Siete Acquired For $1.2B, LVMH Bets on Non-Alc Wine 🥂

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. It’s been a crazy week in CPG Land so we have lots of great stuff to cover. Let’s dive in:

• Perelel buys LOOM 💊

• Mondelez backs BFY donut brand 🍩

• Grown Alchemist heads to London 📈

• Mezcla unveils packaging refresh 😍

• OLIPOP x Starbucks 🫧

Shout-out to Hummingbirds for making it so much easier to partner with hyperlocal creators and influencers.

Siete Acquired For $1.2B 💰

PepsiCo has made its largest acquisition in four years. The soda and snacks giant is shelling out $1.2B to acquire Siete Foods, an Austin-based purveyor of healthier Mexican-American pantry staples. 

Siete Foods got its start in 2014 when Veronica Garza began making grain-free tortillas with almond and cassava flour. Garza’s parents and four siblings joined the enterprise soon thereafter, while one of her brothers, Miguel Garza, took on the role of CEO. 

After their grain-free tortillas became a hit at Whole Foods Market, Siete leveraged its better-for-you brand equity to launch tortilla chips, cookies, dips, taco shells, beans, seasonings, and hot sauces. In short, Siete shifted from being a seller of grain-free tortillas to being a Mexican-American food platform. Today, Siete boasts over 60 SKUs, over 35,000 retailers, and will exceed $500M in annual revenue by the end of 2024. 

Per PitchBook, Siete’s investors include Stripes, AF Ventures, Bee Cave Capital, Chaucer Global, and SKU. Surprisingly, Siete didn’t raise a ton of money until 2019 when they secured $90M in growth equity funding from Stripes. 

The biggest beneficiaries of the Siete acquisition, besides the Garza family and Stripes, of course, are the CPG ecosystem and emerging food platforms. 

The CPG ecosystem benefits because venture dollars typically follow these large exits. When LPs are emboldened by a large exit in a particular space, capital is more abundant for venture funds, and that in turn makes capital more accessible for founders. Expect growth stage CPG investing to pick up considerably. 

Food platforms are also likely to benefit from this exit. In addition to Siete being acquired for $1.2B, The Campbell’s Company acquired Sovos Brands for $2.7B late last year. Sovos Brands is best known for owning Rao’s Homemade, an Italian food platform that will surpass $1B in annual sales in the near future. 

With Siete and Sovos Brands delivering 10-figure exits over the past 13 months, expect food platforms in other categories to garner a lot of attention from growth investors. Brands like Fly By Jing, Momofuku Goods, SOMOS, Afia, and a handful of others ought to benefit.

More on the transaction here.

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• LVMH acquired a minority stake in French Bloom, a market leading purveyor of alcohol-free sparkling wine. French Bloom was founded by Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski, along with Maggie's husband, Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger. The non-alc space has been hot lately. Last week, Diageo acquired Ritual Zero Proof, and in August, Pernod Ricard acquired a minority stake in Almave. PR Newswire

• Women’s wellness brand Perelel has acquired LOOM, an educational community for women that’s focused on reproductive health, sexual wellness, and parenting education. Loom, co-founded by doula and health educator Erica Chidi, was reportedly valued at $20M. Perelel was founded in 2018 and is best known for its prenatal and postnatal vitamins. WWD

• Once Again, a purveyor of organic nut butters and snacks, has acquired Big Tree Organic Farms, a California-based almond grower and producer of almond-based products. Food Business News

Fundraising

• Mondelez invested in Urban Legend, a UK-based purveyor of better-for-you donuts. Urban Legend produces air fried donuts that contain considerably less sugar, fat, and calories than traditionally made donuts. The brand retails at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Moto. Food Dive

• Foreverland, an Italian producer of carob-based chocolate alternatives, secured €3.4M in seed funding. Investors include Grey Silo Ventures, Eatable Adventure, and a number of strategic players in the food industry. Foreverland will use the funding to open its first manufacturing facility in Puglia. FoodBev

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Skincare brand Experiment launched a stunning new product called Plasma Wash. The moisture depositing gel cream cleanser is clinically proven to hydrate and restore the skin barrier. Instagram

• Clean skincare brand Evereden launched a range of products for teenagers. The new collection includes a cleanser, toner pads, and a moisturizer. Evereden raised $32M in 2021 and retails at Sephora. Beauty Independent

• Lalo added a variety of new products to its Playtime Collection. New items include a work bench, a play fridge, and a handful of others. Lalo rarely misses. Modern Retail

• Fragrance brand Snif expanded its laundry scents collection with three new products: The Spice Break, Old Saint Wick, and Tart Deco. The packaging is brilliant IMO. Instagram

• Australian skincare brand Grown Alchemist is opening a flagship store in London next month. This will be their first store outside of Australia. Happi

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Plant-based protein bar brand Mezcla unveiled a sleek packaging refresh. IMO this is a vast improvement. Mezcla’s biggest differentiator is their unique flavors and that’s finally front and center on the packaging. They also elevated their calorie & protein callouts which is helpful for consumers 👇 Instagram

• Mark Anthony Brands (the owner of White Claw) continues its push into spirits with the launch of Cloud House, a coffee-infused rum brand. It’s a great-looking bottle. Also anything rum or any kind of coffee-infused spirit is hot right now. Bar Magazine

• Luxury baked goods brand Lexington Bakes released a number of seasonal collabs with Equator Coffee, French Squirrel, Raaka Chocolate, and Seed+Mill. The Snickerdoodle Tahini Sugar Cookie sounds pretty incredible. NOSH

• Espolòn Tequila released a limited edition Reposado tequila that’s infused with marigold extract. Dubbed Flor de Oro, the new product is inspired by Día de los Muertos. PR Newswire 

• Uncle Nearest launched a lower-proof whiskey called Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey. The 42% ABV whiskey is priced at $30 and is seen as an entry-level whiskey for consumers who don’t want to spend $50 on a bottle. The Spirits Business

• AUGE Design put together a pretty stunning label for the Heinz x Inter Milan limited edition collab. AUGE has been on a heater lately. Instagram

Data 🖥️

• With quarterly sales of Dockers down 15%, Levi’s is open to selling the brand. WSJ

Distribution News 🚚

• Algae Cooking Club launched nationwide at Sprouts.

• OLIPOP is now available nationwide at Starbucks.

• Whipnotic launched at Fresh Thyme.

• PRETZELIZED is now available at Publix.

• Ketone energy drink brand KEY launched at Sprouts.