This Week in CPG - Uncle Nearest Whiskey Hits a Major Milestone

The Big Story

Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey — the black-owned whiskey brand that was founded by Fawn Weaver in 2017 — recently hit a major milestone: $100m in sales since its inception. Even more impressive, the Shelbyville, Tennessee-based company expects $200m in sales by the end of 2023.

This is just one of their many recent accomplishments:

• Opened a $50m distillery on 323 acres that's welcomed more than 100,000 visitors.

• Launched Uncle Nearest Ventures, a $50m venture fund that backs minority-owned brands like Sorel Liqueur, Hella Cocktail Co., and Equiano Rum.

• Picked up 25,000 points of distribution and over 600 industry awards.

Beyond the numbers Uncle Nearest has a spectacular founding story. If you're interested, Clay Risen of The New York Times does that story justice here.

Deals

• Second Nature Brands, a portfolio of snack brands that includes Kar's Nuts and Sanders Candy, acquired Brownie Brittle from Encore Consumer Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Link

• London-based rum brand Duppy Share secured £2m in funding from the likes of former footballer Ian Wright and music producer Fraser T Smith. The brand was founded seven years ago and is sold in 18 markets. Its founder, George Frost, is the son of Sir David Frost. Link

• Sports merchandise platform Fanatics raised $700m at a whopping valuation of $31B. Clearlake Capital & LionTree led the round. Existing investors Silverlake, Fidelity, and SoftBank also participated. Link

• Dae Hair, the haircare brand founded by entrepreneur & influencer Amber Fillerup Clark, announced $10.6m in Series A funding. Verity Venture Partners led the round. Willow Growth Partners also participated. Link

• Alternative dairy producer MALK raised $9m in Series B funding. Benvolio Group and Rotor Capital led the round. Thus far MALK has raised a total of $17m. Link

• Boutique Napa winery Seven Stones was acquired for around $34m, the highest sum for a Napa winery this year. The buyer is a multinational corporation but no other details are available. Link

• Scottish beverage firm A.G. Barr — the owner of the iconic Irn-Bru and a number of other brands — acquired Boost Drinks for £20m. Boost produces energy, hydration, and meal replacement beverages. Link

• More details on L'Oreal's investment in Microphyt, the French biotech startup that produces functional ingredients from microalgae. It was a 15m EUR round led by L'Oreal's VC arm with participation from Bpifrance, Sofinnova Partners, and a number of others. Link

What's New...

• Media company Barstool is launching yet another alcoholic beverage brand – Pirate Water. They're bringing four SKUs to market. The branding definitely throws off Liquid Death energy. Link

• Chamberlain Coffee finally launched Keurig pods for the convenience-minded consumer. The pods are compostable and carbon neutral. Chamberlain also teased an upcoming product launch, very likely syrups. Link 

• Acne care brand Peace Out unveiled a new pimple patch that can be concealed underneath makeup. Link

• LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora announced the seven brands participating in its 2023 incubator program, Sephora Accelerate. The program focuses on BIPOC-founded businesses like OUI the People and Glosshood. Link

• Hyer Boots, the company that purportedly invented the cowboy boot in Kansas City in 1875, will be relaunching soon. They're not selling cowboy boots just yet but they are selling some great-looking merch. Link

• Artifact Cider and spice company Diaspora Co. collaborated on a limited edition cider: Juhu Beach Guava Cider. It's a beautiful can. Link

• The founder of Feelunique, a UK-based beauty retailer now owned by Sephora, is launching a new skincare & makeup brand, Indu. The brand will launch in August of 2023. Link

• Peets Coffee and Arc'teryx collaborated on a cafe in Beidahu Ski Resort in China. Love the cold brew cans. Link

• Sparkling water brand Aura Bora unveiled some beautiful merch. Link

Distribution Quickfire

• London-based haircare brand Holy Curls launched at Bluemercury, Violet Grey, and J.C. Penney.

• Pulp Pantry went nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market. Stunning packaging.

• Low ABV vodka brand BODY partnered with Next Century Spirits to grow distribution in the US.

• Alkaline water brand Flow will launch at 1,000 Starbucks locations across Canada.

• Skincare brand Everyday Humans is now available at select CVS stores.

Thank you for reading along. If you find this newsletter helpful, please pass it along to others who might enjoy it. See you again Saturday morning.