Silas Capital Backs DAMDAM, More Egg M&A 🥚

Author

CPG WIRE
January 30, 2025

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

  • Pinhook Bourbon grabs $10.5M 🥃

  • LivPur secures fresh funding 🏌️‍♂️

  • Rotten expands product lineup 👀

  • BRĒZ finishes 2024 with $28M 📈

  • Lucky Saint x British Airways ✈️

More Egg M&A 🥚

Pete & Gerry’s Organics, a major player in the premium egg category and a Butterfly Equity portfolio company, is expanding its business by acquiring Farmers Hen House, an Iowa-based producer of certified humane eggs.

By acquiring Farmers Hen House, Pete & Gerry’s adds more than 90 partner family farms to its network, bringing its total count to nearly 300; as well as an additional processing facility in Iowa. 

One key advantage of partnering with distributed family farms is the decreased likelihood of supply disruption due to avian influenza. This is a luxury not afforded to factory farms, and a key reason why the price of Kroger private label eggs has surged.

The union of Farmers Hen House and Pete & Gerry’s brings together two leading premium egg producers. The combined company also boasts a diverse product portfolio, including organic, pasture-raised, and free-range eggs. 

The demand for premium eggs has skyrocketed lately, largely due to ethical concerns but also due to the superior taste and nutritional profile of ethically-produced eggs. The biggest beneficiary of this shift has been Vital Farms, whose market cap has jumped to nearly $2B, or roughly 40x earnings. 

With Pete & Gerry’s, Nellie’s Free Range, and Farmers Hen House under one roof, Butterfly Equity is poised to build a viable threat to Vital Farms.

Earlier this week, JBS acquired a controlling interest in Mantiqueira Alimentos, one of the largest egg producers in South America.

More on the transaction here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Hong Kong-based investment firm Blue Pool Capital acquired a 12% stake in Golden Goose, the popular Italian footwear and apparel brand. Permira acquired a majority stake in Golden Goose in 2020 and will retain majority ownership. Blue Pool Capital is the family office of Joe Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba and the owner of the Brooklyn Nets. Retail Insight Network

  • LVMH sold its minority stake in Stella McCartney back to its eponymous founder. LVMH is using the global luxury downturn to clean up its portfolio and prepare for its next phase of growth/acquisitions. Yahoo Finance

Fundraising

  • Japanese skincare brand DAMDAM secured $3M in a seed funding round led by Silas Capital. The Tokyo-based company launched in 2019 and recently rolled out at Sephora in the U.S. Silas Capital has an impressive beauty portfolio. Past and present investments include ILIA, Vacation, Makeup by Mario, and Function of Beauty. Business of Fashion

  • Pinhook Bourbon raised $10.5M in fresh equity funding from a number of family offices and private equity firms. Spirits veteran John Scarborough also took the helm as CEO. Scarborough previously served as the President of Deep Eddy Vodka and the CEO of Ranch Rider Spirits. Fred Minnick

  • Performance nutrition brand LivPur secured $1.5M in new equity funding from undisclosed investors. The Pennsylvania-based company sells hydration and energy supplements to golf enthusiasts. Jordan Speith and a number of well-known golfers are involved with the brand. SEC

  • Swedish non-alcoholic wine brand Oddbird announced an undisclosed amount of funding from Red Swan Consumer, Wasson Enterprise, Andas, and a number of strategic angel investors. Oddbird also made its U.S. debut. PR Newswire

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Metacine, the clinical skincare brand founded by Dr. Jason Diamond, is launching its third product — InstaFacial Infusion. The new serum will retail for $325. WWD

  • Leading women’s wellness brand O Positiv launched a new 3-in-1 daily probiotic called URO Whole Body Probiotic. The new SKU is available exclusively via their website. PR Newswire

  • HNY+ is a newish wellness brand whose hero ingredient is 100% raw, organic honey. The company infuses its honey products with caffeine and electrolytes. Lately I’ve noticed a lot of fitness-minded friends and influencers adding honey to their wellness regimen. Stack3d

  • Luxury menswear brand Represent is preparing to debut its first womenswear collection. Founded in Manchester in 2014, Represent reportedly surpassed £100M in revenue last year. Vogue Business

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Better-for-you candy brand Rotten launched a new product line called Gummy Cruncheez. The new product comes in two flavors, Original and Sour, and is available on Amazon and via their website. It’s basically a BFY version of the very popular Nerds Gummy Clusters product. Instagram

  • Fishwife is celebrating Valentine’s Day by launching a clever new product — Dark Chocolate Sardines — and the packaging is spectacular. Twitter

  • UK-based ELEAT expanded beyond high-protein cereal and granola with a new high-protein overnight oats line. Two flavors are available: Apple Cinnamon and Dark Chocolate. Each serving contains 20g of protein. Stack3d

  • FULFIL Nutrition launched a protein bites line and a co-branded protein bar featuring Reese’s Peanut Butter. Using legacy confectionery IP to sell protein bars seems to be working pretty well. PR Newswire

  • After 28 years in business, tinned fish company BELA unveiled a refreshed brand identity. PR Newswire

  • Owl’s Brew teamed up with Chelsea Handler to launch a range of RTD vodka lemonades. Three flavors are available: Classic Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, and Mint Lemonade. Owl’s Brew and Handler are a perfect match. Instagram

  • New Orleans-based cannabis seltzer brand Louie Louie unveiled their newest flavor, Hibiscus Cherry. Put that can in the Louvre. Instagram

  • Siete expanded its corn tortilla chip range with two new flavors: Dairy Free Mexican Street Corn and Taco Seasoning. Siete is also now an official jersey sponsor of Austin FC. Instagram

  • Mezcal brand Ojo de Tigre launched a quirky new product called Crema de Mezcal. Imagine if mezcal and Bailey’s Irish Cream had a baby. Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • Functional beverage brand BRĒZ did a whopping $28M in revenue last year. The brand only launched in 2023 so this is a particularly impressive feat. Twitter

  • John B. Sanfilippo & Son — the owner of snack brands like Fisher Nuts, Orchard Valley Harvest, and Just The Cheese — posted decent Q2 results. Net sales increased $9.8M, or 3.4%, to just over $301M. Gross profit dipped 9.8% to $52.3M due to higher commodity costs and competitive pricing pressures. Business Wire

  • French spirits firm Rémy Cointreau continues to take a beating. For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Rémy reported sales of €787M, down -17.8% on an organic basis. Rémy’s biggest issue is declining cognac sales in the U.S. and APAC. The Spirits Business

  • Shockingly, Bang Energy is showing signs of life. For the four weeks through January 11th, Bang Energy volume jumped 16.3%. Twitter

Distribution News 🚚