Zevia Rebrands + Spiked SunnyD 🌞

Author

CPG WIRE
March 07, 2023

Happy Tuesday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

  • Zevia gets a brand new look 😍

  • Oats Overnight bags $20m 💰

  • Odyssey Wellness closes its Series A 🍄

  • Vacation launches at Ulta 🌞

  • ABG eyeing acquisitions 👀

The Big Story 📰

Zevia, the better-for-you beverage brand known for its sodas and energy drinks, announced that it will finally unveil a brand refresh at Expo West.

If you’ve seen Zevia on the shelf at Target, Walmart, or Whole Foods, you’ll know what I mean by finally. The branding is extremely dated and to put it delicately, aesthetically lacking.

Fortunately, however, the talented folks at Turner Duckworth were able to breathe some life into Zevia, and the end result is a vast improvement. You can preview the updated branding here.

What’s a little bewildering is that Zevia was founded in 2007, and this is their first brand refresh in company history. For historical context, George W. Bush was still in office and “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White T’s was choking the airwaves in 2007. That’s a very long time, especially in CPG.

Though Zevia’s brand refresh came much later than expected, recently appointed CEO Amy Taylor pushed it through, and it really ought to benefit the business.

After all, Zevia has quite a lot going for it. The products are good, they’re considerably cheaper than newcomers like Poppi and Olipop, and they have serious retail scale. Now that they have a clean, modern look, Zevia might be in a position to thrive.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Next Gen Foods, the Singaporean startup behind plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE, acquired plant-based ice cream brand Mwah! Mwah! was founded in London in 2020 and their first product was a Madagascan Vanilla Gelato. Food Dive

  • Per WWD, apparel giant Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is as acquisitive as ever. ABG is reportedly circling the iconic Hunter Boots and is close to a $1.3B deal for the owner of Billabong & Quicksilver. WWD

  • Tobacco giant Altria announced that it will acquire vaping company NJOY for $2.75B in cash. Altria has clearly regained its confidence after its catastrophic acquisition of JUUL. CNBC

Fundraising

  • Oats Overnight, a Tempe, AZ startup that produces convenient & nutritious oatmeal products, raised over $20m in Series A funding. Investors include Singh Capital Partners, BFG Partners, Impatient Ventures, Watchfire Ventures, Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners, Vanterra Ventures, Access Capital, and Pure Ventures. Oats Overnight was founded in 2016 by former professional poker player Brian Tate. PR Newswire 

  • Adaptogenic energy drink brand Odyssey Elixir secured $6.3m in Series A funding. To date they’ve raised a total of $8.3m. Odyssey Elixir is carried at over 5,000 retailers like CVS and GNC. Business Wire 

  • Per Axios, Gwyneth Paltrow is raising a $75m venture fund called Kinship Ventures. The fund will invest in early stage consumer brands and tech startups. Axios

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, & Wellness

  • LVMH has reshuffled its beauty division and named Stephane Rinderknech as CEO of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics. MarketWatch

  • Fashion label Kenneth Cole has expanded into cosmetics with the launch of a CBD skin & body care line. WWD 

  • Tommy Hilfiger collaborated with Kanine to launch the first-ever Tommy Hilfiger Dog Collection. The puppy polos are particularly adorable. Kanine

  • Clean hair care brand Ceremonia is opening its first retail store in NYC. Instagram

  • Indeed Labs launched a new science-backed skincare brand — pH-In (pronounced “fin”). Just want to reiterate that if you have to explain the pronunciation of your brand name, unless it’s foreign or exotic, you missed the mark. Happi

Food, Beverage, & Alcohol

  • Iconic beverage brand SunnyD is launching a boozy new product — SunnyD Vodka Seltzer. The 4.5% ABV product contains 95 calories and shockingly, zero grams of sugar. VinePair

  • Recess, the beverage brand known for their magnesium & adaptogen infused sparkling waters, introduced a new line of craft mocktails. They look terrific. Recess

  • There’s a new cauliflower ice cream from New Zealand pizza chain Hell Pizza. Inside FMCG

  • Raspberry Rally, the newest flavor from the Girl Scouts of the USA, is officially on the black market AKA eBay. The Girl Scouts aren’t happy about it. Today

  • Rocky’s Matcha, a traveling tea house known for their pop-ups in LA, Tokyo, and Miami, launched a beautiful new matcha. Rocky’s Matcha

  • The Swiss government is forcing Toberlone to remove the iconic Matterhorn from its packaging since they moved manufacturing to Slovakia. Lol. CNBC

  • Woodford Reserve unveiled a new label for the 2023 Kentucky Derby. LEX 18

  • Tequila Don Julio introduced a new luxury tequila product — Don Julio Rosado. The Reposado tequila is aged for at least four months in Ruby Port wine casks. The bottle is stunning. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

  • Q4 revenue for Celsius Holdings surged 71% to $178m. Full year revenue up 108% to $653.6m. Twitter

Distribution News 🚚

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