Santatera Backs Little Sesame, Our Home Buys Pop Secret 🍿

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, everyone. Hope y’all had a great weekend and a productive Monday. We have some fun stuff to dive into this morning so let’s get on with it:

• Royal Eagle buys stake in tequila brand 🍹

• MyMuse raises more equity funding 🫧

• Quest expands into new category 🧁

• David sets launch date 🗓️

• Laoban heads to Walmart 🥢

Shout-out to BexBrands, the brand studio behind Juni, Joyride, The Humble Seed, and Richard’s Rainwater.

Santatera Backs Little Sesame 🧑‍🍳

Little Sesame, a Washington, DC-based producer of organic hummus and tahini, secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Santatera Capital, a leading investor in early-stage consumer brands. The investment from Santatera Capital was part of a larger, albeit unannounced, funding round. 

Little Sesame originally debuted in 2018 as a Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant, located just south of Dupont Circle. In 2020, however, with COVID raging and restaurants facing a sea of uncertainty, co-founders Nick Wiseman and Ronen Tenne decided it was time to take their beloved hummus to grocery stores across the country.

By July of 2021, Little Sesame’s colorful containers had rolled out nationwide at Whole Foods Market. Since then, Little Sesame has also added Erewhon, Giant, Sprouts, and Wegmans. They’ve also collaborated with a number of other emerging brands like Fly By Jing, Vista Hermosa, and Sweetgreen. 

What sets Little Sesame apart from its larger competitors isn’t just its sophisticated packaging. One key differentiator is that Little Sesame proudly manufactures its own products at a facility in Forestville, Maryland. While owning one’s manufacturing can often be an OPEX nightmare — see Oatly, BioSteel, and Theo’s Chocolate — it also offers brands like Little Sesame greater control over quality and, in certain instances, more opportunities to innovate.

Another differentiator is the interesting sourcing story that Little Sesame tells. The company works directly with organic chickpea farmers and has spent considerable resources building out this supply chain. Their sourcing story is so compelling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded Little Sesame with a $2.2M grant in April to continue developing its business and supporting organic chickpea farmers. 

In addition to the variables mentioned above, another reason to be particularly excited about Little Sesame’s prospects is the category tailwinds. The dips category currently has a retail value of over $5.6B and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% through 2028. Similarly, the U.S. hummus market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% through 2031. 

Given their strong brand, manufacturing chops, and the overall growth in the category, Little Sesame is poised to become a major player.

Bex Builds Iconic Brands 🔥

BexBrands is an award-winning design studio that specializes in brand identity and packaging design for enduring consumer brands.

Bex takes a strategy-based approach to ensure that brands connect with their target audience and stand the test of time.

Since launching in 2010, Bex has worked with Barnana, Kopari Beauty, Lily’s Sweets, Suja Juice, Once Upon a Farm, and many other brands.

Interested in working together? DM us here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Our Home, an independent better-for-you snack company, is acquiring iconic popcorn brand Pop Secret from The Campbell Soup Company for an undisclosed sum. Pop Secret, which General Mills launched in 1986, generated net sales of $120M in fiscal 2024. Our Home has been an active buyer lately. Their recent acquisitions include Sonoma Creamery and multiple brands and manufacturing facilities from Utz. Business Wire

• Royal Eagle Fund acquired a minority stake in Doheny Road Spirits, the owner of luxury tequila brand Rodeo De La Aguas Tequila. The Royal Eagle Fund is operated by Rodeo Drive Capital and invests exclusively in the premium & artisanal tequila segment. PR Web

Fundraising

• MyMuse, a better-for-you beverage brand that Lance Collins launched in 2020, raised $1.1M in fresh equity funding from undisclosed investors. MyMuse is best known for its soda line which recently released a collaboration with TikTok star Dixie D’Amelio. I was also shocked to discover that Hans-Peter Wild, the octogenarian and billionaire owner of Capri-Sun, is actively involved with MyMuse. SEC

• Tenayo Foods, a Boulder-based purveyor of Mexican sauces, secured just over $1.8M in debt financing. SEC

• Zilks, an Austin-based producer of cheese, pesto, and artichoke dips, raised nearly $1.3M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. Their dips are clean label and retail at Whole Foods Market. SEC

• All Real Nutrition, an Irish producer of clean protein bars, raised €2M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The Kerry-based company plans to create 50 new jobs as it expands its operations. Irish Examiner

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• 35-year-old supplement brand Designs for Health is expanding into the beauty category with Designs for Beauty. The range features 11 oral & topical products. Beauty Independent

• Origins, the natural skincare brand that Estee Lauder launched over three decades ago, released a new line called Youthtopia in a bid to attract younger consumers. The new packaging looks quite good. Glossy

• Valerie, a perimenopausal wellness brand, launched an 11-active ingredient wellness shot that’s intended to combat menopause symptoms. The Industry

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Quest Nutrition is venturing into the bakery category for the first time with a new line of brownies and muffins. The new line, dubbed Quest Bake Shop, is available at retailers like Target and Walmart. Quest, which is owned by Simply Good Foods, has a whopping $768M in TTM net sales. PR Newswire

• Speaking of nutrition…David is launching their protein bar line on September 16th. They also just announced that they’re giving away 20,000 protein bars. Instagram

• McIlhenny Company, the makers of TABASCO, launched a Mexican-style hot sauce called TABASCO Salsa Picante. It’s a good-looking product. They retained some classic design elements but incorporated some modern flair. The squeeze bottle is a nice touch, too. Business Wire

• BFY donut brand Drumroll released their newest product — Strawberry Glazed Donuts. Instagram

• LA-based tea brand Flowerhead Tea is opening a tea house/retail store in Eagle Rock later this year. Flowers Finest will open in under a month per Instagram. Flowerhead Tea

• Cannabis-infused spirits brand Nowadays launched a range of RTD cocktails. Four flavors are available: Original, Spicy Lime, Citrus, and Berry. PR Newswire

• C4 Energy launched four licensed flavors with Jolly Rancher. The flavors leaked on Reddit and folks in the industry are not happy…Twitter

Data 🖥️

• Bloom Nutrition sold a whopping one million energy drinks during its first month on the market. Their killer endcaps and 3 for $7 deal at Target certainly helped. Stack3d

Distribution News 🚚

• Laoban secured distribution at select Walmart stores.

• Laurel’s launched their A2 dairy lattes at Erewhon.

• TiDBiTS Candy launched at Costco in Southern & Northern CA.

• Haus Labs by Lady Gaga launched at Sephora at Kohl’s.

• Bon Bee Honey launched their nutrition bars at Sprouts.

• Fragrance brand KAYALI expanded its distribution at Boots in the UK.