Express Checkout #12

Commerce news from the week of 2/6/2023

Hello friends! Greetings from the sunny beaches of Miami!

I'd like to give a special shout-out to Adam Brown from Sircle Media for our chat this week and for the kind words he shared on LinkedIn!

It has been an incredible 3 years in the CPG space. I have been blown away by the kindness and generosity of the people I have encountered from all over the space and have also made some amazing friends along the way. I have also gained so much knowledge and am just happy to have the opportunity to operate in a space I am wildly passionate about.

I truly feel like I've found my forever job and a space where I can thrive!

And since it's Super Bowl Sunday, Go Birds! (I'm not a big football fan, but I went to an Eagles game in Denver with my friend who's a die-hard Eagles fan, so I'm rooting for them today.) šŸˆ

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šŸ”„ Big News of the weekĀ šŸ”„

  • Adidas is at risk to lose a lot thanks to Ye. Shares plummeted 11% after the company warned that it could lose around $1 billion in revenue and $500 million in operating profit due to its decision to end its relationship with Kanye West following his racist and antisemitic comments. CEO BjĆørn Gulden declared that 2023 will be a year of transition to establish a foundation for the company to become a growing and profitable entity once again. Just the other week, Adidas partnered with Jenna Ortega to launch the "She Breaks Barriers" initiative. (source)

  • A Manhattan court has found NFT images of fur covered Birkin handbags to have violated trademark rules. This sets a precedent in other trials around NFTs usage of other trademarked material. (source)

  • Bed Bath & Beyond is attempting to raise approximately $1 billion through issuing preferred stocks and warrants as a last-ditch resort to avoid bankruptcy. Additionally, they plan to close 149 stores. (source)

  • Uh oh, more layoffs

    • Ebay laid off 500 workers (source)

    • Bark Box laid of 12% of their workforce (source)

    • McCormick & Co. cutting an undisclosed amount of jobs as part of a larger plan to save $75 million in 2023. The company is implementing a voluntary retirement program, as well as other actions, and is turning to automation to trim its workforce and improve efficiency. (source)

  • Chick-fil-A is finally entering the plant-based market with their cauliflower sandwich, made in the same way as their classic chicken sandwich. (source)

šŸ—žļø News from the weekĀ Ā (2/6/23 - 2/12/23)

šŸ› Retail

  • The Vitamin Shoppe has opened its first ever franchise location in Indiana. 58 franchise territories have been signed to 15 franchise partners so far, with 12+ stores opening in ā€˜23. You too can open a franchise at www.OwnAVitaminShoppe.com. (source)

  • BJ's Wholesale Club announced its expansion of new club locations, including its first in Tennessee, as well as clubs in Davenport, Florida and McDonough, Georgia. Each new club is expected to create approximately 150 jobs in the area. (source)

  • Babylist, an online registry with over 9 million customers, is set to open an 18,000 sqft. store in Beverly Hills, featuring interactive experiences and resources for expecting parents. This move reflects the trend of established digital brands expanding into brick-and-mortar retail, as well as the increasing focus on mental health and wellness for pregnant women. (source)

  • Foodcellar Market in NY has begun allowing its customers to use Scan & Pay, a technology powered by Instacart, which enables shoppers to use their smartphones to scan and pay for items. (source)

  • Shipt (owned by Target) has launched LadderUp, an accelerator program to help small businesses. It offers 8 weeks of industry knowledge, $5,000 for e-commerce, and free access to Shopify's platform. Applications are open until March 6 ā€˜23. (source)

  • NielsenIQ has added Pacvue to its Partner Network, giving CPG brands the ability to measure the impact of their media spend in-store and online, optimize store-level promos, and assess the results with location-based analytics. Retail media investment is expected to reach $55 billion by 2024, so it's essential to understand how it relates to other ad spend and affects the bottom line. (source)

  • Simon Property Group has sold itā€™s stake in outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer to Authentic Brands Group. (source)

šŸ›’ CPG & Consumer

  • Kellogg Co. has decided to keep its Morningstar Farms plant-based meat alternative business and incorporate it into the remaining snack-centric business. (source)

  • Woodford Reserve has appointed Elizabeth McCall as their third Master Distiller in 26 years, succeeding Chris Morris. McCall comes from a family with a background in the spirits industry. (source)

  • Tacombi, a manufacturer of tortilla products, salsas, and other condiments, has opened a 30,000-square-foot facility in Brooklyn, NY. The company started back in 2006, and now operates 11 taquerias and sells products in over 2,000 stores across 40 states. The restaurant-to-retail model has been super popular ā€“ Andrea from Snaxshot wrote a good breakdown here. (source)

  • Express has named Queer Eyeā€™s own Tan France as their new lead stylist! Heā€™s to lead the retailer's style editors and styling community. (source)

  • SunOpta has opened a new $125 million manufacturing plant in Texas, which will make the company's plant-based milks and creamers, along with tea and other beverages. Theyā€™ve invested nearly $200 million in its production capacity over the past three years in an effort to double its plant-based business by 2025. (source)

  • PepsiCo has reported that consumers are shifting back to name brands after months of opting for private-label alternatives due to inflation, with their CEO and CFO noting in their Q4 ā€˜22 prepared remarks that many of their large brands delivered double-digit net revenue growth in the fourth quarter. (source)

  • Nellson, LLC, a manufacturer of nutritional bars and functional powder, has reported that customer requests for plant-based protein have doubled in the past four years. According to Nellson, this shift is due to consumers recognizing the nutritional benefits of plant-based products. (source)

  • Hanna Andersson, a children's apparel brand, launched activewear that incorporates UV-protective wicking fabric and is made from recycled material. The brand has seen several CEOs over the years, and was acquired by private equity firm L Catterton in 2016. The children's apparel market is set to grow by 2.46% annually through 2027. (source)

  • The Mark Cuban-backed Unreal Deli has launched its line of plant-based deli meats into Sprouts Markets, with plans to expand to thousands more retail locations and 500 university menus in 2023. (source)

  • Koia, a delicious plant-based beverage company, has acquired a 48,000 square foot facility in Anaheim. With the help of this vertical integration and expanded retail distribution, Koia is aiming to reach $200 million in sales in the next couple of years. (source)

šŸ­ Supply Chain

  • UPS subsidiary Ware2Go has partnered with e-commerce platform Whitebox to expand its warehouse network and offer fulfillment solutions for Amazon merchants. This includes access to preferred advertising agency services, enhanced Amazon & Marketplace fulfillment services, broader retail compliance capabilities, additional delivery options, access to expanded warehouse footprint, and access to new commerce data sources. (source)

  • Gap has also partnered Ware2Go to offer SMBs access to Gap's network of 35 warehouses and distribution centers and Ware2Goā€™s tracking and insights platform. (source)

  • JAGGAER has announced new enhancements to its Amazon Business Integrated Search functionality. This allows buyers to view, filter and compare prices of Amazon Business products within JAGGAER eProcurement. (source)

šŸ’» eCommerce

  • Weee!, an e-grocery startup, recently had a data breach that impacted customer information for customers who placed an order between July 12, 2021 and July 12, 2022. No customer payment data was exposed. (source)

  • Pinterest has reached 450 million monthly active users globally, and is starting to focus on making videos 'shoppable' through computer vision technology and partnerships with major labels. (source)

  • Following in the steps of so many other clothing retailers, Kate Spade has launched a resale platform in partnership with thredUP. (soruce)

  • This week Shopify shared a smƶrgĆ„sbord of 100s of updates for merchants and developers. Letā€™s break it down - read in detail here

    • One page checkouts

    • Shop Promise Badge

    • Integrated AI for writing product descriptions

    • Improved customer accounts and sign on with Shop

    • Drag-and-drop editor for checkout

    • Enhanced inventory tracking

    • Product bundle

    • MetaobjectsĀ 

šŸ’ø Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • Post Holdings, Inc. is entering the pet food category. Itā€™s acquiring select pet food brands from The J.M. Smucker Co. for $1.2 billion, including Rachael Ray Nutrish, Natureā€™s Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles ā€˜n Bits and Gravy Train. The acquisition is expected to provide Post with a compelling entry point into the attractive and growing pet food category. (source)

  • Tofurky and Moocho, two leading plant-based meat manufacturers in the U.S., have been acquired by Morinaga Nutritional Foods, a U.S.-based manufacturer of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu. (source)

  • Kainos Capital LP, a PE firm focused on food and consumer products and services, has raised over $1 billion for their Fund III. Their previous investments include Whisps, SlimFast, and BeautyBio. (source)

  • Wolverine World Wide, Inc. has sold the Keds brand to Designer Brands, Inc. and granted an exclusive license to DBI for Hush Puppies footwear in the United States and Canada, generating total cash of over $90 million. The proceeds will be used to pay down debt and strengthen the company's capital structure. (source)

  • REI Path Ahead Ventures is accepting applications for its second year of the Navigate accelerator program, which provides a $25,000 equity-free grant, mentorship, access to REI's resources, and networking opportunities to companies earning between $75,000 and $2 million in revenue with at least one Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American or Pacific Islander founder. (source)

  • Rebellyous Foods, a Seattle-based plant-based chicken nugget maker, has raised $9.5 million in equity to build its production technology and continue deploying its custom-designed equipment to make plant-based chicken nuggets. (source)

  • Roar Organic has closed a $6 million capital round to help expand sales and marketing effort. (source)

  • reCommerce brands has acquired Firefly Buys, a full-service e-commerce accelerator and one of the largest North American Amazon sellers. (source)

  • The Ugly Company, maker of upcycled dried fruit snacks, completed a $9M Series A, led by Sun Valley Packing and Value Creation Strategies, with additional investments from Justin Timberlake and Valley Ag Capital Holdings. (source)

šŸ§ Interesting reads

šŸ’”Ā Reports, research, and trends

šŸ¦ Interesting Tweets

šŸ˜‹Ā Brands and things Iā€™ve tried this week

Rbel Bee! - honey based gummy candies

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!Ā 

Nate :)

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