This Week in CPG - Saturday Edition

Author

CPG WIRE
October 08, 2022

Good Morning and welcome back to This Week in CPG. There's no column this morning but if you missed my post on Liquid Death from Wednesday, you can find it here.

Also, for investors & angel investors who read the newsletter, a female-founded hydration brand is closing out their Series A round. They expect sales for FY 2022 to hit $7m (150% YoY increase) and current retailers include Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Sprouts, and others. If you're interested, respond and I'll connect.

Let's dive into the headlines...

Deals

  • Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniels, Tequila Herradura, Fords Gin, and Woodford Reserve, acquired Diplomatica Rum, a super-premium rum brand sold in over 100 countries. Link

  • Artemis Domaines, billionaire Francois Pinault's wine business, merged with Maisons & Domaines Henriot. Link

  • Private equity firm L Catterton did something out of the ordinary and led a seed round. Yummers, a pet food brand founded by celebs Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski, raised $6.3m in seed funding. Caravan, FS Investors, C&S Family Capital, and Platinum Mile Ventures also invested. Link

  • Natural fragrance brand Abel announced $1.35m from Maker Partners, an early-stage venture fund. Both organizations are based in New Zealand. Link

  • London-based Nurture Brands, an acquirer of better-for-you food and beverage brands, acquired Indie Bay Snacks, a pretzel brand founded in 2017. Link 

  • Booze giant Constellation Brands unloaded a portion of its wine portfolio to the aptly named The Wine Group. Brands included in the transaction: Cooper & Thief, Crafters Union, Monkey Bay, 7 Moons, The Dreaming Tree, and Charles Smith Wines. Link

  • Nail care brand Nailberry was acquired by Silverwood Brands PLC, an investment firm focused on consumer brands. Link

  • Gourmey, a French FoodTech startup focused on lab-grown foie gras, raised $48m led by Earlybird Venture Capital. Keen Venture Partners, Omnes Capital, Thia Ventures, and Discovery also participated. Link 

  • RTD kava brand Leilo was acquired by Fiji Kava, an Australian wellness company looking to expand in the US. Link

Distribution Quickfire

  • Little Moons Mochi, the fastest-growing ice cream brand in the UK, launched in Australia. 3 SKUs will be available exclusively at Woolworths.

  • Aussie prebiotic soda brand Bobby rolled out at all 7-Eleven stores in Australia.

  • Ingestible beauty brand Vida Glow hit shelves at Neiman Marcus.

  • Hyper Skin now available at 250 Sephora stores.

What's New...

  • Singer Lewis Capaldi launched a new frozen pizza brand, Big Sexy Pizza. Link

  • Bedding and home essentials brand Parachute unveiled its first living room collection. Link

  • Mid-Day Squares previewed their new Cookie Dough SKU. Honestly stunning. Link

  • High protein ice cream brand from Australia, GYM BOD. Link

  • Chamberlain Coffee and Bliss collaborated on a new coffee & bundle. Link

  • Austin-based Siete launched a new Small Batch product, Chickpea Totopos. Their Small Batch branding is beautiful. Link

  • Albert Hammond Jr. from The Strokes has a wine seltzer brand, JETWAY. It looks good. Link

  • Fragrance brand Aspen Apothecary rebranded as Ourside. Link 

  • Vizzy Hard Seltzer is now the official hard seltzer of the Pro Pickleball Association. Link

And that's it for today. See you again Wednesday morning.

All the best,

Robbie @ CPG Wire