Express Checkout #11

Hello again!

Good news, everybody! The billion-dollar biotech startup Colossal Biosciences is reviving the extinct Dodo bird! What could go wrong 😂

Speaking of things going wrong.... a new article in Forbes shined a light on significant layoffs and growing pains at the frozen coffee company, Cometeer.

If you're unfamiliar with Comeeter, they collaborate with coffee roasters to produce flash-frozen pods of single-serve coffee concentrates. It's a tasty product which has brought interesting innovation to the instant coffee space, but as the article reveals, there are there a lot of issue behind the scenes. One simple quote at the end of the article summed it all up nicely: "Great product. Company should not have raised $100 million"

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🔥 Big News of the week 🔥

• Ariana Grande said she would buy her brand, r.e.m beauty, from Morphe for a cool $15 million. She’s set to acquire everything including r.e.m.’s physical assets and existing inventory. (source)

• Amazon announced that they are pausing the rollout of their Amazon Fresh grocery stores until they can figure out how to better differentiate them from what’s on the market. Some store will close but we don’t know yet if this is indefinite or not. (source)

• Drizly & Gopuff have partnered to bring Gopuff's full alcohol assortment to Drizly's e-commerce shop. (source)

  • Could this partnerships have further implications? Maybe Uber-owned Drizly could acquire Gopuff? Time will tell!

• Nike and Tiffany & Co. announced a sneaker and accessories collab which will drop on March 7th. Personally, I found the products to be lackluster, and I feel more could be done here. What do you think? (source)

• LVMH and L’Oréal are reportedly each trying to acquire Aesop for nearly $2 billion. Just over a decade ago the personal care brand was acquired by Natura for $68 million. What a great return for Natura! (source)

• Layoffs continue...

  • Ruggable laid off 100 employees

  • REI let go of 167 people

  • Getir laid off 100 workers after merging with Gorillas

  • FedEx cutting 10% of its officer and director team

🗞️ News from the week (1/30/23 - 2/5/23)

🛍 Retail

• Jones Road Beauty announced they are opening a physical retail location in Greenwich Village, NYC very soon. (source)

• Our Place, known for its pastel colored Always Pan, has just opened its second physical store in LA. There’s no doubt that they make very attractive cookware, but the function and longevity are debatable (see America’s Test kitchen video on the pan). Whether or not you think they'll make it, you have to admit they brought their Instagram-first brand aesthetic into the physical world very effectively. (source)

• Shopper intelligence firm Catalina has released a new tool called Reach Extender to bring online-only deals to in-store shoppers via in-lane coupon printers. 84.51º, Kroger’s data-analytic unit, is an early partner. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

• Halo Top, probably one of the most famous better-for-you brands (but definitely not the tastiest), is expanding beyond the freezer section and into the baking aisle. They’re launching a new line of baked desserts, including Light Cake Mix Single-Serve Cups and Light Baking Mixes for fudge brownies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. (source)

• Magic Spoon, maker of high-protein better-for-you cereal, is expanding once again — this time into nearly 7,000 stores nationwide including Walmart and Kroger. To date they have officially raised nearly $100 million. (source)

• The FDA is set to restructure their Human Foods program, moving all functions and employees under a new Deputy Commissioner who will ultimately report to the FDA Commissioner. Here is a visual breakdown of the update. (source)

• Logan Paul and KSI’s popular hydration drink, Prime, has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the UFC. They’re replacing Coca-Cola’s Bodyarmor. (source)

• Danone is reportedly exploring the sale of its US organic dairy business, which includes brands like Horizon Organic and Wallaby. (source)

• After being dropped by Sephora, Selfless by Hyram lands placement at Target stores both online and in-store. (source)

• P&G has filed a patent this week with a design for a recyclable pump dispenser! Pumps often use a steel spring that can make it difficult to recycle. There are "pumpless pumps" on the market, Glossier’s retinol uses it. (source)

• Sierra Mist killer, Starry, is now the official soft drink of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League. (source)

• Mighty Yum, a new plant-based Lunchables competitor, has just announced a partnership with Hungryroot, UNFI, Earth Fare, and over 600 C-stores across the Northeast. (source)

• Famous NYC restaurant, Via Carota, has just launched craft cocktails. They look super premium in their glass vessels. I'm excited to try! (source)

• According to NielsenIQ, La Roche-Posay was the fastest growing skincare brand of 2022. There’s definitely a push away from the chemophobia over the past years, with science-first brands like The Ordinary, Stratia, and Experiment making headwinds. (source)

• Huron, men's personal care brand, has launched their newest product a Eau de Parfum in two scents. Congrats Matt!! (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

• FedEx and Shippo have a new agreement allowing smaller e-commerce merchants access to discounted FedEx rates that were previously reserved for large shippers. (source)

💻 eCommerce

• Kno has announced a partnership with TikTok. Kno Commerce is a e-commerce survey and insights platform provider. They were acquired by Wecommerce back in May 2022. (source)

• Fanatics is starting a live-streaming e-commerce service for collectibles. They’re set to launch with the Fanatics Live app and site in the second half of 2023. (source)

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

• Marquee Brands has acquired the leading food and culinary media business, America's Test Kitchen. ATK has been my personal go-to for any reviews and suggestions on tools and tips in the kitchen. They do a great job testing products in a thorough and methodical way. Marquee also owns brands such as Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, and Sur La Table. (source)

• Dole has announced the sale of its fresh vegetables division to Fresh Express Inc which is owned by Chiquita Holdings (yup, that is Chiquita as in the bananas 🍌) for ~ $294 million. (source)

• Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ), a Chinese restaurant turned CPG brand, has closed a $21 million round according to SEC filing. (source)

• Michroma, a biotech startup, has raised a $6.4 million seed round. The startup uses fungus to produce natural food coloring and flavors. They’re currently in talks with Danone, Grupo Bimbo, and NotCo to bring their products to market over the next two years. (source)

• Coconut water brand Zico Rising has raised $14 million according to a SEC form D filing. (source)

• Triple Whale has raised $25 million Series B round from NFX, Elephant, and participation from Shopify for its data analytics platform. The Columbus-based company has raised around $52 million to date. If you've been active on Twitter over the past year, you've definitely heard of this brand before. (source)

• UK startup Raylo has raised $136 million in funding to grow its consumer tech lease platform. Currently, the company lets customers subscribe for phones, tablets and laptops, and plans to expand that list to a wider range of items like e-bikes. (source)

• JOKR is doubling down in Brazil as it secures $50 million in a Series C investment on a $1.3 billion valuation. These instant grocery delivery services have been struggling a lot over the past year... curious to see how this expansion helps them. (source)

• Anne Hathaway has invested in EVERY Co., a alternative egg brand, for an undisclosed amount. The alternative-protein and dairy space is booming. Just in the egg alternative space alone there are too many brands to count- JUST, Clara foods, nummy nibbles, Perfeggt, zero egg, moolec, evo, and many more. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

• Everything You Can't Have (via Collab Fund)

• Why Does It Feel Like Amazon Is Making Itself Worse? (via NYMag)

• Why these chunky, ugly running shoes are selling like crazy (via CNN)

• Unleash the Power of Hospitality: 3 Ingredients to Elevate Your Business and Your Life (via Jacob Jaber substack)

• What’s ahead for retail media in 2023? (Grocery Dive)

• Why We Still Need Twitter: How Social Media Holds Companies Accountable (HBS Working Knowledge)

• What is the Role of Solid Fundamentals in Scaling My Business? (Podcast by Future Commerce)

• Into the Stratosphere. Launching a startup is a lot like… (via Jake Aronskind)

• Food brands embrace TikTok-inspired products (Via Modern Retail)

• How a Miscommunication Between Siblings Led to Angostura Bitters' Iconic Label (via VinePair)

• The Tin Building Has Everything (Except a Purpose) (via Grubstreet)

💡 Reports, research, and trends

• 9 emerging DTC brands to watch in 2023 (via Retail Dive)

• CPGPulse Pantry Trends (via Supermercato Insights)

• Private Label Accounts for 18% of Total CPG Spend (via NACS)

🐦 Interesting Tweets

• What’s happening with SHEIN from Danielle Vermeer

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

Tony’s Chocolonely x Ben & Jerry’s went live this week and I just had to order myself a bar on GoPuff. So freaking good!

I also made some banana bread with the GoNanas mix, which made baking banana bread easier than ever.

Also wanted to congratulate my friend Brett Fink on the refresh and formal launch of his venture studio GRTR brands, which is represented by William Morris Endeavor. I'm mostly jealous he gets to work with Andrew Rea, aka Binging With Babish!

Thanks for reading! I'll be back next week with more commerce news straight to your inbox. If you have any suggestions, feedback, or stories or posts I missed, let me know!

Nate :)

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