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Express Checkout #40 - the latest in CPG, Retail, and eComm

Commerce and CPG news from the week of 8/28/2023

Author

Nate Rosen
September 05, 2023

Hello hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day long weekend!

I was out in Cincinnati for my brother-in-law’s wedding! They held it at The American Sign Museum, which was such an awesome venue! They had signs from all over, from stores of all types!

While I was out there I also stopped by two distilleries on the Bourbon Trail! 1st stop was Castle & Key, which is a newer brand that operates out of the facility that Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. built in 1887 and was the last distillery he built. The distillery has been beautifully restored, and it was fascinating to see the old equipment E.H. Taylor was a vital figure in the development of American Bourbon and has his hands in many whiskey brands including our 2nd stop, Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace is a much bigger operation, having produced over 8 million barrels since Prohibition. They also are home to over 20 brands such as Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton's, Sazerac Rye, and Van Winkle.

Castle & Key

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Now, on to the news of the week!!

(Heads up this email might get clipped, it’s a big one! You can always view the full issue here.)

🔥 Big News - 10 items or less 🔥

  • Plant-based beauty brand acquired - E.l.f. Beauty has acquired Naturium for $355 million, reportedly doubling its skin care business to 18% of retail sales. Naturium was founded in 2019 through incubator The Center. (source)

  • Macy’s 🤝 Gap - Macy's has partnered with Gap to launch an exclusive collection of sleepwear, underwear, and intimates. The collection is available on Macys.com, Macy's mobile app, and select stores. Centric Brands will design, produce, and distribute the Gap and GapBody sleepwear and intimates assortment sold at Macy's through a partnership facilitated by Gap's licensing agency, IMG. (source)

  • L Catterton on an acquisition spree - Thorne HealthTech will be acquired by L Catterton for about $680 million in cash. (source)

    • My friend Rohit provided a great breakdown over on Twitter here

    • Joshua Schall has also made a solid video breakdown over on his YouTube channel here

  • Fight of the dad shoes - New Balance has filed a legal complaint against Golden Goose, alleging that the brand copied its distinctive Dad sneakers, specifically its flagship 990 series. New Balance claims that Golden Goose's rendition creates a misleading association between its products. (source)

  • Amazon & Shopify unite… kinda - Amazon will soon release an app on Shopify that allows US-based merchants using Amazon's fulfillment network to add Buy with Prime button to their Shopify Checkout processed by Shopify Payments. (source)

  • Kylie take over? - Kylie Jenner is reportedly in talks to buy back the 51% stake in Kylie Cosmetics that Coty bought in 2019 for $600 million. There have been disagreements over price and valuation, and sources say Jenner and Kim Kardashian are frustrated with how Coty has managed their brands. So we will keep a close eye on this one! (source)

🗞️ News from the week (8/28/23 - 9/3/23)

🛍 Retail

  • Brilliant Earth, a fine jewelry company, has opened its first mall locations in New York, Pennsylvania, and California. The move into malls is part of Brilliant Earth's strategy to reach a wider audience and showcase the brand to more customers. (source)

  • Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is opening its first location in Southern Nevada. The grocery chain currently has close to 460 locations. (source)

  • Bath & Body Works is hiring 30,000 seasonal sales associates for the holidays, with applications open until October 29th. The company is also hiring 2,500 employees for its Ohio distribution centers. (source)

  • Grubhub Campus has announced that Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is now available at Loyola University Maryland, the first Grubhub-partnered campus to deploy the technology. (source)

🛒 CPG & Consumer

  • Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has abruptly ceased operations and laid off its workforce, citing an inability to obtain additional financing. The company was owned by PE firm Stephens Group and had been a major supplier to retailers such as Crate & Barrel. The closure follows the similar shutdown of Klaussner Home Furnishings earlier in the month, and the industry remains on edge as more companies struggle in the wake of declining sales post-pandemic. (source)

  • Tushy care company, Dude Wipes, has released a pumpkin spice flushable butt wipe! And yes, it is indeed real. You can purchase it on Amazon! (source)

yum

  • Fashion and lifestyle brand Alo Yoga has broken into the supplements category with the launch of The Alo Stackable Wellness System, a collection of clean supplements that provide health-boosting benefits. The first installment of Alo’s ingestibles features 3 gel shots which launch on Aug. 28. (source)

  • Chia Smash, a line of jams made with no added sugar and chia seeds, will be available at over 220 Target locations across 22 states in the US. Chia Smash is already sold in nearly 3,000 locations, including Whole Foods. (source)

  • PepsiCo has announced that it will eliminate plastic rings on beverage multipacks across the US and Canada by introducing recyclable paper-based designs. (source)

  • Juvee, the energy drink from 100 Thieves, is expanding into Canada with its two most popular flavors, Kiwi Strawberry and Blue Raspberry, available for purchase on Amazon.ca. (source)

  • Yaza has launched in the US with three unique flavors of labneh, a tangy staple in Mediterranean diets made from fresh milk. Yaza offers plain labneh and additional blends including Za'atar & Olive Oil and Spicy Chili varieties. (source)

  • Good Crisp Company has launched a new crinkle-cut chip, which is now available in Sprouts and Thrive Market. Good Crisp is known for making a better alternative to Pringles. (source)

    • Highly recommend Good Crisps jalapeño flavor!

  • Chef Gordon Ramsay has launched his first line of frozen food, By Chef Ramsay, exclusively available at Walmart. The line includes eight different meals, ranging from lasagna to shepherd's pie. (source)

    • There have been a significant increase in what I’ll call upgraded frozen food/meals. I’m excited to see this category grow!

  • World Champion boxer Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has launched a Tequila-based RTD, VMC in the US, The range, which first came to market in Mexico last year, and is a partnership between Canelo, Spirit of Gallo and Casa Lumbre. (source)

  • JUST Egg has seen a 45% growth in US college and university food service accounts over the past year, with over 40 new campus partners added since Jan ‘23 alone, bringing the total number of institutions offering it to 120. The news comes as students and higher education establishments increasingly embrace plant-forward food, with catering giant Sodexo planning to make 50% of the meals it serves in US universities plant-based by 2025. (source)

  • 5 food and beverage brands have been chosen to participate in the BeyondSKU accelerator program. The program will provide education, mentorship, and networking opportunities. The startups selected are:

    • Dam Good English Muffins, a vegan sourdough English muffin baker

      • These are absolutely AMAZING

    • Down to Earth, a ready-to-drink iced tea brand

    • Gourmend Foods, an organic broth and seasoning maker

    • Kekoa Foods, an organic baby food puree manufacturer

    • Pinsa Love, a Roman-style frozen pizza brand

  • Eight finalists for the Real California Milk Excelerator competition have been selected, with four of them receiving $30,000 to expand their products in California and the grand prize winner receiving $100,000 for demonstrating the most promising growth over the course of a year. The finalists include:

    • Arbo's Queso Dip

    • The Empanada Shop

    • New Alchemy Distilling

    • Amazing Ice Creams

    • Noorysha Yo-Gut

    • Petit Pot

    • Shakewell

    • WonderCow Nutrition

  • Brooklyn based brewery TALEA Beer Co has released its latest collaboration with the better-for-you soda brand Olipop! Their Strawberry Vanilla Cream Ale mimics Olipop’s Strawberry Vanilla soda. (source)

    • Talea has some of my favorite beer on the market! They’ve also been collaborating a ton with brands like Tony’s Chocolonely and Oat Haus!

  • Clean Age, a Gen Z focused personal care brand, is expanding its retail presence with a launch at Walmart. The brand's deodorants, priced at $9.98, will be available in 1,865 Walmart stores, bringing its total store count to over 5,000. (source)

  • Glossier is partnering with Sephora in the U.K. after a successful retail partnership in the U.S. and Canada. (source)

  • Madison Reed, a hair color brand, has expanded into 1,500 Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com. (source)

  • Hallmark and Venmo have collaborated to launch Hallmark + Venmo Cards, which allow customers to send money securely with Venmo in a physical Hallmark card. (source)

  • Cookware brand Caraway has released a new prep set and cutting board collection that includes essential kitchen tools for at-home cooking. (source)

  • Fragrance brand, Diptyque has launched its first refillable candle collection, "Les Mondes de Diptyque," featuring five luxury pieces. The collection deviates from the brand's traditional packaging and includes a gold wick trimmer and matching snuffer to gently extinguish flames. (source)

💻️ eCommerce 

  • DoorDash has developed a voice ordering system that uses AI and live agents to support restaurant operations. (source)

  • Walmart Marketplace has introduced new self-serve tools for merchants, including Brand Shops and augmented reality, to help them expand their product catalog and attract more sellers to its platform. The company also announced Walmart Restored, a new premium tier for existing sellers to add refurbished items to their product catalogs. (source)

  • Viddy is a new e-commerce platform that creates fast video shopping experiences for DTC brands on social media platforms such as Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat. (source)

  • Perfect Corp. has partnered with ELEMIS to launch the ELEMIS AI Skin Experience, which uses Perfect Corp.'s AI Skin Diagnostic technology to provide customers with a detailed skin assessment and personalized skincare product recommendations. The mobile-only experience will launch on elemis.com in the UK and US. (source)

🏭 Supply Chain

  • Better Trucks, a logistics firm focused on rapid parcel delivery, has expanded its coverage area to 32 markets across 20 states, delivering to 126 million people and 40% of U.S. households. (source)

  • Apptronik has unveiled Apollo, a humanoid robot. It will initially be focused on case and tote handling solutions in logistics and manufacturing, but Apollo is a general-purpose robot designed to work in various industries. (source)

  • Wawa has reached its 150th store offering electric vehicle charging and launched its first battery-electric truck in partnership with Penske Logistics. This is the first electric truck used in Wawa’s history and the very first Penske truck of this kind in the Philadelphia region. (source)

  • Sheetz plans to build a new food preparation and distribution facility in Findlay, Ohio, costing $145 million and creating over 700 jobs over the next five years. This will be Sheetz's 4th distribution center, joining facilities in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. (source)

  • DoorDash is implementing new safety features to ensure responsible alcohol delivery in Massachusetts. These features include bans on deliveries to college campuses and high-risk areas, improved scanning technology to prevent fraudulent IDs, enhanced compliance modules for Dashers, and a streamlined return process. (source)

  • Hershey plans to close its Dot's Pretzels factory in Velva, North Dakota, in October to increase production capacity at other locations in its manufacturing network. (source)

  • Anheuser-Busch is investing $22.5 million in its Houston brewery to improve workplace safety and brewery efficiency. The investment includes upgrading the cooling system, which will reduce electricity consumption and conserve resources for the local community. (source)

💸 Funding, Exits, M&A, and VC

  • E. & J. Gallo made two purchases in one week!

    • They acquired Rombauer Vineyards for an undisclosed sum. Rombauer Vineyards produces approximately 340,000 cases of wine per year from grapes sourced from the winery's 13 estate vineyards that sprawl over 700 acres. (source)

    • They also acquired Massican Wines, Napa Valley's only white wine-only producer, in a new partnership with founder and winemaker Dan Petroski. Petroski will remain in control of Massican's winemaking and grape sourcing. (source)

  • CH4 Global has raised $29 million to build and validate the CH4 Global EcoPark, an aquaculture and production facility that will produce an Asparagopsis seaweed-based feed ingredient at a commercial scale. (source)

  • Scottish alternative protein startup Enough has raised $43.6 million to double its production of Abunda, a meat alternative made from fungi. (source)

  • Obvi, the collagen protein powder and supplement company, has announced the acquisition of the Coffee Over Cardio brand. (source)

  • Veritas Farms, a brand within the CBD space, has completed the acquisition of ASYSTEM. The acquisition is part of Veritas' roll-up strategy to expand beyond CBD into the multi-billion dollar wellness industry by acquiring and merging brands. (source)

  • Koverly, a B2B payments solutions provider, raised $7.6 million in seed funding from Accomplice VC, Vinyl Capital, and One Way Ventures to provide short-term capital to importers. Their product, KoverlyPay, is the first BNPL solution to offer a 30-day extension on FX payments at no cost to the buyer or seller. (source)

  • Children's footwear brand Jbrds has raised $500,000 from unnamed investors at a valuation of $5 million. The brand offers anatomically designed footwear for children's developmental needs. (source)

  • Benitago Group, an e-commerce business acquirer, has filed for bankruptcy after raising $380 million in equity and debt in the past two years. (source)

🧐 Interesting reads

💡 Data, reports, and trends

😋 Brands and things I’ve tried this week

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

Nate :)

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