SEMCAP Buys Aloha Stake, Happy Launches RTDs ☕️

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

• Vitality Brands buys Essano 💄

• OSEA hires bankers 👀

• Allies of Skin scores $20M 💰

• Lionel Messi gets into hydration 💦

• Native Pet x Tractor Supply 🐶

SEMCAP Buys Aloha Stake 🌴

SEMCAP, a growth equity impact investor, acquired a significant minority stake in Aloha, a plant-based nutrition brand, for $68M. 

Founded in 2017 by Brad Charron — a former SVP of Marketing at Chobani and Board Director at Red’s All Natural — Aloha is a plant-based protein brand that sells bars, ready-to-drink beverages, and powders. 

Aloha is a Certified B Corp and their products are USDA Organic, Non-GMO Certified, and Fair Trade Certified. Additionally, their products are entirely free of dairy, stevia, soy, and gluten. 

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but from 2020 to 2023, Aloha achieved nearly 500% growth while achieving significant profitability and positive cash flow. The brand is also poised to maintain high double-digit growth throughout the course of this year and beyond.

SEMCAP was founded in 2020 by Buck Buckley and Cyrus Vandrevala and typically backs high-growth consumer brands with more than $25M in revenue and category-leading products.

More on the transaction here.

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Vitality Brands — the Australian firm that owns beauty brands Epzen and Tribe Skincare — has acquired Essano, a New Zealand-based producer of branded beauty products. The seller is Pencarrow Private Equity. Global Cosmetics News

• Clean skincare brand OSEA has hired investment bank Raymond James to explore its deal options. OSEA is backed by CAVU Consumer Partners and annual revenue is reportedly around $100M. WWD

Fundraising

• Singapore-based skincare brand Allies of Skin secured a $20M investment from Meaningful Partners. The brand was founded in 2016 and differentiates by offering “supercharged concentrations” of clinically proven active ingredients. Allies of Skin will use the funding to support its U.S. expansion. In January, Meaningful Partners backed adaptogenic wellness brand Om Mushroom Superfood. WWD

• French sustainable personal care brand 900.care raised €21M in funding from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, White Star Capital, SWEN Blue Ocean, and Founders Future. The company launched in 2019 and sells refillable personal care and home essentials products. Revenue for 2023 was $10.8M. TechCrunch

• Maternal nutrition startup Chiyo closed a $3M funding round. The round was led by Bread & Butter Ventures with additional participation from Ingeborg, Union Heritage Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Palette Ventures, and The Helm. PR Newswire

• Per Axios, Austin-based jewelry unicorn Kendra Scott is seeking fresh capital to fuel its expansion plans. Axios

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Sol de Janeiro launched its new Rio Radiance SPF 50 Sunscreen collection. Sofia Richie Grainge is the face of the new collection. Happi

• Etienne Ortega, the celebrity makeup artist behind Lana Del Rey and Christina Aguilera, today launched his own beauty brand, ORTEGA. The brand is inspired by Etienne’s signature lip contouring techniques and is formulated with ingredients from his native Mexico, including Blue Agave. Business of Fashion

• Liquid Death and e.l.f. Beauty collaborated on a heavy metal-inspired makeup collection called Corpse Paint. Such a great collab. WWD

• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has joined The Equity Studio, a new investment firm that will back beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands. Cosmetics Business

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Happy Coffee, the coffee brand co-founded by serial entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky and Robert Downey Jr., launched a new RTD line that includes three lattes and a cold brew. The new line is available at select Walmart stores. Instagram

• Star footballer Lionel Messi is partnering with Mark Anthony Brands, the owner of White Claw, to launch a new hydration brand this summer. Details are scarce but with Messi’s global profile and the distribution capabilities of Mark Anthony Brands, this should be an interesting one to watch. The press release is hilariously laconic. PR Newswire

• Muscle Milk (acquired by PepsiCo in 2019) launched a line of plant-based protein shakes and a global marketing campaign featuring Christian Pulisic, Julio Rodriguez, and Candace Parker. Beverage Industry

• Yasso, the BFY dessert brand that Unilever acquired last summer, expanded its frozen bar portfolio with three new fruit flavors: Strawberry Chocolate Crunch, Strawberries & Cream Bars, and Creamy Mango. Their products are fantastic. PR Newswire

• Tequila brand Superbird (owned by CKBG) officially launched its new line of RTD tequila cocktails with four flavors: Pink Grapefruit, Lime, Pineapple, and Black Cherry. The packaging is great IMO. Business Wire

Data 🖥️

• With glass and freight prices easing, mixers brand Fever-Tree is confident that it will double EBITDA this year. Just Drinks

• Carbonated soft drink volume continues to dip. Twitter 

Distribution News 🚚

• Native Pet launched at over 2,200 Tractor Supply stores.

• Hydration brand Clear Cut Hero launched at QuikTrip.

• Energy drink brand CELSIUS is expanding to Australia and New Zealand.

• KraveBeauty is launching at Sephora in Southeast Asia.

• Luxury skincare brand LALAIS launched at Bergdorf Goodman.