Express Checkout #23

Commerce news from the week of 4/24/2023

Author

Nate Rosen
May 01, 2023

Hello!

This week, we lost a legend in the grocery industry, Stew Leonard. Stew built one of the best grocery stores, and I'm not just saying that because I grew up going to the original location. It really is one of the best! Known as the "World's Largest Dairy Store," the family-owned grocer does over $600 million in sales annually with just seven locations and more than 2,500 team members. Having grown up in the area, Stew's and the people behind it were always prominent figures. Just look at the comments on the obituary- they’re filled with love and admiration. It’s important to talk and address more than just the business side of this space, there are real people behind it. Both the builders and the customers.

We don’t want to lose sight of the people and communities that make this all possible.

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🔥 Big News - 10 items or less 🔥

🗞️ News from the week (4/24/23 - 4/30/23)

  • Bed Bath & Beyond coupons - In a brilliant move, both Big Lots (source) and the Container Store (source) are accepting Bed Bath & Beyond coupons during the month of May.

  • Blanding abound - General Mills has updated the packaging for its fruit snacks portfolio, which includes Gushers, Fruit By The Foot, and Fruit Roll-Ups, with new logos and color palettes. (source)

    • The Gushers update is perhaps the better of the bunch, but in my opinion, none of these are really interesting or impressive

  • Squeeze bottles cause a commotion - There was some (unnecessary) turmoil in CPG this week. The CEO of Graza, called out another olive oil brand for supposedly copying their packaging design. (source)

    • Many, including myself, do not believe that this was a case of copying. The act of publicly calling people out in this manner rarely achieves its intended purpose and hardly ever makes you look good.

  • Adidas gets sued over Ye - Investors are suing Adidas, claiming that they knew about the risks of its partnership with Kanye West and failed to take any measures to limit financial losses if the partnership were to end. Adidas ended its partnership with Kanye in October ‘22 following the designer's many antisemitic remarks. (source)

  • More layoffs across the space

    • Gap Inc. plans to lay off 1,800 employees in a cost-cutting effort, expected to result in $300 million of savings. (source)

    • Tyson Foods will eliminate about 10% of corporate positions and 15% of senior leadership roles. (source)

    • 3M has announced restructuring actions that will affect approximately 6,000 positions globally. These actions are expected to generate annual pre-tax savings of $700m - $900m upon completion. (source)

  • Reselling luxury - eBay has launched its Certified by Brand program, partnering with luxury brands to scale their presence in the secondary market and providing shoppers with access to a wider selection of authentic luxury watches, handbags, and jewelry. (source)

  • Amazon lost its Halo - Amazon is shutting down its Halo Health division, effective July 31, and offering full refunds on hardware purchased over the past 12 months. The company will also be ending subscription fees and refunding those that were pre-paid. The move comes after Amazon announced 9,000 layoffs at the end of last month, with its hardware divisions being disproportionately impacted. (source)

  • Best Buy gets moving - Oura, smart ring maker, has partnered with Best Buy to bring its product to around 850 locations across the US. (source)

  • Shopify managing your bills - Melio, a B2B payments platform, has partnered with Shopify to launch Shopify Bill Pay, an accounts payable solution that allows Shopify merchants to pay and manage their business bills directly from their Shopify admin. (source)

🛍 Retail

  • WHP Global has partnered with El Puerto de Liverpool to launch Toys"R"Us in Mexico, with standalone stores and e-commerce. The first flagship store is set to open in Holiday 2023. (source)

  • Retailers targeting business customers

    • IKEA has launched new a loyalty program called the Ikea Business Network, which offers perks to small businesses, including access to the Ikea Family loyalty program benefits and discounts on products, food, and services. Members also receive access to Ikea interior design services and a variety of discounts on food, health, fitness, and travel through BenefitHub. (source)

    • Lowe's has introduced a new suite of mobile tools aimed at businesses. The tools include online quoting, volume savings program, buy it again, and order tracking. (source)

  • Swedish luxury bed and mattress company Hästens has partnered with luxury distributor MadaLuxe Group to open 20 Hästens stores across the U.S. over the next five to seven years, with the first two stores already leased in Dallas and Houston. These bed start at $13K and go into the 6-figures… (source)

  • Mable, a wholesale platform based in Boston, has announced a partnership with Yatco, a family-run convenience store, to introduce emerging CPG brands to Yatco's 18 convenience stores throughout New England. (source)

  • Infamous travel brand Away is opening a new retail store in San Jose, California, its first since 2021, with a grand opening event scheduled for May 6. (source)

  • Tiffany's flagship store in New York City has reopened after extensive remodeling under new owners LVMH. The 110,000-sq.-ft. store, known as "The Landmark," features reimagined interiors with lighter woods and gold accents, a skylight, and works from famed artists. The store also includes a redesigned Blue Box Café and dedicated museum and exhibition spaces. (source)

  • Workers at a Trader Joe's in Oakland, CA voted to unionize, making it the fourth TJ's to have employees who are members of Trader Joe's United. (source)

  • Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, has agreed to acquire 112 fuel and convenience stores in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia from Mapco Express. (source)

    • The acquisition coincides with another transaction in which Mapco and its remaining locations have been sold to Majors Management who plans to acquire Mapco. (source)

  • Walmart continues its healthcare expansion with the opening of four new health centers in the Oklahoma City-area. The one-stop model will offer primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services co-located by pharmacy and vision services and next to healthy foods in the Walmart grocery section. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

  • Sexual wellness brand Tabu, focused on women in menopause, has launched on Sephora's website with its Golden Hour Kit and Aureum personal lubricant. The brand's sales have jumped 285% YoY. (source)

  • Insomnia Cookies and tbh have collaborated to create a new limited-edition cookie, the Banana Crepe Filled Deluxe. The cookie is made with banana-flavored dough mixed with chocolate chunks and filled with tbh’s hazelnut spread. tbh was co-founded by Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp. The limited-edition cookie is available at all of Insomnia's 235+ locations nationwide through May 21. (source)

  • Snif, an emerging fragrance brand (that I use), and famous Brooklyn bakery L’Appartement 4F are partnering for a pop-up celebrating the launch of their new food-inspired scent, Crumb Couture. (source)

  • Teremana Tequila, founded by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in 2020, has sold over 1,000,000 cases annually. This is an impressive feat in a short amount of time, but it does help to have a massive Hollywood celebrity at the helm. (source)

  • A.G. Barr (not the attorney general) is expanding the Funkin brand in the US by adding ready-to-drink cocktails to its range. (source)

  • One of the most popular tech reviewers on YouTube, Marques Brownlee AKA MKBHD, has released a sneaker with Atoms shoes. The two collaborated on the shoe for over the past 3 years to bring it to life. (source)

  • Panda Express has partnered with Fly By Jing to create a new menu item, Spicy Wagyu Beef Dumplings, available for a limited time at the Panda Express Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena, California. (source)

  • Target is now offering Hapi Water, a sugar-free beverage aimed at taking on Capri Suns. Hapi is now available at over 1,500 Target locations. (source)

  • Oatly has signed its first global airline collaboration with Swiss International Air Lines, making Oatly available onboard all flights. (source)

  • Conagra Brands and Wendy's have partnered to bring Wendy's chili to grocery stores across the US. (source)

    • This is not a new phenomenon and I would expect to see restaurants of all shapes and sizes continue to bring their offerings to store shelves.

  • Just Spices, a European spice brand, has launched in the U.S. market one year after being acquired by Kraft Heinz. (source)

  • Lipton has introduced a new hard iced tea made with real brewed Lipton tea, natural fruit flavors, and a malt base. (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

  • Rep. Garamendi has introduced the Ocean Shipping Competition Enforcement Act, which would give the Federal Maritime Commission more power to block anticompetitive agreements among foreign ocean carriers without having to first obtain a federal court order. Hopefully, this will curb price gouging on ocean freight. (source)

  • Guidehouse announced that Ocean Spray, DS Smith, Neiman Marcus Group, and MHI have joined the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition consortium to address supply chain emissions. The consortium offers a cost-effective solution to reduce emissions. (source)

  • Michael Foods, a Post Holdings company based in Minnesota, is set to expand one of its egg production facility, adding 132,000 square feet and 186 jobs to the 150,000-square-foot site. The $146 million expansion is expected to begin in July 2023. (source)

  • Utz Brands is permanently closing its manufacturing facility in Birmingham, Alabama, resulting in the layoff of 175 workers. The facility, which makes Golden Flake fried pork skins and other products, employs about 275 individuals. Approximately 100 employees will continue working in Birmingham in Utz's distribution center. (source)

  • Lego has broken ground on its first US manufacturing facility in Virginia, which will cost ~$1 billion and employ over 1,700 people. The carbon-neutral plant will use solar power and aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 37% by 2032. (source)

  • Happy Moose Juice, a San Francisco-based juice company, has purchased a cold storage business after its previous partner announced it was shutting down. The acquisition will allow the company to have greater control over its supply chain and distribution. (source)

💻 eCommerce

  • Klarna has launched a suite of new innovations, including (source):

    • Personalized shopping feed powered by AI (wow surprising…)

    • Personal shopping assistant called "Ask Klarna"

    • Resell functionality to sell pre-loved items through secondhand marketplaces

    • Growth tools for retailers and creators, including Creator Shops and Ads Manager

  • Yahoo Advertising has partnered with Pear Commerce to bring shoppable ad products to its demand-side advertising platform. (source)

  • Pinterest is opening its platform to third-party ad demand, starting with a strategic partnership with Amazon. The move is aimed at expanding shoppable content and connecting users directly to Amazon for purchase (source)

  • Instacart and Roku have partnered to help CPG advertisers make TV advertising more relevant and performance-driven. The partnership brings together data from Roku and Instacart for marketers to measure whether streamers are purchasing products after seeing an ad on Roku. (source)

  • Instacart has also introduced new ways to save money, including a "Stores to Help You Save" section, personalized deals based on past orders, and promotions for meeting a certain dollar or item threshold. (source)

  • 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has launched the MomVerse, an AI-powered composer powered by ChatGPT that creates personalized poems and songs for Mother's Day. (source)

  • Amazon and Citi have partnered to offer eligible credit card members the option to pay over time using Amazon Pay at participating online retail sites. Members can select 3- to 48-month payment plans for purchases of $50+. (source)

  • Shopify Collabs has introduced two big updates (source):

    • Collabs Network - allows brands to share affiliate offers with all verified creators

    • Automated Payouts - saves time for merchants and ensures regular and reliable payments for creators.

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • Sourse, a chocolate supplements brand founded by actress Sarah Hyland and Jenne Moore, has raised $2.4 million in seed funding from several investors, including New Theory Ventures, H Ventures, and JAWS Ventures. (source)

  • Aila, a superfood supplements brand, has been acquired by a group of Olympic athletes and entrepreneurs from the UK with backgrounds in digital health, talent, and performance nutrition. (source)

  • Ceremonia, a clean hair care brand, has raised $10 million in a series A investment round led by Sandbridge Capital, with participation from existing investors Silas Capital and Female Founders Fund. The brand plans to use the funds to support its expansion to more than 500 Sephora stores and to open its first flagship store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood. (source)

  • Yellow Banana, owner of eight Save A Lot locations in Chicago, has received a $26.5 million investment to upgrade six of its grocery stores on the South and West sides of Chicago. (source)

  • Authentic Brands Group acquires the Vince clothing brand IP for $76.5M in cash and a 25% ownership stake in a newly-formed subsidiary called ABG Vince. Vince will pay a royalty fee to ABG Vince and receive a quarterly distribution equaling 25% of its net cash. (source)

  • DIBS Beauty, a fast-growing cosmetics brand, has received a significant growth capital investment from L Catterton, a leading consumer-focused investment firm. (source)

  • Beauty and wellness platform Oddity is acquiring biotech startup Revela for $76 million and is investing another $25 million to build Oddity Labs in Boston. Oddity generated $395 million in gross revenue and $500 million in sales in 2022. (source)

  • Maple Hill Creamery, America's largest 100% grass-fed focused dairy business, has received $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote growth in regenerative grass-fed organic dairy farming. (source)

  • Few Spirits founder Paul Hletko and Redemption Rye Whiskey creator Dave Schmier have acquired Goza Tequila for an undisclosed sum. (source)

  • Distill Ventures, backed by Diageo, has invested in five drinks brands (source):

  • Plant-based meat company Chunk Foods raised $15 million led by Fall Line Capital led alongside The MIT E14 fund and FootPrint Coalition. (source)

  • Better Bite Ventures has invested in four early-stage alternative protein startups in the Asia-Pacific region through its First Bite initiative, which offers a $50,000 investment to new alt protein founders. The startups include Cultivaer, EatKinda, Klevermeat, and Allium Bio. The next round of First Bite applications is open until May 19. (source)

  • Japanese drinks company Kirin has agreed to acquire Australian vitamins and infant-formula group Blackmores for around $1.24 billion to expand its health products portfolio. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

💡 Reports, research, and trends

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

Honey Mama’s is simply one of my favorites, this week I broke into this variety box with the Coffee Nib Crunch. Crushed that in one sitting. Freaking delicious!

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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