Sourse Scores Funding, Gallo Strikes Again 🍸

Author

CPG WIRE
May 02, 2023

GM and Happy Tuesday, folks. Yesterday wasn’t the most scintillating news day in CPG history, but we still have some interesting headlines to dive into. Here’s what’s on the docket:

  • Sourse closes seed round 💊

  • Gallo buys Fishers Island 🍹

  • Omsom drops noodles 🍜

  • Emma Watson launches a gin 🍸

  • Bachan’s heads to Walmart 📈

  • immi debuts new flavor 🌶️

The Big Story 📰

Sourse — the colorfully packaged, vitamin-infused chocolate brand from San Francisco — added to its war chest by closing a $2.4m seed round. In addition to their pre-seed funding, Sourse has now raised a total of $4m.

Though originally founded by Jenne Moore and Andrew Remlinger in 2020, the wellness brand added a third co-founder, actress Sarah Hyland, in October of 2021. Since then, the brand has been growing fast.

In year one Sourse generated nearly $2m in revenue and the following year they reportedly exceeded $8m. Sourse also graduated from pure-play DTC brand to an omnichannel one. Their retail partners now include Foxtrot Market, Whole Foods Market, and most recently and perhaps most prestigiously, Sephora.

Sourse will use the proceeds from their seed round to expand their retail footprint, develop new products, and grow their team. Investors in this round include influencers like Nicole Cogan and Sanne Vloet, as well as institutional players like New Theory Ventures, H Ventures, JAWS Ventures, and others.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Spirit of Gallo, the spirits division of E. & J. Gallo Winery, acquired Fishers Island Lemonade, a RTD lemonade cocktail brand from Fishers Island, NY. The brand was founded in 2014 by Bronya Shillo. Spirit of Gallo has been on a buying spree lately. In addition to their outright acquisition of Fishers Island Lemonade, Spirit of Gallo also acquired minority stakes in Komos Tequila and Horse Soldier Bourbon. They’re now a top 5 spirits supplier in the U.S. PRNewswire

Fundraising

  • French dairy giant Danone has invested in ImaginDairy, an Israeli startup that produces animal-free dairy products via precision fermentation. Danone made the move via its venture arm, Danone Manifesto Ventures, and this is their first move into the animal-free dairy category. AgFunder

  • As mentioned above, Sourse landed $2.4m in seed funding. Glossy

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • A Finnish startup, Montinutra, is converting forest waste into sustainable personal care ingredients. So cool. Tech.eu

  • Ritual, the supplement brand focused on transparency & ingredient traceability, introduced its first skincare supplement, HyaCera. WWD

  • Glow Hub, a UK-based skincare brand that launched in 2020, announced a brand refresh. The refreshed packaging looks good but it also looks like a mashup of three very popular skincare brands. The Industry

  • HatchBeauty Brands, the Los Angeles-based beauty & wellness incubator that launched 14 years ago, is now HatchBeauty Collective. Beauty Independent

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Actress and activist Emma Watson launched Renais Gin alongside her brother, Alex Watson. Renais is carbon-neutral and inspired by the people, produce, and provenance of Burgundy, France. The bottle is stellar. VinePair

  • Three Fort Worth, TX entrepreneurs partnered on La Pulga Tequila, an additive-free, artisanal tequila brand. The founders are restauranteur Sarah Castillo, club owner Andrew De La Torre, and real estate developer Stephen Slaughter. Love it. PRNewswire

  • Better-for-you ramen brand immi unveiled its latest flavor — Spicy Red Miso. Each serving of Spicy Red Miso has 21g of protein and only 6g net carbs. Instagram

  • Omsom, the Asian sauce brand that launched at Target earlier this year, introduced its newest line of products — Saucy Noodles. As of now they have four flavors: Chili Sesame, Soy Garlic, Coconut Lemongrass Curry, and Garlic Black Pepper. They sound incredible. NOSH

  • Better-for-you snack brand Partake Foods launched Classic Graham Crackers. They are vegan, gluten-free, and made without the top 9 allergens. Instagram

  • Popular infant formula brand Bobbie launched its second product — Bobbie Organic Gentle. The product is certified organic by both the USDA and EU and is free of palm oil, corn syrup, and maltodextrin. Business Wire

  • Funday Natural Sweets, a low sugar gummies brand from Australian, introduced a fun new product, Sour Cola Bottles. Such a fun brand. Funday

  • Barcode, the sports hydration brand co-founded by Kyle Kuzma of the Washington Wizards, announced a new flavor — Malibu Punch. Their minimalist packaging is kinda growing on me. Instagram

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Data 🖥️

  • Energy drink challenger brands are still growing fast. Celsius volume was up 110% while C4 Energy volume increased 53.6% for the four weeks ending on April 8th. Twitter

Distribution News 🚚

  • Athletic Brewing is now available on JetBlue flights.

  • Bachan’s launched at 4,000 Walmart stores.

  • Space Tea launched nationwide at The Vitamin Shoppe.

  • ZOA Energy expanded its retail presence in Canada. The brand is now available at Circle K and Couche-Tard.