10g of pea protein. Three Wishes and Magic Spoon both recently launched a protein granola line. PR Newswire

  • Liquid Death is bailing on the UK market after failing to sustain meaningful growth. Liquid Death also just launched a southern-style sweet tea called Sweet Reaper. The Grocer

  • Absolut expanded its ready-to-serve cocktail line with an Espresso Martini and a Classic Cosmopolitan. PR Newswire

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Data šŸ–„ļø

  • Hershey is righting the ship after reporting dreadful results in Q2 of 2024. Q4 sales increased 8.7% to $2.89B while net income surged over 130% to $796.6M. Yahoo Finance

Distribution News šŸšš