Unilever Backs Indian Skincare Brand, Bloom Launches RTDs 🫧

CPG WIRE
July 20, 2024

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

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions

UK-based skincare brand Faace is looking for a buyer. The brand launched in 2019 and retails at Harrods and QVC. The Industry
Irish spirits producer West Cork Distillers acquired Donohoe Drinks, a Waterford-based contract blender and bottler. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Just Drinks

Fundraising

Unilever Ventures led a $1.5M seed investment in SkinInspired, a luxury skincare brand that’s based in India. A number of angel investors also participated in the round. Unilever is bullish on emerging brands in India. In addition to SkinInspired, Unilever has also backed Wishcare and What’s Up Wellness. Entrepreneur
Bioniq, a London-based personalized supplements startup, secured $15M in Series B funding. The round was co-led by HV Capital and Unbound. Bioniq uses a quiz to determine which vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants consumers are missing then creates a tailor-made solution. Nutra Ingredients
Craftmix, a purveyor of instant cocktail & mocktail mixes, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Branch Venture Group. The brand is based in Los Angeles was founded by Jake Tannenbaum in 2019. Craftmix retails at Sprouts, Walmart, and hundreds of independent stores. Branch Venture Group
Jones Soda increased the size of its private placement from $4M to $5M. The craft soda company will use the funds to support growth. PR Newswire

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Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

Burt’s Bees enlisted branding agency Tavern to create a retro merchandise collection to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The collection is stunning, particularly the tote bag. Tavern
Crocs collaborated with luxury running brand Satisfy on yet another footwear collection. This is their third collaboration thus far. Love both brands but not crazy about any of these collabs. Sole Retriever
Vital Proteins launched two new products: Hair Complex and Skin Complex. Nestlé Health Science acquired a majority stake in Vital Proteins in 2020. PR Newswire
Rabanne (owned by Puig) launched an eight-piece luxury fragrance range. The line is available exclusively at Selfridges. Business of Fashion
Lemme unveiled a new energy supplement called Lemme Wake Up. Two gummies equals the caffeine equivalent of a cup of coffee. The new product launches on Tuesday. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

Bloom Nutrition, one of the fastest growing supplement brands of the past decade, launched a new range of energy drinks called Bloom Sparkling Energy. The new line is available in four flavors and retails exclusively at Target. Nutrabolt, the owner of C4 Energy, acquired a 20% stake in Bloom earlier this year, so this move isn’t a major surprise. They nailed the packaging too 👇PR Newswire

Speaking of energy drinks…Canadian coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons launched an energy drink line that’s available exclusively at their stores. Stack3d
Boston-based The Alpine Restaurant Group launched a new tortilla chip brand called El Nacho. It’s a crowded category but their loud packaging will win some eyeballs. The line is currently available at Fresh Thyme. NOSH
Zero Acre Farms is having a big summer. The sustainable cooking oil brand collaborated with Happier Grocer on an Everything Herb Oil and their products are being used at restaurants like WEST 10 WEST, Saint Theo’s, and CHLOE. Instagram
UK-based luxury chocolate brand Love Cocoa is opening its first-ever retail store. Love Cocoa raised £4.25M last year and was founded in 2016 by Cadbury scion James Cadbury. Confectionery Production

Surfside Cocktail is on a heater. The purveyor of spiked teas & lemonades grew 860% in terms of dollars. For context, High Noon grew 17%. Twitter

DEUX launched their BFY donuts at Target.
221 B.C. Kombucha secured distribution at Publix.
Gin & Juice, the RTD cocktail brand founded by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, launched in the UK.