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Redfoo will also become a Creative Ambassador.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Redfoo", "brand_normalized": "maka", "brand_display": "MaKa", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "redfoo", "lead_investor_display": "Redfoo", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Canadian vegan footwear brand Grounded People secured $2.5m in funding from Right Season Investments Corp.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Grounded People", "brand_normalized": "groundedpeople", "brand_display": "Grounded People", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2500000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.5m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "rightseasoninvestmentscorp", "lead_investor_display": "Right Season Investments Corp", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 4, "bullets": [ { "text": "818 Tequila, the tequila brand founded by Kendall Jenner, sold 120,000 cases in its first year.", "stat_type": "single-revenue-figure", "source_named": true }, { "text": "The most searched beauty brands.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Alcohol-free spirits sales soar in the UK.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Cosmetics brand Trinny London hit almost $30m in revenue.", "stat_type": "single-revenue-figure", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "PRIME Energy launched at over 2,000 GNC stores." }, { "text": "UK skincare brand Facetheory will launch exclusively at Sephora Asia." }, { "text": "WunderEggs is now available nationwide at Whole Foods." }, { "text": "Kiwi non-alc cocktail brand Free AF will launch at Sprouts in March." }, { "text": "MingsBings launched at Publix and Sprouts." }, { "text": "Tip Top Cocktails will launch their Espresso Cocktail on Delta Airlines." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "sourse-scores-funding-gallo-strikes", "publish_date": "2023-05-02", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Spirit of Gallo, the spirits division of E. & J. 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Alya Skin was founded in 2018 by Manny Barbas and James Hachem.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Alya Skin", "brand_normalized": "alyaskin", "brand_display": "Alya Skin", "founded_year": 2018, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "frostbland", "acquirer_display": "Frostbland" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Greek yogurt bar maker Clio raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Alliance Consumer Growth, Maria Sharapova, and NBA MVP candidate Jayson Tatum. 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Big Drop recently announced a partnership with Destihl who will produce and sell its products in the US.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Big Drop Brewing", "brand_normalized": "bigdropbrewing", "brand_display": "Big Drop Brewing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "£2.2m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "seedrs", "lead_investor_display": "Seedrs", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "SHORE — a Scottish producer of seaweed snacks & broths — announced an additional six figures in funding from existing investors. Great-looking products that are getting a lot of retail exposure in the UK.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "SHORE", "brand_normalized": "shore", "brand_display": "SHORE", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "six figures", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "UK-based prebiotic granola & porridge brand Bio&Me secured £1.6m in funding from entrepreneur Giles Brook. The company raised a £1.4m round from the likes of Giles Brook and Harry Kane earlier this year.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Bio&Me", "brand_normalized": "biome", "brand_display": "Bio&Me", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "£1.6m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "gilesbrook", "lead_investor_display": "Giles Brook", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Austin-based HumanCo, an investor & acquirer of better-for-you consumer brands, partnered with Grove Collaborative, the eco-friendly household cleaning company. In short, HumanCo will fund synergistic M&A for Grove to the tune of $100m.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "HumanCo", "brand_normalized": "grovecollaborative", "brand_display": "Grove Collaborative", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 100000000, "amount_text_raw": "$100m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "humanco", "lead_investor_display": "HumanCo", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Vow, an Australian cultured meat startup, raised a whopping $49.2m co-led by Blackbird VC and Prosperity7 Ventures. Vow's first product, a cultured umami quail, will launch into Singapore restaurants later this year.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Vow", "brand_normalized": "vow", "brand_display": "Vow", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 49200000, "amount_text_raw": "$49.2m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "blackbirdvc", "lead_investor_display": "Blackbird VC", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Low sugar, nootropic soda brand Perfy launched at Lassens in CA." }, { "text": "Eco-friendly cleaning brand Blueland launched their toilet cleaner at Costco in the SF Bay Area." }, { "text": "Oakland's Voyage Foods announced that their Peanut-Free Spread is now available at Sprouts." }, { "text": "Planet Based Foods launched two of their plant-based taquito SKUs at Kroger." }, { "text": "UK-based sparkling water brand DASH Water is now available at 800 Coles stores in Australia." }, { "text": "Premium pet nutrition brand Bundle x Joy launched at Whole Foods Market and Sprouts." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "The biggest piece of news thus far this week is that Estee Lauder pulled the trigger and acquired Tom Ford for a mammoth $2.8B. 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FoodBev", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "FUEL10K", "brand_normalized": "fuel10k", "brand_display": "FUEL10K", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 34000000, "amount_text_raw": "£34M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "medium", "acquirer_normalized": "premierfoods", "acquirer_display": "Premier Foods" }, { "text": "Veganz, a Berlin-based producer of vegan food products that retail across Europe, purchased vegan cheese brand Happy Cheeze. Veganz will now own their production facility in Lower Saxony, too. 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Strategically speaking, Finlandia was more of a distraction than anything. Brown-Forman's primary focus is their thriving whiskey portfolio — home to Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, and many others — closely followed by their burgeoning tequila portfolio, which consists of El Jimador and Tequila Herradura. At the end of the day, vodka was an afterthought, and given that Coca-Cola HBC has distributed Finlandia in its most popular markets for many years, they'll be a better steward for Finlandia's next phase of growth. Coca-Cola HBC has made some interesting acquisitions lately. 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With its acquisition of Nature's One, Bobbie is now the third-largest fully integrated infant formula brand in the United States, an impressive feat for such a young brand in a highly regulated market. Bobbie continues to grow fast and prove that it's a robust brand and business, and not just a darling of the infant formula shortage, too. 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In addition to its distribution in the UK market, Two Chicks is also available in France, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Two Chicks", "brand_normalized": "twochicks", "brand_display": "Two Chicks", "founded_year": 2007, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "eurovogroup", "acquirer_display": "Eurovo Group" }, { "text": "French spirits firm Pernod Ricard acquired the remainder of St. Petroni, a Spanish craft vermouth brand. St. Petroni launched in Galicia in 2014 and Pernod acquired its initial majority stake in 2020.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Pernod Ricard", "brand_normalized": "stpetroni", "brand_display": "St. Petroni", "founded_year": 2014, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "pernodricard", "acquirer_display": "Pernod Ricard" }, { "text": "Diageo just announced a joint venture with Main Street Advisors, an investment and advisory firm that's focused on music, media, entertainment, and sports. In short, Diageo is exchanging the North American brand rights to Ciroc for the worldwide brand rights to Lobos 1707, a fast-growing agave spirits brand. 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The company was founded in 2021 and relies on at-home testing, in-depth analysis, and personalized supplements to meet its customers' health goals.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Elo Health", "brand_normalized": "elohealth", "brand_display": "Elo Health", "founded_year": 2021, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 3500000, "amount_text_raw": "nearly $3.5M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "According to an SEC filing, LA-based fragrance brand DedCool raised nearly $7.5M in equity funding. Ken Suslow is listed on the Form D so we can assume that Sandbridge Capital led the round. In 2023, Sandbridge led a Series A investment in Henry Rose, the fragrance brand that Michelle Pfeiffer launched in 2019.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "DedCool", "brand_normalized": "dedcool", "brand_display": "DedCool", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 7500000, "amount_text_raw": "nearly $7.5M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "sandbridgecapital", "lead_investor_display": "Sandbridge Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 11, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Conagra Brands reported mixed results in Q3 due to snackers switching to private label brands and supply chain disruptions impacting its ability to meet demand for frozen meals. 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Wells also owns a number of ice cream brands like Halo Top, Blue Bunny, and Bomb Pop.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Ferrero Group", "brand_normalized": "wellsenterprises", "brand_display": "Wells Enterprises", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "ferrerogroup", "acquirer_display": "Ferrero Group" }, { "text": "The parent company of From the Ground Up has acquired PopChips, the better-for-you snack brand founded by Keith Belling in 2007 and sold to VMG Partners in 2019. No details on the transaction but I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't a major win for the seller. Obviously could be wrong.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "From the Ground Up", "brand_normalized": "popchips", "brand_display": "PopChips", "founded_year": 2007, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "fromthegroundup", "acquirer_display": "From the Ground Up" }, { "text": "Remember the instant grocery delivery craze? Every week a different 10 or 15 minute grocery delivery service received massive funded? Well two of Europe's largest players in the space —Turkey's Getir and Germany's Gorillas — joined forces to create a Pan-European cash incinerator.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Getir", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Japanese beverage firm Asahi Group announced a new venture fund to invest in US beverage startups: Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation Fund. Their initial focus will be on low-alc beverages, non-alc beers, functional soft drinks, and mixers. 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Investors include FirstCheck Africa, Samata Capital, Future Africa, and IgniteXL.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Uncover", "brand_normalized": "uncover", "brand_display": "Uncover", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1000000, "amount_text_raw": "$1m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Seed", "lead_investor_normalized": "firstcheckafrica", "lead_investor_display": "FirstCheck Africa", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Swiss private equity firm Partners Group will increase its stake in luxury watch brand Breitling AG from 23% to around 50%, valuing the company at $4.5B. CVC Capital Partners purchased a majority stake in Breitling in 2017 at a valuation around $850m. An excellent outcome for CVC who will remain a minority shareholder (20%).", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Partners Group", "brand_normalized": "breitlingag", "brand_display": "Breitling AG", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "$4.5B", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": "partnersgroup", "lead_investor_display": "Partners Group", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Sula Vineyards, India's largest winemaker, will go public on Monday. The company was founded by Rajeev Samant, a Stanford alum now responsible for creating India's domestic wine industry. Verlinvest has been on the cap table since 2010 and will sell a portion of their shares on Monday.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Sula Vineyards", "brand_normalized": "sulavineyards", "brand_display": "Sula Vineyards", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Casa Azul Tequila Soda is now available at Ralphs in CA, Spec's in TX, and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in FL." }, { "text": "Premium canned wine brand Archer Roose is now available at Target." }, { "text": "Hecho Tequila Soda will be available on GoPuff." }, { "text": "Clean label hazelnut spread brand tbh launched at Urban Outfitters." }, { "text": "Australian sparkling water brand Capi landed an exclusive distribution deal with 7-Eleven." }, { "text": "Clean cosmetics brand Nubyen launched at Sephora in the UK." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "For an enormous beverage company that posted revenue of $12.6B last year, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) has a considerable void in its beverage portfolio. 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The combined revenue for all three brands is expected to be around $50M.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Seaweed Bath Co.", "brand_normalized": "andalounaturals", "brand_display": "Andalou Naturals", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 50000000, "amount_text_raw": "around $50M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "acquirer_normalized": "seaweedbathco", "acquirer_display": "Seaweed Bath Co." }, { "text": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers has acquired Substance Wines, an acclaimed and top-selling wine brand from Washington State. Substance was introduced by Charles Smith in 2015.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers", "brand_normalized": "substancewines", "brand_display": "Substance Wines", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "oneillvintnersdistillers", "acquirer_display": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Per a number of SEC filings, The Finnish Long Drink secured over $24M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. Founded in 2018, The Finnish Long Drink is the fastest growing RTD cocktail brand in the U.S., and sold nearly 80 million cans last year. Incredible.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "The Finnish Long Drink", "brand_normalized": "thefinnishlongdrink", "brand_display": "The Finnish Long Drink", "founded_year": 2018, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 24000000, "amount_text_raw": "over $24M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Fat Ice, an Austin-based purveyor of premium ice cubes for cocktails, raised just over $7M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. I spotted their branded cooler at Spec's a few weeks back. 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Their previous client work is how they first got a taste for venture investing. In addition to cash payment for their services, Derris would often take minority equity stakes in brands like Warby Parker and Glossier, stakes that turned out to be quite valuable. The New York-based investment firm previously raised $10M for Fund I and backed consumer brands like Baboon To The Moon, Hai, and PetPlate, as well as service providers like Adgile Media Group. Interestingly, Amity Supply's sole limited partner for Fund I was real estate magnate and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. It's unclear if Stephen Ross invested in Fund II — he might've been busy gloating about Miami's wildly explosive offense and 3-0 start to the season — but it's very possible given Ross's considerable exposure to consumer businesses. His real estate firm, Related Companies, owns Equinox and SoulCycle, and they've invested in restaurant concepts like Momofuku and Milk Bar. Amity Supply typically invests $150-500K into early stage consumer brands but they don't lead rounds. What I love about Amity is that they don't necessarily have a rigid thesis, they just invest in brands they deem great or companies they deem promising. Thus far they've invested in a wide variety of categories like pet food, health & wellness, travel bags, and smart home tech. Genuinely curious to see which companies Amity backs next." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "molson-coors-buys-fever-tree-stake", "publish_date": "2025-02-01", "era": "standard-with-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Molson Coors acquired an 8.5% stake in Fever-Tree for $88M. The premium mixers brand was founded in London in 2004. 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For Kering, the divestment of this non-core asset will generate net proceeds of approximately €350M.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Kering", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "approximately €350M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "low", "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Estée Lauder is reportedly reviewing its portfolio of brands and looking to sell underperforming or lower margin brands. 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The New York-based company was founded in 2016 and sells prebiotic snacks in squeeze pouches.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Gutzy Organic", "brand_normalized": "gutzyorganic", "brand_display": "Gutzy Organic", "founded_year": 2016, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 4000000, "amount_text_raw": "$4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Canada's Partake Brewing raised $3M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The non-alc brewer was founded in 2017 and has built up a solid distribution presence in Canada and the U.S.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Partake Brewing", "brand_normalized": "partakebrewing", "brand_display": "Partake Brewing", "founded_year": 2017, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 3000000, "amount_text_raw": "$3M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Deconstruct, a science-backed skincare brand from India, raised over $7M in funding from L'Oreal, V3 Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, and a handful of others.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Deconstruct", "brand_normalized": "deconstruct", "brand_display": "Deconstruct", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 7000000, "amount_text_raw": "over $7M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "loreal", "lead_investor_display": "L'Oreal", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 6, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "Puig delivered net revenue of €4.79B in 2024, up 10.9% year-over-year. 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Mondelez already owned a minority stake in Evirth and licensed its Oreo and Philadelphia brands to the company. The frozen-to-chilled cakes & pastries category in China is valued at $3B and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15%. Mondelez has acquired a number of other manufacturers recently, including Give & Go and Chipita Global S.A.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Mondelez", "brand_normalized": "evirth", "brand_display": "Evirth", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "mondelez", "acquirer_display": "Mondelez" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Scandinavian Biolabs, a Danish purveyor of plant-powered hair growth products, secured $4.5M in Series A funding. 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Yesterday, Edrington announced its intent to sell two blended Scotch whisky brands — The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt — to William Grant & Sons for an undisclosed sum. Edrington is divesting the blended brands in order to focus on its ultra-premium, single malt offerings, namely The Macallan, The Glenrothes, and Highland Park. Edrington also owns a fast-growing brand in the gin category, No. 3 London Dry Gin, and in the American whiskey category, Wyoming Whiskey. Edrington's transaction comes on the heels of Campari Group shelling out nearly $100M to buy a minority stake in Capevin Holdings, the owner of a number of Scotch whisky brands like Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermory, and Ledaig. As we mentioned last week, Scotch isn't the hottest category right now. Scotch exports fell by 18% in the first half of 2024, and the major spirits firms have largely ignored the category in order to focus on gin, rum, agave spirits, and American whiskey. All of these categories are cyclical, though, and I'm certain that Scotch will experience a resurgence." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Selling Online? Consider Zamp, As of Yesterday." ] }, { "slug": "mars-mondelez-make-moves", "publish_date": "2022-12-21", "era": "launch-no-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": false, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Designer Brands, the footwear producer and retailer that owns Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), acquired athletic footwear brand Topo Athletic. Topo was founded by Tony Post in Framingham, MA in 2012.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Designer Brands", "brand_normalized": "topoathletic", "brand_display": "Topo Athletic", "founded_year": 2012, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "designerbrands", "acquirer_display": "Designer Brands" }, { "text": "As mentioned above, Mars, Inc. acquired Tru Fru.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Mars, Inc.", "brand_normalized": "trufru", "brand_display": "Tru Fru", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "marsinc", "acquirer_display": "Mars, Inc." }, { "text": "Mondelez sold its developed market gum business to Perfetti Van Melle.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Mondelez", "brand_normalized": "developedmarketgumbusiness", "brand_display": "developed market gum business", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "perfettivanmelle", "acquirer_display": "Perfetti Van Melle" }, { "text": "Private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired Radiance Holdings, an owner and franchiser of beauty & wellness service providers like Sola Salons and Woodhouse Spas. Radiance also owns BeautyHive, an online distributor of professional beauty products.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "TSG Consumer Partners", "brand_normalized": "radianceholdings", "brand_display": "Radiance Holdings", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "tsgconsumerpartners", "acquirer_display": "TSG Consumer Partners" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Consumer private equity giant L Catterton invested in BloomChic, a digitally native apparel brand for women wearing sizes 10-30. The company was founded in 2021 by Bill Hu and is headquartered in Hong Kong. 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Their goal is to build a global fast fashion powerhouse based India, similar to China's Shein.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Virgio", "brand_normalized": "virgio", "brand_display": "Virgio", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 37000000, "amount_text_raw": "$37m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Functional water brand Shine Water is now available at Walmart across the Southeast." }, { "text": "Clean skincare brand MARA Beauty launched at 252 Sephora stores in the U.S." }, { "text": "Vegan & gluten-free cookie dough brand DEUX rolled out at 380 Sprouts locations." }, { "text": "Baby formula brand Bobbie announced a NYC delivery pilot with Uber Eats." }, { "text": "Terpene-infused tequila cocktail brand El Hempe partnered with Pemberton Distribution in Nevada." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": true, "free_text_excerpt": "What started off as a dreadfully slow news week was saved by two big transactions. Mars, Inc. — the confectionery, snack, and pet care giant with almost $45B in annual sales — acquired Tru Fru, a better-for-you confectionery brand based in Utah. Founded in 2017, Tru Fru produces chocolate covered fruit products for the frozen section and snack aisle." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "dos-hombres-raises-15m-lvmh-backs-bdk", "publish_date": "2025-12-02", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Unilever is selling UK-based snack brand Graze for an undisclosed sum. The buyer is Katjes International, a German confectionery firm. For Unilever, the divestment enables them to focus on core food assets like Hellmann's and Knorr. For Katjes International, the acquisition helps the company diversify beyond its core confectionery business and tap into a more on-trend category (better-for-you snacking).", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Unilever", "brand_normalized": "graze", "brand_display": "Graze", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "katjesinternational", "acquirer_display": "Katjes International" }, { "text": "Plant-based protein bar brand TRUBAR has been acquired by Turkish consumer goods firm ETİ Gıda for $201M CAD (around $140M USD). Founded in 2019 by Erica Groussman, TRUBAR retails at more than 15,000 doors across North America and sales are expected to exceed $100M in 2026. With brands like IQBAR and BUILT reaching maturity, I bet we'll see more bar deals in early '26.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "TRUBAR", "brand_normalized": "trubar", "brand_display": "TRUBAR", "founded_year": 2019, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 140000000, "amount_text_raw": "$201M CAD (around $140M USD)", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "etgda", "acquirer_display": "ETİ Gıda" }, { "text": "French Bloom, a leading non-alcoholic sparkling wine brand, purchased an estate in Limoux as the company vertically integrates. The estate includes 25 hectares of vineyard land and will be fully operational by September 2026. LVMH took a minority stake in French Bloom in 2024.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "French Bloom", "brand_normalized": "frenchbloom", "brand_display": "French Bloom", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Horizon Family Brands, a better-for-you dairy company, has acquired Maple Hill Creamery for an undisclosed sum. Maple Hill is a producer of 100% grass-fed organic dairy products. 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First, on December 22nd, consumer goods giant Unilever announced that it would acquire K18, a prestige haircare brand best known for its technology which is capable of reversing hair damage. K18 accomplishes this via a proprietary molecule — the K18Peptide — which mimics the human keratin structure to reverse chemical damage on all hair types in minutes. Founded in 2020 by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox, K18 boasts a portfolio of six products and expects to close out 2023 with $300M of net sales. Though K18 initially focused on the professional channel right after it launched, they expanded beyond salons in 2021 by launching at Sephora, then rolled out at Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty, and many others. Vasiliki Petrou, Unilever Prestige CEO, said: \"We are thrilled to continue to grow our Unilever Prestige portfolio in high-growth premium spaces with the addition of K18. This acquisition complements our fast-growing portfolio of premium, culturally-relevant consumer brands. What Suveen, Britta, and the team have created is a testament to the importance of brands built on unparalleled science, product efficacy, and community love.\" Unilever has been busy reimagining its portfolio to focus on premium brands and higher growth categories. Four days prior to the K18 announcement, Unilever sold Elida Beauty — home to some valuable but ancient brands like Brut, Q-tips, and VO5 — to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners for an undisclosed sum. Earlier in 2023, Unilever sold one of its larger haircare businesses, Suave North America, once again to Yellow Wood Partners, and also divested Dollar Shave Club which they acquired for $1B in 2016. Second, Japanese beauty conglomerate Shiseido agreed to acquire prestige skincare brand Dr. Dennis Gross on December 22nd. Founded in 2000 by Dr. Dennis Gross, a practicing dermatologist and skin cancer researcher, and his wife, Carrie Gross, the brand is best known for its Alpha Beta Peel product which launched at Sephora more than two decades ago. Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed, but revenue for Dr. Dennis Gross was reportedly around $300M for 2023. Dr. Dennis Gross joins an impressive stable of beauty brands at Shiseido which includes Clé de Peau Beauté, Drunk Elephant, Gallinée, NARS, and many others. 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Ultra debuted in May 2025 and sold over 1M cans within six months of launching.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Ultra", "brand_normalized": "ultra", "brand_display": "Ultra", "founded_year": 2025, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 11000000, "amount_text_raw": "$11M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "leftlanecapital", "lead_investor_display": "Left Lane Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "FoodNerd, a Buffalo-based manufacturer of nutrient-dense toddler snacks, secured $7.5M in funding. Selva Ventures led the round while Spacestation Investments, Cistern Capital, and S2 Venture Partners followed on. 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St Austell Brewery, a Cornwall-based brewer that was founded in 1851, acquired a minority stake in a peer and frequent collaborator, Harbour Brewing Co. Harbour was founded in 2012.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "St Austell Brewery", "brand_normalized": "harbourbrewingco", "brand_display": "Harbour Brewing Co.", "founded_year": 2012, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "staustellbrewery", "acquirer_display": "St Austell Brewery" }, { "text": "LVMH acquired yet another supplier: luxury jewelry producer Pedemonte Group. LVMH has acquired a number of key suppliers this year: Roban's Group (leather), Heng Long (leather), and Maglificio Matisse (knitwear).", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "LVMH", "brand_normalized": "pedemontegroup", "brand_display": "Pedemonte Group", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "lvmh", "acquirer_display": "LVMH" }, { "text": "Clean deodorant brand type:A was acquired by DCB Lab, a London-based consumer brand holding company.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "type:A", "brand_normalized": "typea", "brand_display": "type:A", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "dcblab", "acquirer_display": "DCB Lab" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "German family-owned brewer Warsteiner invested in Rye River Brewing Co., an Irish craft brewer founded in Celbridge in 2013. 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Nestle will hold a 41% stake in the new entity but L Catterton will actively manage the biz.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Nestle", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Beam Suntory, the global spirits player with an expansive whiskey portfolio, is looking to fine-tune its portfolio and possibly sell Pinnacle Vodka and Cruzan Rum. Beam acquired Pinnacle in 2012 for around $600m. Pinnacle is produced in France but bottled in the US.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Beam Suntory", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Loving Earth, an Australian plant-based chocolate brand, raised almost A$300K on crowdfunding platform Birchal.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Loving Earth", "brand_normalized": "lovingearth", "brand_display": "Loving Earth", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "almost A$300K", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "UK-based vegan & cruelty-free haircare brand Umberto Giannini secured a 7-figure financing package from Lloyds Bank to expand their international presence.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Umberto Giannini", "brand_normalized": "umbertogiannini", "brand_display": "Umberto Giannini", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Debt", "lead_investor_normalized": "lloydsbank", "lead_investor_display": "Lloyds Bank", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "BAOZZA launched its pizza stuffed bao buns at Target stores in CA & TX." }, { "text": "Pharrell's personal care brand Humanrace will launch exclusively in the UK at Selfridges." }, { "text": "Refresh Gum is now available at Anthropologie." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "Frasers Group has been opportunistic over the past six months. 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For the four week period ending on March 8th, Electrolit volume jumped over 34%. PRIME volume, on the other hand, continues to collapse.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "Bobo's Hires Investment Bank 👩‍🍳", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "Bobo's, a Colorado-based manufacturer of oat bars and other better-for-you snacks, has hired William Blair as the company explores a sale. 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It's the world's second largest ice cream producer behind Magnum.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Nestlé", "brand_normalized": "nestlicecreamdivision", "brand_display": "Nestlé ice cream division", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "froneri", "acquirer_display": "Froneri" }, { "text": "Prenetics (NASDAQ: PRE) is selling its 35% equity stake in Insighta for $70M. The buyer is Chinese tech giant Tencent. 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The deal includes $10M of debtor-in-possession financing along with $20M of post-emergence working capital.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Pat McGrath", "brand_normalized": "patmcgrath", "brand_display": "Pat McGrath", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 30000000, "amount_text_raw": "$30M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "gdaluma", "lead_investor_display": "GDA Luma", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "According to an SEC filing, Fara Homidi raised another $3.99M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The eponymous cosmetics brand was founded in New York in 2023. 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Olyra unveiled a killer brand refresh around six months ago and Grupo Bimbo backed the company in April 2023.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Olyra", "brand_normalized": "olyra", "brand_display": "Olyra", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3500000, "amount_text_raw": "$3.5M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Debt", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Spoon Cereals, a UK-based producer of better-for-you breakfast cereals, secured more than £1M in funding from Finance Yorkshire and Justin Cook. 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William Walcker and Minh-Anh Pham launched Näak in 2016.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Näak", "brand_normalized": "nak", "brand_display": "Näak", "founded_year": 2016, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 5000000, "amount_text_raw": "$5M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "investissementqubec", "lead_investor_display": "Investissement Québec", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Personalized performance nutrition brand Gainful secured an undisclosed amount of Series B funding in a round led by District Ventures Capital. Other investors include BrandProject and Round13 Capital. Gainful was founded in 2017 and is a YCombinator alum.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Gainful", "brand_normalized": "gainful", "brand_display": "Gainful", "founded_year": 2017, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series B", "lead_investor_normalized": "districtventurescapital", "lead_investor_display": "District Ventures Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Prebiotic soda brand Poppi announced that Post Malone is their newest investor and brand partner. 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Fun Fact: TREO was founded by Bob Golden, the son of the Snapple co-founder Hyman Golden.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Jason Derulo", "brand_normalized": "treo", "brand_display": "TREO", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "jasonderulo", "lead_investor_display": "Jason Derulo", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Actress Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone invested in Big Nose Kate, an American whiskey brand produced in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Melissa McCarthy", "brand_normalized": "bignosekate", "brand_display": "Big Nose Kate", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "melissamccarthy", "lead_investor_display": "Melissa McCarthy", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Standing Ovation — a French FoodTech startup that produces animal-free cheeses — secured around $1.8m in financing from Bpifrance.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Standing Ovation", "brand_normalized": "standingovation", "brand_display": "Standing Ovation", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1800000, "amount_text_raw": "around $1.8m", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "bpifrance", "lead_investor_display": "Bpifrance", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Women's intimate wellness brand Joylux closed on $13m in Series A funding. J-Ventures, J-Impact, and Dr. Kathy Fields (of Rodan + Fields fame) participated. Joylux also announced a partnership with global hygiene firm Essity to bring their products to Europe and LatAm.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Joylux", "brand_normalized": "joylux", "brand_display": "Joylux", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 13000000, "amount_text_raw": "$13m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": "low" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Healthy snack brand Sweet Nothings launched their Squeezable Smoothies at Target." }, { "text": "Israeli baby formula brand Else Nutrition rolled out at Giant Food." }, { "text": "Hydration brand The Pickle Juice Company launched at Wegmans." }, { "text": "Boozy cold brew brand Bomani hit shelves at Ralphs." }, { "text": "Aussie teeth whitening brand HiSmile is coming to America, will launch at Walmart." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": true, "free_text_excerpt": "About two weeks ago we highlighted that Diageo launched a $2B fixed rate bond offering and how it might presage an acquisition spree. Well Diageo put on its Buyin' Pants a lot quicker than expected. On Wednesday the spirits firm announced its acquisition of Balcones Distilling, a Texas-based distillery known for single malt whiskies and bourbons. In 2021 Balcones sold 15,000 9-liter cases. Founded in Waco, TX in 2008, Balcones was a trailblazer in the craft whisky space, immediately winning industry awards and consumer affection when it hit shelves in 2010. In 2014, however, the company nearly combusted as founder Chip Tate and lead investor Greg Allen fought bitterly. All in all it's been a good for American craft spirits. On Monday Campari Group shelled out $420m for 70% of Kentucky's Wilderness Trail Distillery, and on Wednesday Diageo bought Waco's Balcones Distilling. If Diageo keeps buying they'll likely stick to a familiar formula: acquiring premium brands in the tequila, whiskey (or whisky), and RTD categories." }, "personnel_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 4, "bullets": [ { "text": "Red Bull alum Liz Ahern is the new CMO at Chamberlain Coffee." }, { "text": "Fabletics has a new CMO, Ilona Aman." }, { "text": "Lady Gaga's Haus Labs has a new VP of Product Development, Nicole Sokol." }, { "text": "Eurazeo alum George Birman is now a Principal at PowerPlant Partners." } ] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "week-cpg-wednesday-edition-5550", "publish_date": "2022-10-05", "era": "launch-no-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": false, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Aussie premium mixers brand StrangeLove was acquired by Japanese beverage giant Asahi. This is an exciting opportunity for Asahi and one to watch. StrangeLove is head and shoulders above its competition from a brand perspective. Their products are stunning. Considering Asahi's resources and distribution capabilities, StrangeLove could soon be a global player like Fever-Tree.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "StrangeLove", "brand_normalized": "strangelove", "brand_display": "StrangeLove", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "asahi", "acquirer_display": "Asahi" }, { "text": "Aussie sustainable apparel brand THRILLS was acquired by Universal Store (ASX: UNI) for $50m in cash and stock.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "THRILLS", "brand_normalized": "thrills", "brand_display": "THRILLS", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 50000000, "amount_text_raw": "$50m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "universalstore", "acquirer_display": "Universal Store" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Partake Foods, a producer of vegan, non-GMO and allergy-friendly snacks, raised $11.5m in funding. Investors include Cleveland Ave, Fearless Fund, Kaya Ventures, Marcy Venture Partners, Supply Change Capital, Black Star Fund, and others.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Partake Foods", "brand_normalized": "partakefoods", "brand_display": "Partake Foods", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 11500000, "amount_text_raw": "$11.5m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "clevelandave", "lead_investor_display": "Cleveland Ave", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Raw dog food brand Maev raised $10m led by VMG Partners. Additional investors include BFG Partners, Willow Growth Partners, Springdale Ventures, DX Ventures, and a handful of others.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Maev", "brand_normalized": "maev", "brand_display": "Maev", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 10000000, "amount_text_raw": "$10m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "vmgpartners", "lead_investor_display": "VMG Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "As mentioned above, Liquid Death raised $70m from Science Ventures.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Liquid Death", "brand_normalized": "liquiddeath", "brand_display": "Liquid Death", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 70000000, "amount_text_raw": "$70m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "scienceventures", "lead_investor_display": "Science Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Stellar Pizza, a startup producing mobile, robot-powered pizza kitchens, raised $16.5m led by Jay Z's Marcy Venture Partners.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Stellar Pizza", "brand_normalized": "stellarpizza", "brand_display": "Stellar Pizza", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 16500000, "amount_text_raw": "$16.5m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "marcyventurepartners", "lead_investor_display": "Marcy Venture Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [ { "text": "Natural beverage brand Neuro purchased Bored Ape #8585 (an NFT) for over $1m. Not the news I expected at a time like this but it's not my money.", "reason": "transaction direction and nature unclear (asset purchase, not M&A or fundraising)" } ] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Minimalist non-alcoholic beer brand Visitor launched at Target." }, { "text": "TacoDeli, an Austin-based taco chain, launched two tortilla SKUs at Whole Foods." }, { "text": "Cereal brand OffLimits partnered with Graduate Hotels." }, { "text": "Beef jerky stick brand Chomps launched at Target." }, { "text": "amika, a haircare brand recently acquired by Bansk Group, launched on Tmall and Xiaohongshu in China." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": true, "free_text_excerpt": "You know those companies that are endlessly plagued by bad headlines? WeWork circa 2018 comes to mind. Quibi and The Washington Commanders also come to mind albeit for different reasons. Liquid Death is the antithesis of that. One week Liquid Death receives national press because rabid fans are getting the logo tattooed on their flesh. The next they're celebrated in the trades for their retail sales velocity or an advertisement that went viral. In short, Liquid Death is a glutton for good press, and this week delivered two big headlines: First, they raised $70m at a $700m valuation from Science Ventures and Live Nation. Second, Liquid Death announced that they're expanding beyond water with a line of Iced Teas." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "week-cpg-saturday-edition", "publish_date": "2022-09-24", "era": "launch-no-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": false, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "South African biltong co-packer Stormberg Foods acquired AYOBA, a Virginia-based biltong brand. Stormberg's objective is to dethrone Stryve as the most popular biltong brand in the states.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Stormberg Foods", "brand_normalized": "ayoba", "brand_display": "AYOBA", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "stormbergfoods", "acquirer_display": "Stormberg Foods" }, { "text": "European private equity firm Investindustrial acquired 52% of specialty grocer Eataly for $198m.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Investindustrial", "brand_normalized": "eataly", "brand_display": "Eataly", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 198000000, "amount_text_raw": "$198m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "investindustrial", "acquirer_display": "Investindustrial" }, { "text": "L'Oreal agreed to buy Skinbetter Science, a physician-dispensed skincare brand. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed but Skinbetter posted around $95m in sales last year.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "L'Oreal", "brand_normalized": "skinbetterscience", "brand_display": "Skinbetter Science", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "loreal", "acquirer_display": "L'Oreal" }, { "text": "More M&A in Euro pet food space. Portugal's Barkyn acquire Barcelona-based Happets.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Barkyn", "brand_normalized": "happets", "brand_display": "Happets", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "barkyn", "acquirer_display": "Barkyn" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Kate Farms, a producer of nutritionally advanced shakes & formulas, raised $75m led by Novo Holdings.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Kate Farms", "brand_normalized": "katefarms", "brand_display": "Kate Farms", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 75000000, "amount_text_raw": "$75m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "novoholdings", "lead_investor_display": "Novo Holdings", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Craft sparkling water brand Aura Bora raised $8m in Series A funding. Very easy to root for this company & team. Siddhi Capital led. Consumer Ventures, Gaingels, Seaside Ventures and Simple Food Ventures also participated.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Aura Bora", "brand_normalized": "aurabora", "brand_display": "Aura Bora", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 8000000, "amount_text_raw": "$8m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "siddhicapital", "lead_investor_display": "Siddhi Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Ole Smoky Distillery, a Tennessee-based producer of whiskey & moonshine, received investment from Patricof Co, an investment platform for athletes.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Ole Smoky Distillery", "brand_normalized": "olesmokydistillery", "brand_display": "Ole Smoky Distillery", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "patricofco", "lead_investor_display": "Patricof Co", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Sexual wellness brand Dame raised $7m in Series A funding. Amboy Street Ventures led with participation from Listen Ventures, Flybridge, Echo, and Forest Road Company.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Dame", "brand_normalized": "dame", "brand_display": "Dame", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 7000000, "amount_text_raw": "$7m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "amboystreetventures", "lead_investor_display": "Amboy Street Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Premium hot sauce brand Red Clay Hot Sauce raised $3m. Curate Capital led.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Red Clay Hot Sauce", "brand_normalized": "redclayhotsauce", "brand_display": "Red Clay Hot Sauce", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3000000, "amount_text_raw": "$3m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "curatecapital", "lead_investor_display": "Curate Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Former Gymshark chairman Paul Richardson bought 50% of UK-based menswear brand Kalibre Clothing.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Paul Richardson", "brand_normalized": "kalibreclothing", "brand_display": "Kalibre Clothing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Wellness tech leader Therabody closed on $165m. North Castle Partners led with Kevin Hart's Heartbeat Ventures and Rx3 Growth Partners (Aaron Rodgers) joining.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Therabody", "brand_normalized": "therabody", "brand_display": "Therabody", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 165000000, "amount_text_raw": "$165m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "northcastlepartners", "lead_investor_display": "North Castle Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Nestle India *might* be acquiring Yoga Bar, a healthy snack brand founded in 2015. Great-looking products, here's their website.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Nestle India", "brand_normalized": "yogabar", "brand_display": "Yoga Bar", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Berlin-based Blue Farm, a producer of powdered oat milk products, raised 3m euros. Zintinus Capital led.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Blue Farm", "brand_normalized": "bluefarm", "brand_display": "Blue Farm", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "3m euros", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "zintinuscapital", "lead_investor_display": "Zintinus Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Monos, a Canadian luggage brand, raised $30m in Series B funding. 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PE Hub", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Union Capital Associates", "brand_normalized": "fitcrunch", "brand_display": "FITCRUNCH", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Better-for-you snack brand Pipcorn raised $3M in a mix of debt and equity funding from undisclosed investors. Pipcorn is best known for their popcorn but they also sell a variety of extruded snacks. Their retail partners include Kroger, Target, Whole Foods Market, and many others. SEC", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Pipcorn", "brand_normalized": "pipcorn", "brand_display": "Pipcorn", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3000000, "amount_text_raw": "$3M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 2, "fba_bullet_count": 6, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [ { "text": "Plant-based milk brand Ripple unveiled a new line of on-the-go products that are shelf-stable. A smart extension from Ripple who raised $49M last year. 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The seller is Reunion Foods, a Toronto-based food manufacturer.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "80 Acres Farms", "brand_normalized": "motherraw", "brand_display": "Mother Raw", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "80acresfarms", "acquirer_display": "80 Acres Farms" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Monique Rodriguez, the co-founder of Mielle Organics which was acquired by P&G early last year, will launch a venture fund in the near future.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Monique Rodriguez", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "KUDO Snacks, a Utah-based producer of protein popcorn, raised $2.1M in equity funding from undisclosed investors.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "KUDO Snacks", "brand_normalized": "kudosnacks", "brand_display": "KUDO Snacks", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2100000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.1M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 5, "fba_bullet_count": 5, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Growth at PRIME continues to slow down considerably. 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Twitter", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Throne Sport Coffee", "brand_normalized": "thronesportcoffee", "brand_display": "Throne Sport Coffee", "founded_year": 2024, "founded_year_confidence": "medium", "founded_year_source": "implied_age", "amount_usd": 8000000, "amount_text_raw": "$8M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "patrickmahomes", "lead_investor_display": "Patrick Mahomes", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "El Guapo, a New Orleans-based producer of artisan syrups and bitters for the cocktail market, raised $1.7M of venture funding from The Angel Roundtable. El Guapo was founded by Christa Cotton in 2017. PitchBook", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "El Guapo", "brand_normalized": "elguapo", "brand_display": "El Guapo", "founded_year": 2017, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 1700000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.7M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "theangelroundtable", "lead_investor_display": "The Angel Roundtable", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Opopop, a gourmet popcorn brand from Englewood, Colorado, secured $1.9M in fresh equity funding from undisclosed investors on September 11th. Opopop previously raised $12M ahead of its launch in 2021. SEC", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Opopop", "brand_normalized": "opopop", "brand_display": "Opopop", "founded_year": 2021, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 1900000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.9M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Recover 180, a purveyor of organic hydration beverages, raised $51.4M in venture funding from Accretion Capital and Dhuna Ventures. Recover 180 was co-founded by serial beverage entrepreneur Lance Collins. The brand retails at QuikTrip, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and on Amazon. PitchBook", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Recover 180", "brand_normalized": "recover180", "brand_display": "Recover 180", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 51400000, "amount_text_raw": "$51.4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "accretioncapital", "lead_investor_display": "Accretion Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "East Forged, an Australian producer of cold brew nitro tea, secured $1.5M AUD from Global Mind Agriculture Australia (GMAA). East Forged plans to use the funding to launch in Japan and South Korea. Their branding is fun. 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FoodBev", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Standing Ovation", "brand_normalized": "standingovation", "brand_display": "Standing Ovation", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "€3.75M", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 5, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Sales of hemp-derived THC drinks were up by 143% in 2023, according to data from the Brightfield Group. 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Matt Parry founded Good Crisp in 2015 and the brand retails at more than 20,000 doors in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK. The company raised funding from several institutional investors like Lotus Bakeries, Beliade, Clover Vitality, Goat Rodeo Capital, RCV Frontline, and others.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "MPearlRock", "brand_normalized": "thegoodcrispcompany", "brand_display": "The Good Crisp Company", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "mpearlrock", "acquirer_display": "MPearlRock" }, { "text": "Juggernaut Capital Partners is selling GoRaw, a seed-based snack brand, to Indian family office USK Capital. 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Founder Cason Crane teased another upcoming acquisition as Explorer goes full platform.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Explorer Cold Brew", "brand_normalized": "savorista", "brand_display": "Savorista", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "explorercoldbrew", "acquirer_display": "Explorer Cold Brew" }, { "text": "Tyler & Braden Handley, the co-founders of Inkbox, are exploring a buyback of the temporary tattoo brand as BIC prepares to shutter it. The brothers launched Inkbox in 2015 and sold it to BIC for $65M in 2022. They also recently launched Olauto, a premium car fragrance brand.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Tyler & Braden Handley", "brand_normalized": "inkbox", "brand_display": "Inkbox", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "tylerbradenhandley", "acquirer_display": "Tyler & Braden Handley" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Bansk Group, a leading consumer investment firm, officially closed Fund II with $1.45B in total commitments. The firm now has $5B under management. Co-founded in 2019 by former JAB Chairman Bart Becht, Bansk Group's portfolio includes BYOMA, Amika, Eva NYC, No Man's Land Beef Jerky, PetIQ, and several other consumer businesses.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Bansk Group", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1450000000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.45B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Taste Tomorrow Ventures (TTV), the venture arm of L.A. Libations, just announced an investment in TRIP, a UK-based purveyor of calming beverages and supplements. The investment from TTV comes on the heels of TRIP closing a $40M funding round at a $300M valuation in November.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Taste Tomorrow Ventures", "brand_normalized": "trip", "brand_display": "TRIP", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 40000000, "amount_text_raw": "$40M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "SEMCAP secured $125M for its debut Food & Nutrition fund. Their prior investments include Good Culture, Aloha, Purely Elizabeth, Kite Hill, and Fresh Prep.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "SEMCAP", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 125000000, "amount_text_raw": "$125M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Gutology, a UK-based startup focused on microbiome-friendly oral care products, raised £1.8M in funding from Active Partners and Mercia Ventures. Gutology was founded by Ollie Gallant as a wellness podcast in 2021. 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Olaplex is in the midst of a turnaround and the company appointed Amanda Baldwin as CEO in December 2023. Olaplex exceeded Wall street expecations in Q3 2025 and the brand returned to growth in the salon channel, but perhaps its majority owner, Advent International, is getting impatient.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Henkel AG", "brand_normalized": "olaplex", "brand_display": "Olaplex", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "market cap once topped $15B", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "acquirer_normalized": "henkelag", "acquirer_display": "Henkel AG" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Honey Mama's, an Oregon-based producer of refrigerated fudge bars, secured $4M in a funding round led by Bochi Investments. Honey Mama's is a force in the natural channel but now the company is focused on winning in conventional grocery and club. Christy Goldsby launched Honey Mama's at the Portland State Farmers Market in 2013. Bochi Investments, which is based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is also an investor in Mid-Day Squares, Ancient Crunch, GNGR Labs, Ketone-IQ, and Purely Elizabeth.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Honey Mama's", "brand_normalized": "honeymamas", "brand_display": "Honey Mama's", "founded_year": 2013, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 4000000, "amount_text_raw": "$4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "bochiinvestments", "lead_investor_display": "Bochi Investments", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Cream Co. Meats, an Oakland-based butchery and distributor of grass-fed, regenerative meat products, raised $8M in Series A funding. Soilworks Natural Capital led the round while Builders Vision, Desert Bloom, and the Schmidt Family Foundation followed on. 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Estée Lauder's share price is down nearly 75% over the past five years and merging with Puig — a savvy marketer with a better nose for deals — would benefit the stagnant beauty giant.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Estée Lauder", "brand_normalized": "este", "brand_display": "Estée", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "puig", "acquirer_display": "Puig" }, { "text": "Advent International is acquiring a majority stake in premium personal care brand Salt & Stone. Founded in 2017 by former professional skater Nima Jalali, Salt & Stone finished 2025 with $165M of revenue and grew double-digits across all channels. 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Beer Girl is not to be mistaken with Hurray's Girl Beer which raised $5M a few weeks ago.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Beer Girl", "brand_normalized": "beergirl", "brand_display": "Beer Girl", "founded_year": 2023, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 125000, "amount_text_raw": "$125K", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "fawnweaver", "lead_investor_display": "Fawn Weaver", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 8, "people_moves_bullets": [ { "text": "Little Sesame expanded its leadership team with two key additions. First, Little Sesame added Harmless Harvest alum Alexandra O'Brien as Chief Marketing Officer. 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Applied Nutrition sales were up 42% YoY.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Applied Nutrition", "brand_normalized": "appliednutrition", "brand_display": "Applied Nutrition", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "New Belgium Brewing, a Colorado-based craft brewer and a subsidiary of Kirin, has sold San Francisco's Magnolia Brewing. The buyer is Kevin Kynoch who owns several neighborhood bars throughout San Francisco.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "New Belgium Brewing", "brand_normalized": "magnoliabrewing", "brand_display": "Magnolia Brewing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "kevinkynoch", "acquirer_display": "Kevin Kynoch" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "ZBiotics, a producer of genetically engineered probiotics, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by Spring Tide Capital with additional funding from Goat Rodeo Capital, Access Capital, and others. Their debut product was Pre-Alcohol, a probiotic shot that breaks down toxic byproducts of alcohol to mitigate hangovers. ZBiotics has doubled sales every year and reached profitability in 2023.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "ZBiotics", "brand_normalized": "zbiotics", "brand_display": "ZBiotics", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 12000000, "amount_text_raw": "$12M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "springtidecapital", "lead_investor_display": "Spring Tide Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Aerflo, a beverage hardware startup that makes an on-the-go carbonation device for sparkling water, raised $10M in funding. The round was co-led by Lerer Hippeau and Torch Capital. Co-founders Buzz Wiggins and John Thorp started working on Aerflo in 2020. It's actually a pretty interesting product.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Aerflo", "brand_normalized": "aerflo", "brand_display": "Aerflo", "founded_year": 2020, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 10000000, "amount_text_raw": "$10M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "lererhippeau", "lead_investor_display": "Lerer Hippeau", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "New School Foods, a producer of plant-based, whole-cut seafood alternatives, raised $6M in funding from IKEA Group, NewTree Capital, and others.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "New School Foods", "brand_normalized": "newschoolfoods", "brand_display": "New School Foods", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 6000000, "amount_text_raw": "$6M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "ikeagroup", "lead_investor_display": "IKEA Group", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 5, "fba_bullet_count": 5, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Alani Nu continues to outpace rivals like Celsius and C4 Energy in terms of growth. Alani Nu's volume increased 47.9% for the 4 weeks ending on August 10th. 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Adore Me was founded in 2012 and expects to generate $240m in revenue this year.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Victoria's Secret", "brand_normalized": "adoreme", "brand_display": "Adore Me", "founded_year": 2012, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 400000000, "amount_text_raw": "$400m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "victoriassecret", "acquirer_display": "Victoria's Secret" }, { "text": "Mars Petcare is acquiring Champion Petfoods from an investor group led by Bedford Capital and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The Canadian pet food maker owns two global pet food brands: ORIJEN and ACANA. Deal terms weren't disclosed but in June Bloomberg reported that Bedford was seeking a $2B+ valuation.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Mars Petcare", "brand_normalized": "championpetfoods", "brand_display": "Champion Petfoods", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "marspetcare", "acquirer_display": "Mars Petcare" }, { "text": "Lawrence Wine Estates — a portfolio of Napa Valley wineries like Brendel, Heitz Cellar, Stony Hill, Ink Grade, and others — acquired Chateau Lascombes, a storied Bordeaux winery dating back to 1681. This marks Lawrence's first European acquisition.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Lawrence Wine Estates", "brand_normalized": "chateaulascombes", "brand_display": "Chateau Lascombes", "founded_year": 1681, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "lawrencewineestates", "acquirer_display": "Lawrence Wine Estates" }, { "text": "As mentioned above, Campari Group acquired 70% of Wilderness Trail Distillery for $420m.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Campari Group", "brand_normalized": "wildernesstraildistillery", "brand_display": "Wilderness Trail Distillery", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 420000000, "amount_text_raw": "$420m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "camparigroup", "acquirer_display": "Campari Group" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "SURI (Sustainable Rituals), a London-based maker of sustainable electric toothbrushes, raised around $2.3m from Hambro Perks and JamJar Investments. 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Thus far they've backed beverage decacorn Genki Forest and pet food unicorn Enova Pet Nutrition.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "L Catterton", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 275000000, "amount_text_raw": "around $275m", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Young Mountain Tea — an Oregon-based sustainable tea brand that partners directly with Himalayan farmers — raised $1.1m in a combination of grant and equity funding. USAID provided the grant and Frontier Co-Op will provide the equity capital.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Young Mountain Tea", "brand_normalized": "youngmountaintea", "brand_display": "Young Mountain Tea", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1100000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.1m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "usaid", "lead_investor_display": "USAID", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Home composting appliance maker Lomi is now available at Erewhon." }, { "text": "Better-for-you lemonade brand Swoon launched at Publix." }, { "text": "Pre & probiotic sparkling beverage brand Wildwonder went nationwide at Sprouts." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": true, "free_text_excerpt": "In terms of acquisitions, Campari Group had an extremely quiet 2021, and up until recently, 2022 didn't look much better. 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Interest in the period underwear space has intensified lately. Essity paid $320m for 80% of Knix, and $140m for Modibodi. Kimberly-Clark also acquired a majority stake in Thinx for an undisclosed sum.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Bambody", "brand_normalized": "bambody", "brand_display": "Bambody", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 320000000, "amount_text_raw": "$320m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "heyday", "acquirer_display": "Heyday" }, { "text": "Luxury giant LVMH agreed to sell Australia's Cape Menelle Winery to Paragon Wine Estates. LVMH acquired a controlling interest Cape Menelle Winery in 1990. In 2020 LVMH sold another Australian winery, RM Williams, to Tattarang.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "LVMH", "brand_normalized": "capemenellewinery", "brand_display": "Cape Menelle Winery", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "paragonwineestates", "acquirer_display": "Paragon Wine Estates" }, { "text": "L Catterton sold skincare brand Bliss World to AS Beauty. Catterton has owned Bliss World since 2015 when it purchased Steiner Leisure. AS Beauty, a joint venture between the E.l.f. 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Founded in 2014 by Jared Stein and Oliver Nordlinger, Monogram is an investor in OLIPOP, Archer, Koia, 4th & Heart, D.S. & Durga, and a number of other brands.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Monogram Capital Partners", "brand_normalized": "monogramcapitalpartners", "brand_display": "Monogram Capital Partners", "founded_year": 2014, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 350000000, "amount_text_raw": "$350M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Perelel, a research-backed prenatal vitamin brand that evolved into a comprehensive women's health company, raised $27M in growth funding from Prelude Growth Partners. Existing investors like Selva Ventures, Unilever Ventures, and Willow Growth also participated in the round. 2025 has been a huge year for Prelude Growth. 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Great Frontier Holdings owns an impressive array of bev alc brands including Ninkasi Brewing, Wings & Arrow Beer Company, Villager Spirits, and others.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Ecliptic Brewing", "brand_normalized": "eclipticbrewing", "brand_display": "Ecliptic Brewing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "greatfrontierholdings", "acquirer_display": "Great Frontier Holdings" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Keychain, a manufacturing platform for the packaged goods industry, secured $18M in seed funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, with participation from BoxGroup, Afore Capital, and SV Angel. The thesis behind Keychain is pretty straightforward. 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Acne care has been a hot category lately: Hero Cosmetics was acquired by Church & Dwight for $630m in September and Peace Out raised $20m earlier this week.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Zitsticka", "brand_normalized": "zitsticka", "brand_display": "Zitsticka", "founded_year": 2018, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 630000000, "amount_text_raw": "$630m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "heyday", "acquirer_display": "Heyday" }, { "text": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers — a large portfolio of premium wine & spirits brands — acquired FitVine Wine, a wellness-focused wine brand founded in 2015.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers", "brand_normalized": "fitvinewine", "brand_display": "FitVine Wine", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "oneillvintnersdistillers", "acquirer_display": "O'Neill Vintners & Distillers" }, { "text": "Some craft brewery consolidation in Wyoming. Jackson-based Roadhouse Brewing acquired Alpine's Melvin Brewing.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Roadhouse Brewing", "brand_normalized": "melvinbrewing", "brand_display": "Melvin Brewing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "roadhousebrewing", "acquirer_display": "Roadhouse Brewing" }, { "text": "Wine & spirits group E & J Gallo acquired Denner Vineyards, a Paso Robles winery with 130 acres of vines. Founded by Ron Denner over two decades ago, Denner Vineyards is known for quirkily named, widely celebrated wines like Dirt Worshipper and Ditch Digger.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "E & J Gallo", "brand_normalized": "dennervineyards", "brand_display": "Denner Vineyards", "founded_year": 2002, "founded_year_confidence": "medium", "founded_year_source": "implied_age", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "ejgallo", "acquirer_display": "E & J Gallo" }, { "text": "Multinational retailer NEXT acquired the intellectual property of Made.com, the once fast-growing furniture retailer that recently went bankrupt. NEXT paid $3.8m.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "NEXT", "brand_normalized": "madecom", "brand_display": "Made.com", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3800000, "amount_text_raw": "$3.8m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "next", "acquirer_display": "NEXT" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP) invested $50m in Athletic Brewing Company, the non-alc craft brewery founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2017. Athletic Brewing is now a top-20 craft brewer in the US.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Keurig Dr Pepper", "brand_normalized": "athleticbrewingcompany", "brand_display": "Athletic Brewing Company", "founded_year": 2017, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 50000000, "amount_text_raw": "$50m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": "keurigdrpepper", "lead_investor_display": "Keurig Dr Pepper", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Toronto-based skincare brand Three Ships announced $1m in seed funding. Investors include Martin McCourt (former CEO of Dyson), Tara Bosch (founder of SmartSweets), and Arati Sharma (founder of Backbone Angels).", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Three Ships", "brand_normalized": "threeships", "brand_display": "Three Ships", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1000000, "amount_text_raw": "$1m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Seed", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": "low" }, { "text": "Something & Nothing — a London-based seltzer and spritz brand that recently launched in the U.S. — raised $2.8m led by ACF Investors and Rianta Capital.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Something & Nothing", "brand_normalized": "somethingnothing", "brand_display": "Something & Nothing", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2800000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.8m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "acfinvestors", "lead_investor_display": "ACF Investors", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "LA-based skincare brand Topicals announced $10m in Series A funding led by CAVU Consumer Partners. A number of celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Kelly Rowland, and Hannah Bronfman also participated. The company was founded by Olamide Olowe in 2020. Their products are stunning.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Topicals", "brand_normalized": "topicals", "brand_display": "Topicals", "founded_year": 2020, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 10000000, "amount_text_raw": "$10m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "cavuconsumerpartners", "lead_investor_display": "CAVU Consumer Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "As mentioned above, Augustinus Bader closed on $25m in funding.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Augustinus Bader", "brand_normalized": "augustinusbader", "brand_display": "Augustinus Bader", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 25000000, "amount_text_raw": "$25m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Aussie sugar-free beverage brand Nexba raised A$3.96m on crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Nexba", "brand_normalized": "nexba", "brand_display": "Nexba", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "A$3.96m", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Pet's Table, a Mexico City-based fresh dog food startup, closed on $2m in seed funding from Left Lane Capital and Goodwater Capital.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Pet's Table", "brand_normalized": "petstable", "brand_display": "Pet's Table", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2000000, "amount_text_raw": "$2m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Seed", "lead_investor_normalized": "leftlanecapital", "lead_investor_display": "Left Lane Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "acw_bullet_count": 0, "fba_bullet_count": 0, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution Quickfire", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "Oral care brand Burst is launching at 1,200 Walmart stores." }, { "text": "Beleaguered energy drink brand Bang is heading to the UK & Ireland." }, { "text": "Functional beverage brand Vybes is now available on Gopuff." }, { "text": "Non-alc beer brand RationAle partnered with Breakthru Beverage to launch in Nevada." }, { "text": "Sparkling turmeric lemonade brand Golden Tiger went nationwide at Meijer." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "The Big Story", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "The latest member of the CPG Unicorn Club is an almost five-year-old luxury skincare brand from Germany: Augustinus Bader. 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OSEA is backed by CAVU Consumer Partners and annual revenue is reportedly around $100M.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "OSEA", "brand_normalized": "osea", "brand_display": "OSEA", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Singapore-based skincare brand Allies of Skin secured a $20M investment from Meaningful Partners. The brand was founded in 2016 and differentiates by offering \"supercharged concentrations\" of clinically proven active ingredients. Allies of Skin will use the funding to support its U.S. expansion. In January, Meaningful Partners backed adaptogenic wellness brand Om Mushroom Superfood.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Allies of Skin", "brand_normalized": "alliesofskin", "brand_display": "Allies of Skin", "founded_year": 2016, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 20000000, "amount_text_raw": "$20M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "meaningfulpartners", "lead_investor_display": "Meaningful Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "French sustainable personal care brand 900.care raised €21M in funding from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, White Star Capital, SWEN Blue Ocean, and Founders Future. The company launched in 2019 and sells refillable personal care and home essentials products. Revenue for 2023 was $10.8M.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "900.care", "brand_normalized": "900care", "brand_display": "900.care", "founded_year": 2019, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "€21M", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "lombardodierinvestmentmanagers", "lead_investor_display": "Lombard Odier Investment Managers", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Maternal nutrition startup Chiyo closed a $3M funding round. The round was led by Bread & Butter Ventures with additional participation from Ingeborg, Union Heritage Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Palette Ventures, and The Helm.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Chiyo", "brand_normalized": "chiyo", "brand_display": "Chiyo", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3000000, "amount_text_raw": "$3M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "breadbutterventures", "lead_investor_display": "Bread & Butter Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Per Axios, Austin-based jewelry unicorn Kendra Scott is seeking fresh capital to fuel its expansion plans.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Kendra Scott", "brand_normalized": "kendrascott", "brand_display": "Kendra Scott", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 6, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "With glass and freight prices easing, mixers brand Fever-Tree is confident that it will double EBITDA this year.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": false }, { "text": "Carbonated soft drink volume continues to dip.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": false } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Ecommerce Sales Tax on Autopilot 🎯" ] }, { "slug": "david-raises-10m-beyonce-launches-whisky-lvmh", "publish_date": "2024-08-22", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Topspin Consumer Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm, acquired an undisclosed stake in Carpe, a digitally-native purveyor of personal care products that combat sweat. David Spratte and Kasper Kubica launched Carpe in 2015 and will continue to lead the business. This once niche category is getting busier with brands like Duradry and SweatBlock now competing against Carpe.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Topspin Consumer Partners", "brand_normalized": "carpe", "brand_display": "Carpe", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "topspinconsumerpartners", "acquirer_display": "Topspin Consumer Partners" }, { "text": "Saco Foods, a portfolio company of Fengate Private Equity, acquired Quinoa Corporation which owns two brands: Ancient Harvest and Pamela's. The seller is Encore Consumer Capital and terms of the deal were not disclosed.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Saco Foods", "brand_normalized": "quinoacorporation", "brand_display": "Quinoa Corporation", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "not disclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "sacofoods", "acquirer_display": "Saco Foods" }, { "text": "Foley Family Wines acquired five brands from Vintage Wine Estates which filed for bankruptcy protection last month. Foley Family Wines is owned by billionaire Bill Foley and owns more than 25 wineries and distilleries.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Foley Family Wines", "brand_normalized": "vintagewineestates", "brand_display": "Vintage Wine Estates", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "foleyfamilywines", "acquirer_display": "Foley Family Wines" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Great Many, a New York-based operator of hair growth clinics, raised $3.6M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Brand Project with additional funding from Midnight Venture Partners and Tonic Ventures. 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Spotless uses a silicone-based solution to combat bacteria build-up in toilets, mirrors, sinks, etc.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Spotless Materials", "brand_normalized": "spotlessmaterials", "brand_display": "Spotless Materials", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1600000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.6M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "benfranklintechnologypartners", "lead_investor_display": "Ben Franklin Technology Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 7, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Coty's FY24 net revenue increased 10% year-over-year to $6.1B. 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We first heard about David in March when Peter Rahal, who previously sold RXBAR to Kellogg for $600M, mentioned on Twitter that he was launching another protein bar brand toward the end of the year. At the time, we didn't know a whole lot about David besides the following: Their macros — 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0 sugar — were super impressive. Their packaging, which was designed by the talented folks at Day Job, defied convention and looked unlike anything else in the category. We now know that David plans to be more than just another protein bar brand and will instead be a Protein Platform. In addition to the aforementioned bar which has more protein per calorie than any other bar on the market, they also plan on launching a variety of other products that help consumers increase muscle and decrease fat. We don't know where exactly David goes after protein bars, but high-protein baked goods, snacks, or RTD shakes are all conceivable options. Given that consumers are now flocking to the beverage set to get their protein fix, and that analysts expect the RTD protein shake market to nearly double by 2030, I'd put my money on David launching shakes. The closest analog for David is likely Quest Nutrition, the nutrition brand that Simply Good Foods acquired for a clean $1B in 2019. The first Quest Bar debuted in 2010, then they added chips and protein powders in 2014, and by 2019 they offered protein cookies, thin crust pizzas, iced coffees, etc. I don't expect David to go quite as wide as Quest Nutrition — many of Quest's tertiary product lines seemed like desperate attempts at chasing organic growth prior to their acquisition — but I could see David going very deep on bars, RTD shakes, and perhaps a third category." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Take Your Brand To The Next Level 🔥" ] }, { "slug": "holy-nabs-115m", "publish_date": "2023-08-26", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Luxury watchmaker Rolex has purchased luxury watch retailer Bucherer for an undisclosed sum. Bucherer was founded in 1888 and operates more than 100 luxury watch stores across the globe. Bucherer is the world's largest luxury retailer in the world so other luxury watchmakers aren't thrilled. Bloomberg", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Rolex", "brand_normalized": "bucherer", "brand_display": "Bucherer", "founded_year": 1888, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "rolex", "acquirer_display": "Rolex" }, { "text": "Global fast fashion player Shein has purchased a stake in SPARC Group, the owner of Forever 21. In turn, SPARC Group will now own a minority stake in Shein. The deal will give Forever 21 access to Shein's massive online user base and Shein can take advantage of Forever 21's considerable retail presence in the U.S. CNBC", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Shein", "brand_normalized": "forever21", "brand_display": "Forever 21", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "shein", "acquirer_display": "Shein" }, { "text": "Private equity firm Roark Capital officially acquired Subway for $9.55B, beating out late bidders like Goldman Sachs. Roark Capital now owns Subway, Sonic, Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and many others. 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This is another big deal for French dairy giant Lactalis who acquired General Mills' North American yogurt biz for $2.1B in late 2024.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Fonterra", "brand_normalized": "fonterra", "brand_display": "Fonterra", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2200000000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.2B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "lactalis", "acquirer_display": "Lactalis" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Painterland Sisters, an organic skyr yogurt brand, closed a 7-figure seed funding round. The round was co-led by The Angel Group, its partner fund Supernatural Ventures, and Spacestation Investments. Painterland Sisters was founded by sisters Stephanie & Hayley Painter, fourth-generation farmers on a mission to preserve their family's regenerative dairy farm. 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L'Oreal first backed the San Diego-based biotech company in 2023.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Debut", "brand_normalized": "debut", "brand_display": "Debut", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 20000000, "amount_text_raw": "$20M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "finestructureventures", "lead_investor_display": "Fine Structure Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Kendall Jenner's fast-growing tequila brand 818 scored a strategic investment from the family behind Grupo Solave, the award-winning distillery that produces 818 Tequila. The company also announced that Larry Goodrich will take over as the CEO of Calabasas Beverage Company, the operating company behind 818 Tequila and Sprinter, Kylie Jenner's RTD vodka soda brand.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Kendall Jenner", "brand_normalized": "818", "brand_display": "818", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": "gruposolave", "lead_investor_display": "Grupo Solave", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Skincare brand Magic Molecule landed an investment from NexPhase Capital, a private equity firm with $2.6B AUM. Magic Molecule uses hypochlorous acid to resolve a number of common skin problems.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Magic Molecule", "brand_normalized": "magicmolecule", "brand_display": "Magic Molecule", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "nexphasecapital", "lead_investor_display": "NexPhase Capital", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "According to an SEC filing, non-alc sparkling beverage brand TÖST raised just over $1M in fresh equity funding. The Vermont-based beverage brand was founded in 2014 and secured backing from Constellation Brands in 2023.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "TÖST", "brand_normalized": "tst", "brand_display": "TÖST", "founded_year": 2014, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 1000000, "amount_text_raw": "just over $1M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "NFL star Maxx Crosby invested in RECOVER 180, the latest beverage brand from serial entrepreneur Lance Collins. RECOVER 180 debuted in early 2024 and now retails at CVS, H-E-B, Whole Foods Market, and a number of other chains.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Maxx Crosby", "brand_normalized": "recover180", "brand_display": "RECOVER 180", "founded_year": 2024, "founded_year_confidence": "medium", "founded_year_source": "implied_age", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "maxxcrosby", "lead_investor_display": "Maxx Crosby", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 6, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "J.M. 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The buyer is Authentic Brands Group (ABG). Wolverine has been divesting brands like Keds and Sperry in order to focus on athletic and outdoor brands like Merrell and Saucony.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Wolverine Worldwide", "brand_normalized": "sperry", "brand_display": "Sperry", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 130000000, "amount_text_raw": "around $130M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "authenticbrandsgroup", "acquirer_display": "Authentic Brands Group" }, { "text": "DayDayCook (DDC), a Hong Kong-based content-driven food company, acquired a 51% stake in G.L. Industry S.p.A, an Italian manufacturer of Asian ready-to-heat meals. DDC has been on an acquisition spree lately. In December they acquired Denver-based Yai's Thai, and earlier in 2023 they purchased Nona Lim.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "DayDayCook", "brand_normalized": "glindustryspa", "brand_display": "G.L. Industry S.p.A", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "daydaycook", "acquirer_display": "DayDayCook" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Voyage Foods, an Oakland-based startup that produces sustainable alternatives to coffee and nut spreads, secured $22M in additional funding. 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This is REI's second investment of 2024 — last week they backed Renegade Running, an Oakland-based running retailer.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Varlo Sports", "brand_normalized": "varlosports", "brand_display": "Varlo Sports", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Seed", "lead_investor_normalized": "reipathaheadventures", "lead_investor_display": "REI Path Ahead Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Singer Harry Styles has invested in S.S. Daley, a British fashion label that was founded by Steven Stokey-Daley in 2020. S.S. Daley retails at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Harry Styles", "brand_normalized": "ssdaley", "brand_display": "S.S. 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Even though Djokovic owns the intellectual property, this is a partnership with Waterdrop, the fast-growing hydration brand that Djokovic backed in 2023.", "dollar_amount_present": false, "brand_normalized": "sila", "brand_display": "SILA", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null } ] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Bumbu Rum, the rum brand owned by Sovereign Brands, is now the #1 super-premium rum in on-premise sales in the UK.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "Puig Buys Dr. Barbara Sturm 💰", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "Spanish beauty & fashion firm Puig has acquired Dr. Barbara Sturm, a premium skincare brand, for an undisclosed sum. Founded in Germany in 2014, Dr. Barbara Sturm quickly became a favorite among celebrities like Bella Hadid, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Victoria Beckham. In addition to retailing at Blue Mercury, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Sephora, Dr. Barbara Sturm also operates boutiques in key markets like Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. These boutiques also double as clinics where Dr. Barbara Sturm offers spa and skincare services to clients. In 2023, Dr. Barbara Sturm reportedly reached $150M in net sales. Puig has been busy building its portfolio of next gen beauty brands. In 2020, Puig acquired a majority stake in makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury for £1.3B. Then, in 2022, Puig purchased buzzy fragrance brand Byredo for $1B. These bold acquisitions appear to be paying off for Puig. We don't have financials for Byredo — anecdotally it seems to be thriving — but revenue at Charlotte Tilbury increased 38% year-over-year to over £310M in 2022. 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The yogurt division generated $1.5B in net sales last fiscal year. General Mills is divesting the division in order to focus on its much larger cereal and snacks units.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "General Mills", "brand_normalized": "yoplait", "brand_display": "Yoplait", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 2100000000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.1B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "lactalis", "acquirer_display": "Lactalis" }, { "text": "French dairy firm Lactalis is acquiring Cremora — a South African creamer brand — from Nestle for an undisclosed sum. Two manufacturing facilities were also included in the deal. Cremora has been active in the South African market for over 75 years.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Lactalis", "brand_normalized": "cremora", "brand_display": "Cremora", "founded_year": 1949, "founded_year_confidence": "medium", "founded_year_source": "implied_age", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "lactalis", "acquirer_display": "Lactalis" }, { "text": "Swander Pace Capital (SPC), a consumer-focused private equity firm, has sold Reliance Vitamin, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of premium dietary supplements. The buyer is Impetus Wellness Group. SPC first invested in Reliance Vitamin in 2017.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Swander Pace Capital (SPC)", "brand_normalized": "reliancevitamin", "brand_display": "Reliance Vitamin", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "impetuswellnessgroup", "acquirer_display": "Impetus Wellness Group" }, { "text": "65 Equity Partners acquired a significant minority stake in Kendra Scott, the Austin-based jewelry unicorn. Kendra Scott launched the eponymous jewelry brand in 2002 and will remain the largest shareholder.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "65 Equity Partners", "brand_normalized": "kendrascott", "brand_display": "Kendra Scott", "founded_year": 2002, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "65equitypartners", "acquirer_display": "65 Equity Partners" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Abolis Biotechnologies, a French producer of sustainable ingredients for the cosmetics and food industries, raised $38.6M in fresh equity funding. The round was co-led by L'Oreal and Evonik Venture Capital. L'Oreal has backed a wide variety of biotech startups as it searches for an intellectual property edge over its competitors.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Abolis Biotechnologies", "brand_normalized": "abolisbiotechnologies", "brand_display": "Abolis Biotechnologies", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 38600000, "amount_text_raw": "$38.6M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "loreal", "lead_investor_display": "L'Oreal", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "The Row, the popular but under-the-radar fashion brand founded by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, raised an undisclosed amount of funding at a valuation north of $1B. Investors in the round include Mousse Partners and Tethys Invest. Mousse Partners is the family office of the Chanel heirs.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "The Row", "brand_normalized": "therow", "brand_display": "The Row", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "moussepartners", "lead_investor_display": "Mousse Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Novameat, a Spanish purveyor of plant-based meats, secured €17.4M in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Forbion. Existing investors Unovis Asset Management, Praesidium, and Rubio Impact Ventures also participated in the round.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Novameat", "brand_normalized": "novameat", "brand_display": "Novameat", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 19000000, "amount_text_raw": "€17.4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "sofinnovapartners", "lead_investor_display": "Sofinnova Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 5, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "The sports drink category continues to take a beating. Gatorade volume was down 10.1% while Powerade & BodyArmor volume dipped 5%. My guess is that hydration powders like Liquid IV and water enhancers like Waterdrop are partly responsible for the dip.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Fever-Tree posted tepid results for the first half of 2024. U.S. sales increased 7% while U.K. sales dropped 6%. Overall revenue for the period was flat year-over-year.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Selling Online? Consider Zamp, As of Yesterday." ] }, { "slug": "birk-makes-key-hire-zedd-backs-betterbrand", "publish_date": "2023-11-09", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Griffo Distillery, a craft spirits distillery that's based in Petaluma, CA, was acquired by MGD Acquisition, an investor group. The distillery, which is best known for its gins and whiskeys, was founded by husband-and-wife duo Michael & Jenny Griffo in 2013. 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Reuters", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Mamaearth", "brand_normalized": "mamaearth", "brand_display": "Mamaearth", "founded_year": 2016, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Award-winning DJ Zedd has invested in BetterBrand, a producer of low carb, high protein baked goods like The Better Bagel. Terms of the investment weren't disclosed, but Zedd joins a number of celebs like Patrick Schwarzenegger and Emmy Rossom on the cap table. 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Axios", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Needed", "brand_normalized": "needed", "brand_display": "Needed", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 14000000, "amount_text_raw": "$14M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "thecraftory", "lead_investor_display": "The Craftory", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Wonder Group, a retail and cloud kitchen startup that connects consumers with meals that are typically made at top restaurants or by celebrity chefs, raised $100M from Nestle. The most shocking detail is that Wonder Group was valued at $3.5B in June…and they don't even have 10 locations yet. Say what you will about founder Marc Lore, but the guy sure knows how to fundraise and drive up valuations. 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Pernod has made some big bets on its future: acquired Codigo 1530 Tequila, launched Nocheluna Sotol with Lenny Kravitz, and increased its stake in Sovereign Brands, the owners of Bumbu Rum and Luc Belaire.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Pernod Ricard", "brand_normalized": "pernodricard", "brand_display": "Pernod Ricard", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 22000000, "amount_text_raw": "$22m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "French pharmaceutical firm Biocodex Group acquired a majority stake in Hilma, a natural remedies brand that launched in 2020. 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Mother Root previously raised £1.1M at a pre-money valuation of £8M and recently rolled out at Sainsbury's.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Mother Root", "brand_normalized": "motherroot", "brand_display": "Mother Root", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 112500, "amount_text_raw": "£90K", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": "stevenbartlett", "lead_investor_display": "Steven Bartlett", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 8, "people_moves_bullets": [ { "text": "Bettani Farms also appointed Sandeep Patel, the former CFO of Califia Farms, as CEO and Chairman.", "is_people_move": true } ], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "Unaudited Q3 net sales for Lifeway Foods will land between $55M and $57M, marking a year-over-year increase ranging from 21% to 24%. 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Oddbird also made its U.S. debut.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Oddbird", "brand_normalized": "oddbird", "brand_display": "Oddbird", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "redswanconsumer", "lead_investor_display": "Red Swan Consumer", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 9, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 4, "bullets": [ { "text": "Functional beverage brand BRĒZ did a whopping $28M in revenue last year. 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For the four weeks through January 11th, Bang Energy volume jumped 16.3%.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "More Egg M&A 🥚", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "Pete & Gerry's Organics, a major player in the premium egg category and a Butterfly Equity portfolio company, is expanding its business by acquiring Farmers Hen House, an Iowa-based producer of certified humane eggs. 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The buyer is Portugal-based Casa Redondo who acquired Safari Liqueur from Diageo last summer.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Diageo", "brand_normalized": "sheridanscoffeelayeredliqueur", "brand_display": "Sheridan's Coffee Layered Liqueur", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "casaredondo", "acquirer_display": "Casa Redondo" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Non-alcoholic beverage brand JAS was awarded a grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture to support its launch at Whole Foods Market.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "JAS", "brand_normalized": "jas", "brand_display": "JAS", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Habitat Partners invested in Sincerely Yours, the skincare brand co-founded by 15-year-old creator Salish Matter. Sincerely Yours launched with four SKUs that are available online and at 400 Sephora stores across the U.S.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Habitat Partners", "brand_normalized": "sincerelyyours", "brand_display": "Sincerely Yours", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "habitatpartners", "lead_investor_display": "Habitat Partners", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 7, "people_moves_bullets": [ { "text": "Celsius Holdings just appointed Rishi Daing as its new Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to joining Celsius, Daing held senior marketing roles at PepsiCo, Tata Consumer Products, and Mark Anthony Brands. Daing spearheaded the launch of Mas+ by Messi at Mark Anthony Brands.", "is_people_move": true } ], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Some interesting data on adult non-alc beverage sales. Non-alc beer commands the largest slice of the pie with 83% of the market, while non-alc wine sits at 11%. 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Sanofi owns a wide variety of consumer healthcare brands including Allegra, DulcoLax, Icy Hot, Nature's Own, and many others. JPMorgan recently valued the business unit at $20B.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Advent International", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 20000000000, "amount_text_raw": "$20B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Last year we learned that Molson Coors increased its stake in ZOA Energy, the clean energy drink brand founded by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Thanks to a 10-K filing, now we know that Molson Coors actually owns 40% of ZOA, and has an option to increase its stake to over 50% starting in September.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Molson Coors", "brand_normalized": "zoaenergy", "brand_display": "ZOA Energy", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "molsoncoors", "acquirer_display": "Molson Coors" }, { "text": "Iowa-based Big Grove Brewing has acquired a majority stake in Climbing Kites, a cannabis-infused sparkling water brand that Lua Brewing launched last year. 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The packaging is fantastic IMO.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "L.A Brewery", "brand_normalized": "labrewery", "brand_display": "L.A Brewery", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "£590K", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "crowdcube", "lead_investor_display": "Crowdcube", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Bluestein Ventures, an investor in consumer brands and proprietary food technologies, has secured $45M for Fund III. 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Great hire for a young spirits brand.", "is_people_move": true } ], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Per an Instagram story, Mid-Day Squares has sold over 30 million bars. 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The company's LTM net sales as of June 30, 2025 were $202M, up from $94M in 2023. We don't know exactly when Once Upon a Farm will list on the NYSE, but we know it will trade under the ticker \"OFRM.\" The biggest beneficiary of the IPO besides the co-founders? Unsurprisingly, it's CAVU Consumer Partners.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Once Upon a Farm", "brand_normalized": "onceuponafarm", "brand_display": "Once Upon a Farm", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Better-for-you cereal brand Seven Sundays has acquired Chippewa Packaging, one of its longtime manufacturing partners. Chippewa has been blending, packing, and kitting various Seven Sundays products for over a decade. Mike Steele, the founder of Chippewa Packaging, and 50 employees have joined the Seven Sundays team. Seven Sundays started selling at a Minneapolis farmers market in 2011 but now retails at Costco, Kroger, Walmart, and Target.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Seven Sundays", "brand_normalized": "chippewapackaging", "brand_display": "Chippewa Packaging", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "sevensundays", "acquirer_display": "Seven Sundays" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Chickapea, a leading high-protein pasta brand in Canada, closed a $4.25M CAD funding round. AGT Foods, a global supplier of pulses, led the round while FCC Capital also participated. Shelby Taylor founded Chickapea in 2015 and the brand has experienced velocity increases of 25-50% across retail channels in North America this year.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Chickapea", "brand_normalized": "chickapea", "brand_display": "Chickapea", "founded_year": 2015, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "$4.25M CAD", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "agtfoods", "lead_investor_display": "AGT Foods", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "According to a LinkedIn post, NBA legend Russell Westbrook has joined functional beverage brand Don't Quit as an investor. Don't Quit is a protein beverage play that's backed by L Catterton, L.A. Libations, Sweetwater Private Equity, and others. The company offers protein sodas and RTD protein shakes.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Russell Westbrook", "brand_normalized": "dontquit", "brand_display": "Don't Quit", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "lcatterton", "lead_investor_display": "L Catterton", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 4, "fba_bullet_count": 8, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "Joyride is now the top-selling non-chocolate candy brand at Target. This is a particularly impressive feat given that Joyride has only been retailing at Target for around 15 months. Joyride eclipsed icons like Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, and Starburst to grab the top spot. Super impressive.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Alani Nu and Celsius continue to dominate after the latter purchased the former for $1.8B in April. For the 4-week period ending on September 6th, Celsius volume grew 40.5% while Alani Nu's volume surged 127%.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Over 1,000 CPG Brands Use Minisocial For Premium Content and Micro-Influencers 📸" ] }, { "slug": "nonalc-space-stays-hot", "publish_date": "2023-01-04", "era": "pre-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": false, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Lucas Bols acquired Fluere, a beautifully bottled non-alcoholic spirits brand that launched in 2018. 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Mukesh Ambani's ambition, seemingly, is to own every store in India and a good portion of the products sold in them too.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Reliance Retail", "brand_normalized": "lotuschocolate", "brand_display": "Lotus Chocolate", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "relianceretail", "acquirer_display": "Reliance Retail" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Artisanal soft pretzel & Belgian waffle brand Eastern Standard Provisions raised $13.5m in funding. Mondelez's venture arm, SnackFutures, participated. 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NIQ expects the category to be worth £115M by 2027.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "According to a report from Forbes, Chomps is on track to top $900M in annual revenue this year, up from $660M last year.", "stat_type": "single-revenue-figure", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Drive Shoppers From Screen To Shelf With Minisocial 🛒" ] }, { "slug": "cove-lands-funding-investbev-bets-rtds", "publish_date": "2023-10-05", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Impact Capital, the family office of serial beverage entrepreneur Mike Repole, has acquired a majority stake in better-for-you snack bar brand JUNKLESS Foods. 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Ooh La Lemin offers both still and sparkling lemonades and retails at Hy-Vee and Walmart.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Kona Gold Beverage", "brand_normalized": "oohlalemin", "brand_display": "Ooh La Lemin", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "sprecherbrewingcompany", "acquirer_display": "Sprecher Brewing Company" }, { "text": "Cosmetics giant L'Oreal sold organic skincare brand Sanoflore to investment firm Ekkio Capital for an undisclosed sum. L'Oreal acquired Sanoflore in 2006 then sold their manufacturing facility in 2009.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "L'Oreal", "brand_normalized": "sanoflore", "brand_display": "Sanoflore", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "ekkiocapital", "acquirer_display": "Ekkio Capital" }, { "text": "Golden Goose, the very popular Italian luxury footwear brand that's now owned by Permira, could be going public in the first half of next year. Golden Goose sales hit $289M for the first half of 2023 and they posted a core profit of 34.6% of net revenue. Terrific brand and products.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Golden Goose", "brand_normalized": "goldengoose", "brand_display": "Golden Goose", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "permira", "acquirer_display": "Permira" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "British TV personality Stacey Solomon invested in UK-based haircare brand REHAB. The company was founded in 2022 by Vicky Ellis and Anastasia Tozer and is known for their revitalizing hair capsules and combs/clips", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Stacey Solomon", "brand_normalized": "rehab", "brand_display": "REHAB", "founded_year": 2022, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "staceysolomon", "lead_investor_display": "Stacey Solomon", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Eden Brew, an Australian startup that produces animal-free dairy products via precision fermentation, secured $24.4M in Series A funding. The round was led by existing investor Main Sequence Ventures. 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Monster.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "A Message From AdQuick" ] }, { "slug": "vmg-raises-1b-verde-valle-buys-a-dozen-cousins", "publish_date": "2025-05-15", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Middle West Spirits, an Ohio-based independent spirits producer, has acquired Old Elk Distillery for an undisclosed sum. Old Elk was founded in 2013 and is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. 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LinkedIn", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": false, "header": null, "covers_a_deal": null, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": null }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "A Message From Matriarch 📈" ] }, { "slug": "mondelz-prioritize-investing-ma", "publish_date": "2023-08-29", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Hostess Brands — the sweet baked goods firm that owns Hostess (Twinkies, CupCakes, Ding Dongs, etc.), Voortman, and Big Texas, is exploring a possible sale. After filing for bankruptcy twice in 2004 and 2012, Hostess Brands was acquired by Apollo Global and Metropoulos & Co. for $410m. After delivering net revenue of $1.35B and net income of $164m last year, the company is now valued at over $3.5B, so Dean Metropoulos and Apollo stand to make a killing.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Hostess Brands", "brand_normalized": "hostessbrands", "brand_display": "Hostess Brands", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 410000000, "amount_text_raw": "$410m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "apolloglobal", "acquirer_display": "Apollo Global" }, { "text": "Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has a sold a 51% stake in iconic boot brand Hunter to Chinese e-commerce tech firm Baozun (NASDAQ: BZUN). ABG is bullish on Hunter's potential in China and Southeast Asia which is why they're partnering directly with Baozun.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Authentic Brands Group", "brand_normalized": "hunter", "brand_display": "Hunter", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "baozun", "acquirer_display": "Baozun" }, { "text": "Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura &Co is exploring a sale of The Body Shop, the well-known skincare and cosmetics retailer that it acquired from L'Oreal in 2017 for £880m. Results have been mixed for Natura &Co lately. Aesop was their fastest-growing portfolio brand until they sold it to L'Oreal in April for $2.5B, and sales at The Body Shop have been declining steadily (Q2 sales were down 12% to $163.7m). 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Details are scarce — the only public statement was a press release from investment bank Houlihan Lokey — so we can confidently assume it was an opportunistic acquisition to keep the brand alive.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Mighty Swell", "brand_normalized": "mightyswell", "brand_display": "Mighty Swell", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "lemonati", "acquirer_display": "Lemonati" }, { "text": "Per a tweet from CEO Ron Shah, supplements brand Obvi has acquired Coffee Over Cardio, a seller of flavored coffee products and functional coffee creamers. 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The company was founded by Cristina Fogazzi, a popular beauty influencer who goes by Estetista Cinica (Cynical Aesthetician). VeraLab launched in 2016 and expected to finish 2023 with net sales of €70M. WWD", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Peninsula Capital", "brand_normalized": "veralab", "brand_display": "VeraLab", "founded_year": 2016, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "€70M", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "acquirer_normalized": "peninsulacapital", "acquirer_display": "Peninsula Capital" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Perfect Day, a Berkeley-based startup that uses fermentation to produce animal-free dairy and protein products, raised around $90M from existing investors. The founders of the company, Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, are \"stepping away\" from their leadership roles as investors (understandably) seek returns. 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Caliwater is made from prickly pear cactus which is a good source of electrolytes and antioxidants.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Caliwater", "brand_normalized": "caliwater", "brand_display": "Caliwater", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Indian farm-to-face skincare brand RAS Luxury Skincare secured $7.5M in funding from Dabur Ventures and Unilever Ventures. Dabur Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Dabur India, the fourth largest FMCG firm in the country. 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Love Corn sells crunchy corn snacks and retails at CVS, Kroger, Publix, and Target.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Love Corn", "brand_normalized": "lovecorn", "brand_display": "Love Corn", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 4000000, "amount_text_raw": "$4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": "melitasventures", "lead_investor_display": "Melitas Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Per PitchBook, Force of Nature Meats raised $5M in fresh funding from Hamilton Square Investments. 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I imagine the deal gets done, but Mars and Kellanov will likely have to make some concessions and divest a handful of brands, particularly in the cereal bar category." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "proper-good-grabs-funding-surfside-stays-hot", "publish_date": "2025-01-14", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Consortium Brand Partners (CBP) has acquired Jonathan Adler, a popular home decor, furniture, and lifestyle brand. CBP partnered with American Exchange Group to get the deal done. 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The New Orleans-based spirits firm shelled out just over $409M in cash for the vodka brand.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Sazerac", "brand_normalized": "svedka", "brand_display": "SVEDKA", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 409000000, "amount_text_raw": "just over $409M", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "sazerac", "acquirer_display": "Sazerac" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Saga Spirits Group signed an 8-figure financing agreement with InvestBev to support the growth of True Story, its newly launched whiskey brand. True Story is the brainchild of Wes Henderson who previously co-founded Angel's Envy. The company will use the financing to acquire aged and new fill whiskey barrels.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Saga Spirits Group", "brand_normalized": "truestory", "brand_display": "True Story", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "8-figure", "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": "low", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "investbev", "lead_investor_display": "InvestBev", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "According to an SEC filing, Wooden Spoon Herbs secured $1.3M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. The Minnesota-based brand sells a variety of herbal wellness products like Magic Magnesium and Brain Bloom. Their packaging is pretty compelling.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Wooden Spoon Herbs", "brand_normalized": "woodenspoonherbs", "brand_display": "Wooden Spoon Herbs", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1300000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.3M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "UK-based Tribe raised £2.4M in funding from Yeo Ventures and Mercia Ventures. The London-based company is a purveyor of plant-based protein bars and shakes.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Tribe", "brand_normalized": "tribe", "brand_display": "Tribe", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 3048000, "amount_text_raw": "£2.4M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "medium", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": "yeoventures", "lead_investor_display": "Yeo Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 3, "fba_bullet_count": 8, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [ { "text": "Last January, L Catterton led a $5M Series A investment in WTHN, a modern wellness brand rooted in TCM.", "dollar_amount_present": true, "brand_normalized": "wthn", "brand_display": "WTHN", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 5000000, "amount_text_raw": "$5M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "lcatterton", "lead_investor_display": "L Catterton", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 2, "bullets": [ { "text": "RTD cocktail brand Surfside is a certified juggernaut. The Philadelphia-based purveyor of vodka cocktails ended 2024 as the #1 fastest-growing alcohol brand across all categories. Since 2022, Surfside's volume has nearly quadrupled to just under 5 million case depletions.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Zevia currently expects Q4 net sales of approximately $39.5M, at the high end of its previous outlook. Zevia's adjusted EBITDA loss is expected to narrow to $3.9M or $4.2M.", "stat_type": "earnings", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "Proper Good Grabs Funding 🥣", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "Proper Good, an Austin-based purveyor of ready-to-eat meal solutions, secured $2.6M in funding from existing investors and board members. The figure wasn't publicized but we discovered an SEC filing which is where we got the $2.6M from. The Shark Tank alum will use the funding to accelerate product development, expand operations, and increase their retail presence throughout the U.S. Proper Good hit the market in 2020 with a line of soups before expanding into the breakfast category with an oats range in late 2021. The brand recently expanded into a third category, pasta, with three SKUs." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Lil Bucks Saves Time & Money With Glimpse ⏰" ] }, { "slug": "jm-smucker-makes-12b-deal", "publish_date": "2023-02-11", "era": "standard-no-sponsor", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "J.M. Smucker is selling several pet food brands to Post Holdings for $1.2B, consisting of $700m in cash and the remainder in common stock. Brands include in the transaction: Nature's Recipe, Kibbles 'n Bits, 9Lives, and a handful of others.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "J.M. Smucker", "brand_normalized": "naturesrecipe", "brand_display": "Nature's Recipe", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1200000000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.2B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "postholdings", "acquirer_display": "Post Holdings" }, { "text": "Plant-based beverage brand Koia purchased a production facility in Anaheim, CA. In an ever crowded marketplace, controlling one's manufacturing is a desirable moat. It can be a double-edged sword though — Oatly recently abdicated manufacturing to focus on its strengths, sales and marketing.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Koia", "brand_normalized": "koia", "brand_display": "Koia", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Footwear manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide sold Keds to Designer Brands, the owner of DSW. Additionally, Designer Brands acquired the license for Hush Puppies footwear in the U.S. and Canada. The two transactions will generate around $90m in cash for Wolverine.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Wolverine Worldwide", "brand_normalized": "keds", "brand_display": "Keds", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 90000000, "amount_text_raw": "around $90m", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "designerbrands", "acquirer_display": "Designer Brands" }, { "text": "Instead of selling or spinning off its plant-based meat division, Kellogg plans to keep it.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Kellogg", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null }, { "text": "Europe Snacks, a French contract manufacturer of snacks, acquired 100% of UK-based Burts Snacks. Burts operates two manufacturing facilities in Plymouth and Leicester.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Europe Snacks", "brand_normalized": "burtssnacks", "brand_display": "Burts Snacks", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "europesnacks", "acquirer_display": "Europe Snacks" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Dallas-based private equity firm Kainos Capital secured $1B for Fund III. Their CPG investments include Whisps, BeautyBio, and good2grow.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Kainos Capital", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 1000000000, "amount_text_raw": "$1B", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "UK-based skincare brand Faace raised around $200K on crowdfunding platform Seedrs.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Faace", "brand_normalized": "faace", "brand_display": "Faace", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 200000, "amount_text_raw": "around $200K", "amount_kind": "approximate", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "NFL star tight end Travis Kelce invested in RTD tequila soda brand Casa Azul Spirits. Serial CPG entrepreneur Lance Collins launched Casa Azul last August.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Travis Kelce", "brand_normalized": "casaazulspirits", "brand_display": "Casa Azul Spirits", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Upcycled dried fruit company The Ugly Company raised $9m in Series A funding. Good-looking products. Investors include Sun Valley Packing, Justin Timberlake, Value Creation Strategies, and Valley Ag Capital Holdings.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "The Ugly Company", "brand_normalized": "theuglycompany", "brand_display": "The Ugly Company", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 9000000, "amount_text_raw": "$9m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "sunvalleypacking", "lead_investor_display": "Sun Valley Packing", "lead_investor_confidence": "medium" }, { "text": "Actress Halle Berry invested in probiotic wellness company Pendulum Therapeutics. Berry was also named Chief Communications Officer.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Halle Berry", "brand_normalized": "pendulumtherapeutics", "brand_display": "Pendulum Therapeutics", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "round_stage": "Strategic", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Australian alt protein startup Fable Meat Co. raised $8.5m in Series A funding. The company will use the cash to accelerate R&D on its mushroom-based meat alternative. K3 Ventures, Bytedance, and Grab led the round.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Fable Meat Co.", "brand_normalized": "fablemeatco", "brand_display": "Fable Meat Co.", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 8500000, "amount_text_raw": "$8.5m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series A", "lead_investor_normalized": "k3ventures", "lead_investor_display": "K3 Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Cosmetics & Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 7, "fba_bullet_count": 5, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 4, "bullets": [ { "text": "In 2022 Kiwi mixers brand East Imperial increased revenue by 15.5% to $3.8m.", "stat_type": "single-revenue-figure", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Some crazy energy drink data from Beverage Insights. Celsius volume up 127%, C4 volume up 73.5%, and Ghost Energy volume up a whopping 937%. Meanwhile Bang energy volume slipped -46.5%.", "stat_type": "branded-stat", "source_named": true }, { "text": "Mushroom wellness brand Space Goods generated over $1.8m in revenue in its first nine months.", "stat_type": "single-revenue-figure", "source_named": false }, { "text": "Scotch whisky exports exceeded $7B for the first time last year.", "stat_type": "category-stat", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": false, "bullets_without_url": [ { "text": "British cosmetics brand Revolution Beauty will launch at Walmart." }, { "text": "Canned tequila soda brand Casa Azul launched at Total Wine & More in CA, FL, MD, TX, and VA." }, { "text": "Whole-cut plant-based meat brand Juicy Marbles now available at Waitrose." }, { "text": "Refillable deodorant brand Fussy is launching nationwide at Tesco." } ] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "CPG Wire launch announcement", "covers_a_deal": false, "deal_also_in_deals_section": null, "free_text_excerpt": "GM and Happy Saturday, folks. In lieu of The Big Story, we're excited to announce the beta launch of CPG Wire, an online news aggregator for the CPG industry. In short, CPG Wire curates all the important headlines across food, beverage, alcohol, cosmetics, and wellness. It's similar to this newsletter except updated in real time." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [] }, { "slug": "eight-brewing-raises-26m-jbs-bets-on-eggs", "publish_date": "2025-01-28", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Mergers & Acquisitions", "Fundraising" ], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": true, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "JBS, the Brazilian meat processing giant, is entering the egg sector by acquiring a controlling interest in Mantiqueira Alimentos. Mantiqueira currently produces around 4 billion eggs per year and operates manufacturing facilities in six Brazilian states. JBS will own 48.5% of Mantiqueira but will control 50% of the voting shares.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "JBS", "brand_normalized": "mantiqueiraalimentos", "brand_display": "Mantiqueira Alimentos", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "jbs", "acquirer_display": "JBS" }, { "text": "In a short message published on January 26th, Diageo made it abundantly clear that they're not interested in selling Guinness or its 34% stake in Moët Hennessy.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Diageo", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": null, "acquirer_display": null } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Los Angeles-based Kirra Iced Tea raised what appears to be a $400K convertible note. The brand launched in 2018 and produces iced tea with simple, organic ingredients.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Kirra Iced Tea", "brand_normalized": "kirraicedtea", "brand_display": "Kirra Iced Tea", "founded_year": 2018, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 400000, "amount_text_raw": "$400K", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": null, "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Indian skincare brand Foxtale secured $30M in Series C funding from Japan's KOSÉ Corporation. KOSÉ, which owns a number of prestige beauty brands like Tarte Cosmetics, is eager to increase its presence in India and Foxtale will be a key strategic partner moving forward.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Foxtale", "brand_normalized": "foxtale", "brand_display": "Foxtale", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": 30000000, "amount_text_raw": "$30M", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Series C", "lead_investor_normalized": "koscorporation", "lead_investor_display": "KOSÉ Corporation", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" } ], "ambiguous_bullets": [] }, "whats_new_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [ "Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness", "Food, Beverage, and Alcohol" ], "acw_bullet_count": 5, "fba_bullet_count": 6, "people_moves_bullets": [], "embedded_funding_bullets": [] }, "data_section": { "present": true, "bullet_count": 1, "bullets": [ { "text": "Canadian energy drink brand GURU reported Q4 results and it was a mixed bag. Net revenue dipped 6.9% to $7.2M but sales in the U.S. jumped by 29.5%. FY 2024 net revenue increased by 3.3% to just over $30M. An interesting aside related to tariffs: GURU is sitting on 5-6 months of inventory in the U.S. to circumvent any forthcoming tariffs.", "stat_type": "earnings", "source_named": true } ] }, "distribution_section": { "present": true, "header_used": "Distribution News 🚚", "all_bullets_have_source_url": true, "bullets_without_url": [] }, "lead_feature": { "present": true, "header": "EIGHT Brewing Raises $26M 🍻", "covers_a_deal": true, "deal_also_in_deals_section": false, "free_text_excerpt": "EIGHT Brewing Co., the light beer brand co-founded by broadcaster and NFL legend Troy Aikman, secured just over $26M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. EIGHT Brewing hit the market in early 2022 in a bid to disrupt the enormous light beer category. Instead of using mass-produced grains and cheap fillers like some of the major players in the category, EIGHT utilizes organic grains and premium hops to deliver a more flavorful light beer. The thesis behind EIGHT Brewing is actually an interesting one. The global light beer market is reportedly worth well over $300B, but there just haven't been many challenger brands trying to steal market share from Anheuser-Busch, Constellation Brands, Molson Coors, and Heineken. By creating a more flavorful light beer that still delivers on macros — each beer contains 90 calories and 2.6g of carbohydrates — while using Aikman's considerable platform to reach light beer drinkers, EIGHT stands a chance of becoming a force in the category. Thus far EIGHT Brewing has taken a disciplined approach to distribution. The Austin-based company launched in its home market of Texas in February of 2022, then it headed north to Oklahoma in February of 2024. As of today, that's the extent of their distribution, but EIGHT Brewing will presumably spend much of 2025 expanding its presence throughout the central U.S." }, "personnel_section": { "present": false, "bullet_count": 0, "bullets": [] }, "sponsor_h2_headers_seen": [ "Fight Deductions With Glimpse 💡" ] }, { "slug": "starco-buys-another-brand", "publish_date": "2023-01-07", "era": "standard", "deals_section": { "present": true, "subsection_labels_found": [], "labels_used_bold_paragraph_pattern": false, "labels_used_h_tags": false, "ma_bullets": [ { "text": "Starco Brands made its first acquisition of 2023 with Skylar, a clean fragrance brand.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Starco", "brand_normalized": "skylar", "brand_display": "Skylar", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "starcobrands", "acquirer_display": "Starco Brands" }, { "text": "Bohana, a producer of popped water lily seed snacks, was acquired by Boon Distribution. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bohana was founded in Boston in 2017.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Bohana", "brand_normalized": "bohana", "brand_display": "Bohana", "founded_year": 2017, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": "undisclosed", "amount_kind": "undisclosed_stated", "amount_confidence": "high", "acquirer_normalized": "boondistribution", "acquirer_display": "Boon Distribution" }, { "text": "UK-based beverage firm Global Brands Limited, the owner of mixers brand Franklin & Sons, acquired three beverage trademarks from Molson Coors.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Global Brands Limited", "brand_normalized": null, "brand_display": null, "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "globalbrandslimited", "acquirer_display": "Global Brands Limited" }, { "text": "Reliance Retail, the Indian conglomerate mentioned in Wednesday's newsletter for their acquisition of Lotus Chocolate, made another CPG bet by buying a majority stake in Indian soft drink producer Sosyo Hajoori Beverages.", "has_dollar_amount": false, "first_company_named": "Reliance Retail", "brand_normalized": "sosyohajooribeverages", "brand_display": "Sosyo Hajoori Beverages", "founded_year": null, "founded_year_confidence": "low", "founded_year_source": "unknown", "amount_usd": null, "amount_text_raw": null, "amount_kind": null, "amount_confidence": null, "acquirer_normalized": "relianceretail", "acquirer_display": "Reliance Retail" } ], "fundraising_bullets": [ { "text": "Concentrated cold brew brand Explorer raised $2.5m in seed funding. The round was co-led by NewBound Ventures and Table Management, Bill Ackman's family office. Cason Crane founded Explorer in Brooklyn in 2020. Great-looking products.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Explorer", "brand_normalized": "explorer", "brand_display": "Explorer", "founded_year": 2020, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 2500000, "amount_text_raw": "$2.5m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Seed", "lead_investor_normalized": "newboundventures", "lead_investor_display": "NewBound Ventures", "lead_investor_confidence": "high" }, { "text": "Craft cider brand Austin Eastciders secured $1.8m in fresh equity funding. Founded in Austin, TX in 2013, the brand last raised $5.7m in 2020.", "has_dollar_amount": true, "first_company_named": "Austin Eastciders", "brand_normalized": "austineastciders", "brand_display": "Austin Eastciders", "founded_year": 2013, "founded_year_confidence": "high", "founded_year_source": "stated_in_bullet", "amount_usd": 1800000, "amount_text_raw": "$1.8m", "amount_kind": "exact", "amount_confidence": "high", "round_stage": "Equity", "lead_investor_normalized": null, "lead_investor_display": null, "lead_investor_confidence": null }, { "text": "Glowbar, a New York-based provider of 30-minute facials, announced $10m in growth funding from Peterson Partners. This space is heating up with Heyday raising an additional $12m in December of '22. 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