• This Week in CPG
  • Posts
  • Sprecher Buys Juvee, Eurazeo Backs Fragrance Brand đź’°

Sprecher Buys Juvee, Eurazeo Backs Fragrance Brand đź’°

Author

CPG WIRE
January 20, 2024

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

  • MPearlRock buys Nutpods 🥛

  • Sanzo scores $5M đź’¦

  • New Belgium backs LA brand 🍻

  • Luna Bay refreshes packaging 🆕

  • Something new from Little Sesame 🍋

Shout-out to Barrel, the go-to web agency for brands like KIND Snacks, Dr.Jart+, Sweet Loren’s, Austin Eastciders, The Nue Co., and many others.

Sprecher Buys Juvee ⚡️

Juvee, the fast-growing energy drink brand that gaming organization 100 Thieves launched in 2022, is being acquired by Sprecher Brewing Company. 

Sprecher, which is a diversified beverage firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sells a variety of products but is best known for their award-winning craft sodas. Sprecher’s Root Beer and Cherry Cola are nationally recognized and considered best in class. Lately, Sprecher has been acquiring complimentary beverage brands to fill voids in their portfolio. Prior to buying Juvee, they purchased better-for-you lemonade brand Ooh La Lemin from Kona Gold Beverage.

The acquisition stands to benefit both parties. 

For Sprecher, they get a fast-growing brand in a fast-growing category. They also fill a void in their portfolio — thus far they’ve had zero exposure to the energy drink category. 

For Juvee, they get a seasoned beverage manufacturer with considerable distribution capabilities. Sprecher distributes to over 25,000 stores in 49 states, so Juvee distribution is poised to explode. 

Juvee’s current employees will become part of the Sprecher team, while Sam Keene, the co-founder and CEO of Juvee, will become Sprecher’s Chief Marketing Officer.

More on the acquisition here.

The Go-To Web Agency for CPG Brands đź‘‡

Barrel helps consumer brands design and develop impactful web experiences.

Since 2006, we’ve helped build digital experiences for well-known brands like KIND Snacks, Dr.Jart+, Sweet Loren’s, Austin Eastciders, The Nue Co., and many others. We’re also Shopify Plus Partners.

If you’re interested in taking your web experience to the next level, contact us here. We’d love to hear from you.

Deals đź’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Private equity firm Eurazeo acquired a minority stake in Ex Nihilo, a French fragrance brand that launched in 2013. Ex Nihilo sells over 50 fragrances and generates around $60M in annual revenue. The fragrance category has been hot with a number of 9 to 10 figure acquisitions and emerging brands raising funding. WWD

  • Nutpods, a plant-based creamer brand that launched in 2013, is being acquired by MPearlRock. MPearlRock, which is a partnership between private equity firms PearlRock Partners and MidOcean Partners, is backed by Kroger. Nutpods is the #2 brand in the non-dairy creamer category. Business Wire

Fundraising

  • Asian-inspired sparkling water brand Sanzo raised an additional $5M in funding. In 2022, the company secured $10M in Series A funding from the likes of CircleUp Growth Partners and Convivialite Ventures. BevNET

  • New Belgium has invested in Open Brewing, a Los Angeles-based producer of craft lagers. New Belgium contract brews for Open Brewing and will help with distribution. Brewbound

  • Eastside Golf, a black-owned golf lifestyle brand, secured $3.4M in seed funding. The round was led by EP Golf Ventures, a joint venture between PGA of America and Elysian Park Ventures. Sportico

  • Per a recent SEC filing, women’s personal care brand Athena Club raised an additional $33.5M in funding. Twitter

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Kim Kardashian is relaunching her makeup line on January 26th. The collection of lip liners, lipsticks, and eye shadow palette will be marketed as Skkn by Kim Makeup. WWD

  • Supplement brand BEAM has expanded into ingestible beauty with the launch of Natural Beauty. Instagram

  • Another masterful campaign from SKIMS featuring Lana Del Ray. The Industry

  • Creatine gummy brand Create launched its third flavor, Watermelon. Some interesting insights from founder Dan McCormick at the link. Twitter

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • TAVERN designed a stunning bottle and label for Please Don’t Tell’s RTD cocktails. Please Don’t Tell is an award-winning cocktail bar based in NYC ⬇️ The Dieline

  • Hard kombucha brand Luna Bay is celebrating the new year with a sleek brand refresh. Instagram

  • Rockstar, the energy drink brand that PepisCo acquired for $3.5B in 2020, has begun rolling out Rockstar Focus across the U.S. What a massive branding upgrade IMO. Stack3d

  • There’s a new RTD lemonade brand, Lyrical Lemonade, launching soon. Good-looking cans. Instagram

  • Mushroom chocolate brand Alice launched a new mushroom-infused aphrodisiac chocolate called Happy Ending. Their packaging is always great. Beauty Independent 

  • Hummus brand Little Sesame launched a new flavor — Preserved Lemon. Instagram

  • Daily Harvest unveiled their newest product line, popsicles. Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • Sales of PRIME Hydration surged 510% to $659.4M in 2023. Insane growth for PRIME. Twitter 

Distribution News đźšš