Wilde Grabs $20M, CAVU Backs Gymkhana Fine Foods 🥫

Author

CPG WIRE
April 25, 2024

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

  • Playground lands $2M 🛝

  • KEY launches with $4M ⚡️

  • Glossier relaunches a classic 🍓

  • Graza x Metahaiku 🧼

  • Ritual on pace for $200M 📈

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • British personal care firm PZ Cussons is looking to sell St Tropez, a self-tanning brand that it acquired in 2010. The brand could be worth £100M. PZ Cussons is also considering exiting Africa which accounts for 30% of its $620M in annual revenue. Business of Fashion

Fundraising

  • Wilde, a snack brand that makes protein chips out of chicken breast, egg whites, and bone broth, secured $20M in fresh equity funding. The Nashville-based brand was founded by CPG veteran Jason Wright in 2015. KarpReilly led the round while The Family Fund, Grey Space Group, Jack Harlow, and Machine Gun Kelly also participated. Axios

  • Gymkhana Fine Foods, the consumer goods arm of celebrated Indian restaurant Gymkhana London, raised $3M in seed funding. The round was led by CAVU Consumer Partners. Gymkhana sells a variety of Indian cooking sauces, marinades, and chutneys that retail at Whole Foods UK, Ocado, and Selfridges. Forbes

  • Sexual wellness brand Playground scored $2M in fresh equity funding. The round was led by Palm Tree Crew Holdings, with additional participation from Amboy Street Ventures and Fourward Ventures. Playground added Christina Aguilera as a co-founder last year and experienced 700% growth YoY. Beauty Independent 

  • Ketone powered energy drink brand KEY launched with $4M in seed funding from AgFunder and Alethia. The beverage brand was co-founded by Karishma Thawani and Tekla Back, former executives at Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. KEY will be available at Erewhon in the very near future. PR Newswire

  • SHICKEN, a UK-based purveyor of vegan Indian entrees, raised $5.3M from Veg Capital to fuel its U.S. expansion. The company was founded in 2020 and recently launched nationwide at Sprouts in the U.S. Food Navigator

  • Per Axios, consumer-focused private equity firm SKKY Partners is having trouble fundraising. The firm, which was co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Carlyle alum Jay Sammons, has only raised $121M despite targeting $1-2B. Axios

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Glossier relaunched its very popular Balm Dotcom line with the original formula, not the altered formula that rolled out last year. They also launched a new flavor — Strawberry. Stylist

  • Beauty patch brand Fazit introduced a new line of stick-on freckle patches called Faux Freckles. The packaging is pretty terrific and it seems like a novel product 👇 Global Cosmetics News

  • Waterless skincare brand Seadrop launched an eco-friendly cleanser called Hydrating Seafoam Cleanser. Most cleansers are 90% water so they created a dehydrated version that’s free of artificial preservatives. Hypebae

  • Graza collaborated with Metahaiku on an extra virgin olive oil soap. It’s available for a limited time and retails for $12 per bar. Twitter

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Yotam Ottolenghi, the Israeli-born British chef, is launching a line of Mediterranean cooking ingredients exclusively at Waitrose. The line includes spice mixes, pasta sauces, and marinades. FoodBev

  • Boston Beer Company launched a new line of non-alcoholic fruit brews called General Admission. The packaging is great but I imagine consumers will largely be confused by it. Twitter

  • Carbon neutral milk brand Neutral is expanding its partnership with Shake Shack. Their co-branded line of milk shakes will now be available at 90 Shake Shack locations across the U.S. PR Newswire

  • WunderEggs, a producer of plant-based hardboiled eggs, won the Innovation Launchpad competition put on by Albertsons. The brand took home $163K. Supermarket Perimeter

  • Chamberlain Coffee and 818 Tequila joined forces to launch an espresso martini kit. It’s not a bad looking kit but a co-branded RTD espresso martini would’ve broken the internet. VinePair

  • High protein chocolate milk brand Slate launched a line of high protein cookies. 10g of protein, 0g sugar, and 160 calories per bag. Instagram

  • Popular beverage brand Sparkling Ice unveiled a slight packaging refresh. The differences are modest but it’s still an improvement. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

  • Women’s health brand Ritual is on pace to exceed $200M in sales this year. WWD

  • Per the NCA, daily coffee consumption is at a 20-year high. The number of American adults who have had coffee in the past day increased 37% since 2004. Beverage Industry

  • Surfside, a Philadelphia-based seller of spiked iced teas and lemonades, sold 1.3M cases last year which was a year-over-year increase of 563%. PR Newswire

Distribution News 🚚