Express Checkout #25

Commerce news from the week of 5/8/2023

Author

Nate Rosen
May 15, 2023

Hello!

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day weekend! Special shoutout to my mom (hi, Mom 👋) whose birthday we also celebrated this weekend!

Okay, who’s trying the Velveeta truffles with me??? I know you want to!! Who doesn’t like cheese?! You can, of course, pair this with the Van Leeuwen Kraft mac and cheese flavor 🥴 

I swear the doormen in my building must think I’m crazy with the amount of packages I receive. This week I was very lucky to receive some of that new new across CPG, including the recently launched Omsom saucy noodles, Ghost Bubblicious Cotton Candy, and Gorgie’s new flavors of their energy drinks!

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🔥 Big News - 10 items or less đŸ”Ľ

  • Off the market - Franchise Group, the owner of Vitamin Shoppe, Buddy's Home Furnishings, and American Freight, will be taken private in a deal valued at $2.6 billion. The consortium, which includes B. Riley Financial and Irradiant Partners, will pay $30 per share, representing an equity value of $1.05 billion and a premium of 31.9%. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2023. (source)

  • 1-upping fund 1 - RX3 Growth Partners has closed its 2nd fund at ~$150 million, making it one of the largest talent-backed consumer growth equity firms. The firm, co-founded by NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, partners with growth-stage companies across the consumer landscape such as Super Coffee, Manscaped, Hydrow, and Therabody. (source)

  • Vitamins and Pizza from the sky - Drone company Zipline has signed deals with Seattle pizza chain Pagliacci and wellness brand GNC to use its Platform 2 drones to deliver a variety of items. Zipline's delivery service is supposedly up to seven times faster than ground vehicles and is nearly inaudible. The company has already completed more than 600,000 deliveries since 2016 and plans to expand its services across the US and internationally.

    • Mark Rober made an excellent video about Zipline a few weeks back, watch it here!

  • A little wobbly - Peloton has recalled about 2.2 million exercise bikes due to fall and injury hazards. The Peloton Bike model PL01 has a seat post that can break and detach from the bike during use…ooof. (source)

  • Walking away - Online wellness and beauty retailer THG has announced that it has walked away from acquisition talks with private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. THG's shares fell ~17% after the announcement. THG has struggled since listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2020, and shares in the company have lost 85% of their value since the IPO. (source)

  • How many mattress stores do we need?! - Tempur-Sealy has agreed to acquire Mattress Firm, the largest bedding retailer in the US, for $4 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024 and will give the combined company 3,000 stores and 71 manufacturing facilities. (source)

  • Cleaning up their mess - Adidas has decided to sell parts of its unsold Yeezy merchandise and donate the proceeds to organizations affected by Kanye West's controversial statements. Adidas is currently facing a lawsuit from shareholders accusing it of failing to warn investors about West's behavior. (source)

  • Some more layoffs -

    • Allbirds announced in a 10-K filing with the SEC that it reduced its global corporate workforce by 9% and terminated 21 individuals in May 2023. This is their second round of layoffs, in August, the company laid off 8% of its global corporate workforce. (source)

    • Dollar Tree plans to lay off fewer than 90 positions at its corporate headquarters as it establishes an outsourced model for its Enterprise Contact Center. (source)

  • Subject Line: IPO Inbound - Klaviyo, a service which helps eCommerce brands manage and send emails, has confidentially submitted paperwork for an IPO in New York, according to sources. Klaviyo was valued at about $9.5 billion in its last financing round in 2021. (source)

🗞️ News from the week (5/8/23 - 5/14/23)

🛍 Retail

  • Warby Parker plans to open 40 new stores in 2023, bringing its total to ~240 locations. The company posted Q1 results that exceeded its guidance, with revenue rising 12.2% to $172.0 million, and is expecting revenue growth of 8% to 10% for the full year. (source)

  • Gotham, a cannabis store, has opened in New York City's Bowery neighborhood. The store seeks to be New York’s first “luxury cannabis and cultural concept store.” New York now has 5 registered dispensaries in the city and 5 more across the state. No medical license needed. You can find a list here! (source)

  • Best Buy has announced a new suite of membership options called My Best Buy Memberships, which includes My Best Buy, My Best Buy Plus, and My Best Buy Total. Each tier offers different benefits at different price points, with the new Plus tier costing consumers $49.99/year. (source)

  • Amazon is still struggling to figure out their retail strategy. They are scrapping two more Amazon Fresh stores, this time in Michigan. For the past couple months, Amazon has been re-evaluating how to push forward with their Fresh brand. (source)

  • Hy-Vee launched a new health and wellness subscription called Hy-Vee Healthy You, which offers personalized nutrition counseling, preventative health screenings, fitness videos, wellness classes, nutrition programs, and more for $99/month, across Hy-Vee's eight-state region. This is not the first, nor the last, retailer to push further into the healthcare world. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

  • Sobo Foods, a California-based startup with $1 million in funding, is launching a plant-based brand of Asian comfort food, starting with frozen dumplings in three flavors. Sobo Foods was founded by Eric Wu, who also co-founded personalized nutritional supplements company Gainful, and Adam Yee, a former meat scientist at alt-protein company Motif FoodWorks and technical co-founder at The Better Meat Co. (source)

  • Frito-Lay has issued a voluntary recall of a limited number of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire due to undeclared milk ingredients. No other Lay’s products are affected, and no allergic reactions have been reported to date. (source)

  • Cholula, the makers of one of my favorite and go-to hot sauces, has launched two new product lines, including three salsas and three taco seasonings, marking the brand's first-ever category expansion. (source)

  • Butter Buds has introduced Non-Dairy 32X, an ingredient solution that offers the same taste and texture of butter without the dairy allergen. Non-Dairy 32X incorporates sunflower oil and other natural flavors to mimic the characteristics found in dairy fat. It’s also water soluble and shelf stable. (source)

  • Actor Brad Pitt has launched The Gardener Gin, a London Dry gin created with former Tanqueray master distiller Tom Nichol and the Perrin family, owners of Château de Beaucastel. This is just a week after Emma Watson released her own gin brand, gin is having a moment! (source)

  • Keurig Dr Pepper has launched the Keurig K-Iced family of brewers, featuring three new coffee makers, along with the addition of five new ICED K-Cup pod varieties. The brewers feature a Brew Over Ice option that automatically adjusts the brew temperature, starting hotter to extract the full flavor of the ground coffee then cooling down to minimize ice melt. (source)

  • New Culture Foods will launch its animal-free mozzarella cheese, made with animal-free casein, at Nancy Silverton's Pizzeria Mozza in LA in 2024. (source)

  • CrossFit has announced a new partnership with Momentous, naming the brand the Official Supplements and Sports Nutrition Partner of CrossFit and the CrossFit Games through the 2025 season. (source)

  • Lemon Perfect, a fastest growing brand in the enhanced water category, has launched a new flavor, Watermelon, for a limited time only in Costco stores nationwide. Lemon Perfect is projected to have over $60 million in retail sales for 2023. (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

  • Associated Food Stores and Symbotic have announced a commercial agreement to implement Symbotic's A.I.-powered robotic warehouse automation technology in AFS' Utah distribution center. AFS is a provider of groceries and other goods/ services to independent grocers across the western United States. (source)

  • Renewcell and TextileGenesis partnered to extend traceability for Renewcell's Circulose recycled raw material. This will allow Renewcell to share real-time digital traceability with customers and supply chain partners using TextileGenesis's digital token technology. (source)

  • Roadie, a crowdsourced delivery platform owned by UPS, has launched RoadieXL, a local same-day delivery service for oversized items over 60 pounds. The service connects retailers with drivers who have the proper vehicle and equipment to handle the bulky item, and can travel up to 100 miles from the pickup point. (source)

  • DHL Supply Chain is expanding its partnership with Locus Robotics, the leading provider of autonomous mobile robots, to deploy 5,000 robots across its global network of warehouses and distribution centers. (source)

  • SHEIN has partnered with Queen of Raw, a global circular economy technology company, to rescue high-quality deadstock materials. SHEIN is utilizing Queen of Raw's proprietary software, Materia MX, to source existing materials from brands and retailers looking to responsibly clear out their excess inventory. (source)

💻 eCommerce

  • Etsy has launched a wedding registry on their site, which I’m very surprised to learn they didn’t have before! Couples can add personalized items to their lists and specify the exact customization for their guests. (source)

  • SMS marketing platform Postscript has expanded to offer brands a text-based sales channel. The company has been beta-testing the program with a bunch of brands, and the early data shows a 30% increase in new subscriber conversion in the first 30 days. (source)

  • E-commerce tech company Rokt has launched a payments solution called Rokt Payments Marketplace, which offers customizable and native placement of relevant credit card and payment-related offers to shoppers during checkout. (source)

  • TikTok has reportedly delayed the launch of its US shopping platform, TikTok Shop, until June at the earliest due to concerns over a potential US ban and a muted response to livestream. (source)

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • Solo Brands, a DTC platform of lifestyle brands such as Chubbies, Solo Stove, and Oru Kayak, has acquired TerraFlame, a company that creates eco-friendly fireplaces & fuel. TerraFlame's CEO will become the General Manager of TerraFlame. (source)

  • Constellation Brands, has acquired a minority stake in TÖST, an alcohol-free sparkling beverage brand, through its VC group. It is a "never alcohol" product, meaning there is no alcoholic fermentation at any point in the production process, expanding the opportunity to reach an even wider variety of occasions. TÖST is currently sold in 40+ states and 7 countries. Constellation Brands owns a variety of beer, wine, and spirits brands including Corona, Modelo, Robert Mondavi Winery, Casa Noble Tequila, and Meiomi, among others. (source)

  • Zamp, a fintech startup, has raised $4 million in fresh funding from groups like Valor Equity Partners, Soma Capital, Day One Ventures and a group of angel investors, including Truebill’s Yahya Mokhtarzada, and Shutterstock’s Jon Oringer. The platform helps online sellers calculate and aggregate sales tax across multiple sales channels, while Zamp monitors and communicates when a seller needs to make a filing. (source)

  • Oura, makers of a health and fitness focused smart ring, has acquired Proxy, a provider of a digital identity signal platform. The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Proxy's team will join Oura as full-time employees. (source)

  • Werewool, a company that produces biodegradable fibers with protein-based color and performance properties, has raised $3.7 million in seed funding led by Material Impact and Sofinnova Partners. The fibers have the potential to replace synthetic fibers and petroleum-based materials in clothing. (source)

  • Boston-based private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners has completed the acquisition of Suave, a beauty and personal care brand in North America, from Unilever. Yellow Wood Partners is creating the Suave Brands Company (SBC), a newly formed stand-alone business to support the Suave brand under the leadership of newly appointed CEO Daniel Alter. (source)

  • eCommerce funding and supply chain management software provider 8fig has raised $140 million in new funding, consisting of $40 million in a Series B round and $100 million in a credit facility. The latest round brings 8fig's total funding to nearly $200 million. (source)

  • Bluestar Alliance, a New York-based brand management company, has acquired the US-based wholesale and retail business assets of Dutch fashion brand Scotch & Soda. (source)

  • ARKO, the parent company of GPM Investments LLC, has secured over $2 billion in available capital for future M&A activity, including $1.5 billion from affiliates of Oak Street and $800 million from a renewed revolving credit facility with Capital One. ARKO is one of the largest operators of convenience stores and wholesalers of fuel in the U.S. (source)

  • Pernod Ricard has acquired a minority stake in EcoSpirits, a spirits distribution system that provides low-carbon, low-waste distribution systems for the wine and spirits sector. The deal was made through Pernod Ricard’s ConvivialitĂŠ Ventures fund. (source)

  • Luxco, a subsidiary of MGP Ingredients, has agreed to acquire Penelope Bourbon for $105 million, with the potential for up to $110.8 million if certain performance conditions are met. (source)

  • Singapore's ProjectEx, the world's first lab-grown cultivated exotic leather brand, is raising a $1 million pre-seed round to develop leather from animal skin using biotechnology and synthetic biology. ProjectEx is already in talks with leading luxury brands under the LVMH, Kering, and Richemont groups and anticipates launching its first exotic leather sheets within 18-24 months after raising the pre-seed funding. (source)

  • Superfiliate has raised $2.5M in a seed round co-led by Hawke Ventures and Vanterra Capital. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

💡 Data, reports, and trends

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Jake Kneller, the founder of Sweet Nothings, last week. I absolutely loved their spoonable smoothies, and I was pleasantly surprised when I tried their new nut butter bites. These were really delicious, the filling ratio was spot on!! Although I wish there were more in the package, 2 isn’t enough!

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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