This Week in CPG - Dr Disrespect Launches a Bourbon

Welcome back to This Week in CPG! It's been a bit of a slow week given the forthcoming holiday, so today's newsletter is slightly abridged. There's still plenty of exciting stuff to cover, though. 

Also just a friendly reminder that there will NOT be Saturday edition this week. We'll return to our regularly scheduled programming after the holiday. 

The Big Story 

Dr Disrespect — the boisterous, well-known, and enormously tall gamer/streamer — entered the spirits biz with the launch of Black Steel Bourbon, a premium Kentucky bourbon brand. Link

Beyond the great-looking bottle and slick website, the liquid is apparently quite good too. Dr Disrespect partnered with Marianne Eaves, an award-winning Master Distiller who cut her teeth at Castle & Key Distillery, to bring Black Steel Bourbon to market. 

Black Steel seems to have been a hit among Dr Disrespect's 3.5m followers across Twitter & Instagram as they quickly sold out. 

For those interested, the branding & packaging for Black Steel Bourbon was done by H+S Labs, a subsidiary of design firm Harper+Scott. 

Deals

• Julienne Bruno — a London-based producer of dairy-free cheeses — secured £5m in funding. Cherry Ventures led the round while Outsized Ventures and Seedcamp also participated. The company was founded by Axel Katalan in 2020. Link

•  Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings invested $70m in Bira 91, a popular Indian craft brewer. Kirin previously invested $30m in Bira 91 last year. Link

• Brunello Cucinelli announced a 10-year licensing agreement with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. Link

• Influencer Brooklyn Beckham invested in WeSake, a New York-based premium sake brand. Beckham was also named partner and co-founder. Link 

• Custom jewelry startup Wove raised $3.85m in seed funding led by Springdale Ventures. The company was co-founded by two former Army Rangers, Brian Elliot & Andrew Wolgemuth. Other investors include Outlander VC, Rarebreed VC, and Context Ventures. Link

• London-based Here We Flo — a period care & sexual wellness brand — secured £1.7m in funding from a number of angel investors. The company was founded by Susan Allen and Tara Chandra in 2017. Link

• Kiwi biotech startup Opo Bio came out of stealth with NZ$1.5m in seed funding led by Matu. Opo Bio's goal is to become a key provider of cultivated cow cells for commercial cultivated meat producers. Link

What's New...

• PRIME, the hydration beverage brand founded by Logan Paul and KSI, will reportedly enter the crowded energy drink market early next year. Their hydration line generated a whopping $37.6m in revenue during its first year. The energy drink is teased in an Instagram post here.

• Kitchenware brand Our Place opened a beautiful store & cafe in Venice Beach. Link

• Feastables, the chocolate brand from YouTube sensation MrBeast, launched its own version of the iconic Crunch Bar. Link

• Beauty giant L'Oreal did something a little different and launched its first skincare brand via joint venture. The brand, SHIHYO, was launched in conjunction with luxury South Korean hospitality firm Hotel Shilla and private equity group Anchor Equity Partners. Link

• A great-looking new soda and natural syrups brand from Australia, Comet. Love the labels. Link

• LA-based skincare brand Topicals unveiled its latest product, Faded Under Eye Masks. Link

• A new mixers brand from Austin, TX – Lady Bird Mixer Co. Their custom bottle is pretty beautiful. A great (and expensive) way to stand out amongst one's competitors. Link 

Since there's no Saturday edition this week, we'll see you again next Wednesday! 

Robbie @ CPG Wire