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  • Tito's Acquires LALO, Heineken Bets on Central America 🍺

Tito's Acquires LALO, Heineken Bets on Central America 🍺

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CPG WIRE
September 25, 2025

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

  • NestlĂ© reviews VMS portfolio đź’Š

  • Eutopia backs Insentials đź’¶

  • GrĂĽns expands lineup 🍊

  • Ben Stiller launches soda brand 🥤

  • LMNT slims down đź’§

Deals đź’°

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Tito’s Handmade Vodka has acquired a majority stake in LALO Tequila, one of the fastest-growing premium spirits brands in the United States. LALO Tequila, which made its debut in 2020, more than doubled in size last year as the company shipped 155K cases. For context, when Diageo purchased Casamigos for $1B in 2017, Casamigos was on track to hit 170K cases by end of year. LALO has a reputation for producing high-quality blanco tequilas with only three simple ingredients, making it a strong cultural fit for Tito’s Handmade Vodka. This is Tito’s first acquisition in its nearly 30-year history. PR Newswire

  • NestlĂ© has reportedly tapped Morgan Stanley for a strategic review of its vitamin portfolio. A number of value and non-core brands like Nature’s Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex, and Puritan’s Pride could be sold as the Swiss CPG giant refocuses on premium brands and categories like women’s health. Bloomberg

  • Dutch brewer Heineken is paying $3.2B in cash to acquire the beverage and retail businesses of FIFCO, a Central American food & beverage firm. Assets included in the transaction are Imperial, a century-old beer brand, along with a portfolio of soft drink brands and a PepsiCo bottling license. With beer sales slowing in America and Europe, Central and South America are increasingly attractive targets for multinational brewers. GlobeNewswire

Fundraising

  • Belgian wellness brand Insentials secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Eutopia, a French investment firm, and FG Bros, a family office. Insentials launched in 2021 and offers a variety of supplements for liver health, digestive health, weight loss, fertility, etc. Annual sales are north of $10M and the company will use the funding to expand into new markets and launch new products. BeautyMatter

  • 888 Midas, an investment firm co-founded by Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams, invested in Fruitist, a producer and seller of jumbo blueberries. Fruitist launched in 2012 and already surpassed $400M in annual sales. Business Wire

  • Ethel’s Baking Company, a Michigan-based producer of gluten-free dessert bars, raised $3.6M in fresh equity funding from undisclosed investors on September 23rd. SEC

On October 8th, Shine a Light on the Year’s Best Innovation in CPG 🗓️

Highlight’s second annual virtual summit, Showcase, is back and better than ever. Join from anywhere in the world to hear:

  • Consumer insights professionals discuss the power of protein

  • How to crack the code on baby products parents love and trust

  • Year-over-year research predicting consumer spending this holiday season

…and much more! Tune in on Wednesday, October 8 at 1pm ET / 10am PT for an afternoon of in-depth learning sessions for Consumer Insights, R&D, and Brand Marketing professionals across the CPG and retail spaces.

Visit the registration page to learn more and secure your spot.

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • GrĂĽns continues to tackle new problems. Their latest product is called ImmĂĽn which is a line of immunity support gummies. The product is formulated with 1000mg of vitamin C along with other active ingredients like elderberry, zinc, turmeric, and ginger root. ImmĂĽn

  • Victoria’s Secret entered the home fragrance category with a range of candles, air fresheners, room sprays, and diffuser reeds. The collection showcases nine different scents and they really cooked with the branding and packaging. WWD

  • Yes Day, a Gen Alpha skincare brand co-founded by 13-year-old Coco Granderson and Rhode formulator Ron Robinson, is officially launching on October 1st. The packaging is phenomenal. Yes Day will launch with four products. Yes Day

  • Our Place collaborated with Molly Baz and Crocs on a limited-edition cookware collection. The collection features a variety of cookware staples in butter yellow. Our Place 

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Ben Stiller and Alexander Doman, the co-founder of beverage brand AVEC, officially launched Stiller’s Soda, a new player in the better-for-you soda category. Instead of releasing a functional soda packed with prebiotics or adaptogens, Stiller’s Soda is positioned as a classic soda albeit without artificial ingredients and tons of sugar. Three flavors are available — Lemon Lime, Shirley Temple, and Root Beer — and each can contains 30 calories and only 7g of sugar. Investors in Stiller’s Soda include Max Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Good Friends, and a handful of others. Stiller’s Soda

  • Freestyle Snacks expanded beyond ready-to-eat olives with a new line of pickle snacks. Three SKUs are available now at Whole Foods Market. The branding is strong. I never thought pickles and olives would make great on-the-go snacks, but Freestyle has identified a promising niche. Instagram

  • LMNT launched a slimmed down and slightly reformulated version of its RTD range. The 12 oz slim cans contain 500mg of sodium, 100mg of potassium, and 30mg of magnesium. Four flavors are available now at key retailers like Target. They look pretty slick, too 👇 Twitter

  • Tandy, the functional candy play from serial entrepreneur Eric Ryan, collaborated with Bloom on sour energy gummies. Each bag contains 50mg of caffeine, 110 calories, and 9g of sugar. Available exclusively at Target. Twitter

  • Zac’s Sweet Shop launched a new Dessert Cereal line. Two flavors are available: Cake Batter Crunch and Cookie Butter & Cream. Instagram

  • Non-alc aperitif brand Ghia just unveiled their newest product: Le Spritz Blood Orange. The can is an absolute beauty. Instagram

  • Salty snack firm Utz Brands (NYSE: UTZ) plans on eliminating artificial flavors and colors by the end of 2027. 80% of Utz products are already free from these ingredients but they’re now finishing the job. Business Wire

  • Wet Hydration expanded beyond electrolytes with a new line of protein waters. Each can contains 10g of protein and one flavor, Strawberry Kiwi, is currently available. GlobeNewswire

  • UK-based Lost Sheep Coffee launched an espresso concentrate line for at-home use. Sign us up. Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • Keurig Dr Pepper’s carbonated soft drink volume dropped 1.6% during the 4-week period ending on September 6th. KDP’s low & no calorie CSD volume jumped 5.6%, however. Yet another reason for KDP to make a move on Cove Soda or perhaps OLIPOP. Twitter

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