Express Checkout #29

Commerce news from the week of 6/12/2023

Author

Nate Rosen
June 20, 2023

Hello hello!

I cannot believe there are now over 2,000+ of you subscribed to Express Checkout!! I've learned so much since I started writing this back in November 2022. Even if we haven’t met, simply taking the time to subscribe and read means the world, and I'm incredibly grateful for your support. Thank you all! 😁 

my god 😮

we did a number on this

Also, last week was my wife’s birthday 🎂 , and look at this amazing Key Lime Pie I got for her party. LOOK AT THIS! Cait really knows how to make ‘em! Support your local small businesses!

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If you’re in NYC for Fancy Food Show, let me know! I would love to grab a coffee or find time to chat.

Now on to the news of the week!

🔥 Big News - 10 items or less 🔥

  • Instant Pots are old news - Instant Brands, the parent company of Instant Pot, Pyrex, and CorningWare, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company plans to continue operating while undergoing court-ordered restructuring led by AlixPartners. (source)

  • Bed Bath & Overstock? - Overstock is in talks to buy some assets of Bed Bath & Beyond for around $21.5 million. The purchase would give Overstock access to intellectual property, rights to mobile applications, business data, and certain liabilities. Bed Bath & Beyond will choose the winning bidders in an auction this week. (source)

  • Screaming for ice cream - Unilever has acquired Yasso Holdings, a premium frozen Greek yogurt brand in the US. Unilever has been on an acquisition spree, particularly in the premium ice cream category. Yasso joins the ranks of Talenti, Breyers, Ben and Jerry’s, Magnum, and Wall’s. (source)

  • Guess I have to grow lettuce in my bathroom now - Indoor agriculture company AeroFarms has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing significant headwinds faced by the vertical farming industry. AeroFarms has raised $238 million in funding to date but has faced dwindling interest from investors in recent years. (source)

  • Great, more crap for the landfill - Shein is expanding its product assortment beyond apparel to include home goods, appliances, smart products, and DIY products through its newly launched integrated marketplace. They’re trying to take on the growing Temu app. (source)

  • Dunn is back! - Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos, will be joining WHP Global in an advisory role for the newly acquired Bonobos brand. Dunn will be working in partnership with EXPR CEO Tim Baxter, Bonobos President John Hutchison, and the entire Bonobos team to help drive the future of the brand. Bonobos was acquired from Walmart by WHP Global just the other month. (source)

🗞️ News from the week (6/5/23 - 6/11/23)

🛍 Retail

  • Westfield is giving up control of the San Francisco Centre mall due to a decline in sales, occupancy, and foot traffic after 20 years of operation. The mall has experienced major setbacks in recent years, with sales falling from $455 million in 2019 to $298 million in 2022, and foot traffic decreasing from 9.7 million visits in 2019 to 5.6 million in 2022. (source)

  • Madewell has opened a new store in Manhattan with a new store design concept, with plans to roll out the concept to additional locations throughout the year. The 5,400 sqft. space includes a new denim shopping experience, a lounge area, and updated fitting rooms with white denim curtains and arched entries. (source)

  • Casey's General Stores plans to add 40 more items to its private label portfolio over the next year, and its private label penetration surpassed 9% in the grocery and general merchandise. They’ve seen a lot of growth in these products, with a 31% sales increase compared to last year. (source)

  • REI Co-op is set to open a Re/Supply store in Oregon in August 2023, offering used outdoor gear and apparel. The 16,113 sq ft store will be located near the existing store and will be the second Re/Supply store after the one in Manhattan Beach, CA. (source)

  • Ikea is opening a new smaller-format 10,000 sq ft in Texas. The store will offer the opportunity to meet with Ikea experts to plan and order kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom designs, as well as a separate entrance for online purchases. This is part of Ikea's strategy to become more convenient to U.S. shoppers with smaller locations and e-commerce pickup points, and it is one of nine that Ikea said it will open in the U.S. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

  • SOMOS, a Mexican food brand that specializes in ready-to-eat foods and snacks, has added two new flavors of Salsa Macha to its portfolio: Salsa Macha with Nuts & Seeds and Salsa Macha with Mango & Pineapple. This new line brings the beloved "Mexican chili crisp" to kitchens and store shelves across the U.S. (source: SOMOS brands)

look how yummy!

  • BetterBrand has launched two new bagel varieties, The Pretzel and The Sesame. The company is known for bagels with the net carbohydrate equivalent of two banana slices, the protein content of four eggs, and the sugar content of one stalk of celery. (source)

  • UPSIDE Foods has received USDA approval for its 'cell-cultivated chicken' label, following FDA approval earlier this year. The company plans to debut its cultivated chicken filets at a restaurant in San Francisco. UPSIDE Foods closed a $400m series C round last year, bringing its cumulative funding to $608m. (source)

  • MOSH, the brain-health bar co-founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, has launched its 7th flavor, Cookies & Cream Crunch. It’s made with almond butter, cookie crumble, and their signature brain fuel blend. (source: MOSH)

  • Blank Slate Kitchen has released a jar of Zhug, a herby hot sauce from Yemen. (source)

  • Saint James Iced Tea, a line of all-natural, ready-to-drink iced teas, co-founded by John M. Ferolito, an industry veteran and co-founder of AriZona Tea, and Brad Neumann, is now available in select Walmart stores across the country. This marks the brand's largest national distribution and its first entry into superstores. (source: Saint James Tea)

    • Brad, Saint James co-founder said the following: “We couldn't be more thrilled to bring our refreshing, organic, all-natural iced teas to communities across the country. Through this exciting collaboration with Walmart, we’re able to reach an expansive consumer-base looking to embrace a healthier lifestyle, one sip at a time.”

  • The Illinois Liquor Control Commission has filed an emergency rule to regulate the retail placement of crossover alcoholic products, prohibiting their display adjacent to non-alcoholic products marketed towards children. Stores with large sales floors must separate co-branded beverages or post disclaimers. The regulation goes into effect immediately and expires in October. (source)

    • This is definitely in response to the Hard Mountain Dew and Hard SunnyD drinks that have come out recently.

  • Beam Suntory has partnered with Mezcal Amarás to distribute the premium mezcal brand in the U.S. through its existing distributor network starting July 1st. The deal builds upon Beam Suntory's efforts to expand its portfolio and premiumize its spirits category globally. (source)

  • Universal Standard, a size-inclusive fashion brand, has released its first-ever swim collection called Swim With Us. The collection features eight pieces ranging from $88 to $248. (source)

  • Makeup brand LaBommem Beauty has launched its products in Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. LaBomme Beauty soft-launched at the trade show Cosmoprof North America last year. (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

  • Chewy has opened a 4th automated fulfillment center in Nashville as part of its goal to reduce shipping distances and costs. The pet retailer has been shifting volumes to its automated centers and investing in Chewy Freight Services. (source)

  • Walmart is building its first owned and operated case-ready beef facility in Kansas, which will package and distribute a selection of Angus cuts to Walmart stores across the Midwest. The new facility will create over 600 jobs. (source)

  • UNFI is consolidating from four operating regions to three, called East, Central, and West. The restructuring effort will cut ~150 roles. (source)

💻 eCommerce

  • Social Snowball has released a new feature called Safelinks that generates unique, single-use discount codes for every customer that clicks on it. This should eliminate coupon code leaks and ensures promotions are used as intended. Brands like True Classic Tees have already been using this feature. (source)

  • J.Crew has launched a new shopping app that offers faster checkout, personalized product recommendations, and a 48-hour advance window for new launches and collaborations. (source)

  • Google has introduced two new features for online clothes shopping: virtual try-on for apparel using generative AI to show clothes on a range of real models, and new filters to refine product searches by color, style, and pattern. The virtual try-on tool is available for women's tops from brands including Anthropologie, Everlane, H&M, and LOFT. (source)

  • Shipt, a retail tech company, has appointed Katie Stratton as its first Chief Growth Officer. Stratton will oversee the new Shipt Growth team as Target is set to build Shipt as a bigger player in the CPG space. (source)

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • Gorgie, a natural sparkling energy drink brand founded by Michelle Cordeiro Grant, has raised $6.5 million in pre-seed funding, the largest pre-seed raise to date in the food and beverage industry. The company raised from the Lively board, CEO at Gelmart International, Harvey Sanders (former board member of Under Armor), Andrew Abraham (Founder and CEO of Orgain), Nancy Twine (Founder and CEO of Briogeo Hair Care), and Pete Lescoe (Founder of Food Should Taste Good). (source)

  • PopSugar founders Brian and Lisa Sugar have raised $33 million for their second fund at Sugar Capital, which will invest in consumer brands and software for retail. They are also launching a boutique investment bank, Avid Capital Advisors, to advise startups on M&A deals. (source)

  • Beekeeper's Naturals has raised $14 million in funding in a round co-led by Devonshire Investors and Cavu Consumer Partners, with participation from Vibrant Ventures and Muse Capital. They’ve experienced triple digit YOY growth and retail expansion, increasing from 5,000 to over 18,000 locations in the U.S and Canada in 2022. (source)

  • Oakland-based apparel company Unspun has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Lowercarbon, with participation from SOSV, Climate Capital, Signia Ventures, and MVP Ventures. The company plans to expand its tech development efforts and hardware with Vega, a new 3D weaving technology that transforms yarn into clothes in minutes. (source)

  • Performance-focused apparel maker Ten Thousand has raised $21.5 million in new funding led by DTC investor Provenance, with participation from Fernbrook and Alfa. (source)

  • Lalo, a baby and toddler brand, has completed a $10.1 million Series A round. The funding was led by Spin Master Ventures, with participation from Babylist, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's 35V, and ILIA Beauty Founder Sasha Plavsic's Untold Holdings. (source)

  • Pernod Ricard's VC arm, Convivialité Ventures, has acquired a minority stake in New Zealand-based non-alcoholic cocktail brand AF Drinks to fund its expansion in the US. (source)

  • Nohbo, a company specializing in water-soluble packaging tech, has closed a Series A round led by Material Impact Fund, with participation from Dara Holdings, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, LLLP, and SaferMade. (source)

  • UNCAGED Innovations, a biomaterials startup, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding from investors including InMotion Ventures and JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S investment arm to launch high-performance vegan leather. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

💡 Data, reports, and trends

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

Lesser Evil x Rind makes some of the most fun fruity popcorn I’ve had to date. Their cherry lime flavor has to be my favorite, but this is close behind! Pina Colada flavored popcorn! Who could say no to that? (You can get this online and at Whole Foods!)

Finally cracked into this Pizza Oil from Brightland and hot damn is it freaking delicious. Though I was gifted this one, I will be buying a replacement once this is done. Freaking incredible.

Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions, feedback, or stories or posts I missed, let me know!

Nate :)

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