I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Consumer VC Roundup #156 – Latest News in Emerging Consumer Brands, Tech & Commerce Enablement
Hey friends,
One of my favorite musicals is Hair and over the past few years hair became one of the most active emerging consumer categories.
The start of science-based hair products began with Olaplex and K18, which focused on bond repair. They proved the demand was there. Now investment is flowing into multiple haircare theses, such as science-backed IP brands, clean formulations, and textured hair. Consumers now expect more from their hair products. And the global hair category is projected to reach $150.45 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 7.0%.
I bring this up because over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen two haircare brands raise capital: California Naturals and Filament. California Naturals produces haircare products that contain natural ingredients and positioned for the mass market. Filament is a science-based bond-building hair treatment. Despite all the activity, science-led and natural haircare brands continue to penetrate different hair categories. It still seems we’re early. Some of the activity from the past couple of years:
M&A:
K18 → Unilever - acquired 2024, estimated $500-600M
Not Your Mother’s → Henkel - announced March 9, 2026, completed April 27, 2026 (~$220M+ in sales)
Olaplex → Henkel - announced March 26, 2026, $1.4B, closing H2 2026
Fundraises:
Crown Affair - Series C, Stride Consumer Partners, 2026
The Doux - minority stake, VMG Partners, 2026
Ruka - $4.5M, Henkel Ventures + Freedom Trail Capital, 2026
California Naturals - Series B, Align Ventures, L Catterton, 2026
Filament - $2M seed, Wittington Ventures + Willow Growth Partners, 2026
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On to the rest of the news from the week:
🛒 Retailer Earnings & News 🛒
Dollar Tree Q1 net sales rose 7.2% to nearly $5B — comparable store sales up 3.5% — as value-seeking consumers drove traffic. The chain guides for $20.5–$20.7B full-year and plans 325 net new stores in fiscal 2026 - RetailDive
Dick’s Sporting Goods Dick’s posted Q1 revenue of $5.17B, beating estimates, with comps up 4.1%; acquired Foot Locker recorded its first positive comparable sales growth (+0.6%) since late 2024. Shares are up ~25% year-over-year despite management trimming full-year earnings guidance - Forbes
Kohl’s Q1 net sales fell 1.7% with Sephora shop-in-shops posting a rare low-single-digit decline - a reversal for the chain’s key traffic driver. Guidance held at -2% to flat, with GlobalData noting Kohl’s is underperforming in a still-growing beauty market - RetailDive
Best Buy‘s incoming CEO is repositioning the chain as a retail media and advertising platform - Q1 revenue rose 2% to $8.9B but the company still trails a broader electronics market that grew 3.6% - RetailDive
Walmart posted Q1 revenues of $177.8B (+7.3% YoY) and plans to funnel expected tariff refunds directly into lower prices for shoppers. Rising fuel costs present a headwind — the retailer warned prices could increase through Q2 and H2 as higher energy expenses flow into cost of goods sold. Full-year guidance maintained - RetailDive
💰 Investor News 💰
S2G, whose consumer investments include Beyond Meat, Everytable, has closed a $1 billion fund to invest in food tech, oceans, energy, and agriculture companies, aiming to enhance food and energy security - S2G
🧃 Consumer Brands 👚
💰 Fundraises 💰
Smash Foods, the maker of the popular superfood spreads and snacks, raised $5 million in a funding round, focusing on simplifying its brand story to drive growth - BevNet
California Naturals, which offers haircare and body care products that contains natural ingredients, has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Align Ventures, with participation from L Catterton, Midnight Venture Partners, Elizabeth Street Ventures, and Able Partners. The funding will help expand its distribution and product categories, following a reported 300% annual growth at Target - Beauty Independent
Filament raised a $2 million oversubscribed seed round led by Wittington Ventures and Willow Growth Partners. The funding will support its growth in the bond-building haircare category, which is experiencing significant investor interest and market growth - Beauty Independent
Ryl Tea, which offers sells zero sugar iced tea, raised $20 million in a Series C funding round, led by Purchase Capital, to enhance its retail and distribution capabilities in mass and club channels - BevNet
‘Ôrəbella, a fragrance brand founded by Bella Hadid, closed its Series A financing led by Silas Capital to support growth and expansion, with Anish Agarwal appointed as CEO - PRNews
Feel Peptides, which creates research focused peptide formulations designed to support overall wellness and performance, has raised $3 million to elevate branding and accessibility in the peptide market, led by Sugar Capital and Hyve Ventures - Beauty Independent
Patti’s Good Life, a soul food brand that was founded by Patti LaBelle, raised a strategic investment from Factory Holdings. The brand has grown to over $80m in annual sales - NOSH
WeRoad, the Milan-based community-driven travel-tech platform for adventure seekers, raised $58M in Series C funding led by Airbnb to expand to the U.S. - FINSMES
Sychedelic, which produces headphones that are designed to help individuals relax, sleep, and focus better, raised $3.5M in seed funding to support product development and global expansion of its neuromodulation systems. The product handles three things: music playback, wellness tracking, and neurostimulation - FINSMES
Campo Grande, which is aiming to become the premium or Wagyu of pork, raised $4M from Valor Equity Partners, Spacestation Investments, Supernatural, Ventures, and Chomps co-founder Pete Malonado - NOSH
Phytolon closed a $23.6 million Series B round to commercialize its natural food colors, led by an undisclosed strategic investor, following FDA approval of its first product - PRNewswire VC
💸 M&A 💸
Second Nature Brands has acquired Tillamook Country Smoker, a leader in protein-rich meat snacks. This acquisition marks SNB’s entry into the protein snacks category, complementing its existing portfolio. Tillamook has over $175 million in sales and operates two manufacturing facilities in Oregon - PRNewswire M&A
Wize Tea, a sparkling iced tea brand, has been sold to an undisclosed acquirer. The transaction details regarding the amount and strategic rationale were not disclosed - BevNet
The Daily Pour has acquired Whiskey Riot, a leading whiskey festival, marking its third major acquisition in 24 months - BevNet
Nestlé has acquired yfood Labs GmbH, which sells nutritional supplements in 30 European countries. This follows Nestlé‘s previous acquisition of a 49% stake in the company - BevNet
Protein Works gets acquired by Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy group. Protein Works was founded in the U.K. and sells protein shakes, meal replacements, supplements and snacks. It generates annual revenue of about €65 million - FoodNav
Trek One Capital is expanding its holdings in plant-based CPG with the acquisition of protein bar maker No Cow and Good Karma Foods, a flax milk brand - NOSH
Gordon Brothers has acquired the British luxury brand Radley and its intellectual property to expand its global operations. The firm plans to invest in Radley to enhance its international presence and product categories, focusing on markets like the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Asia. This acquisition aims to support Radley‘s growth strategy through strategic investments in marketing and product development - GlobeNewsWire
🚀 Debuts, Distribution & Expansion 🚀
Bombas, known for its direct-to-consumer model, has opened three stores and partnered with Target and DSW, achieving over $500 million in sales - Glossy
Popeyes is entering the grocery market with at-home biscuit products, expanding its brand presence beyond restaurants. This move signifies a strategic shift to reach consumers in retail settings - Food Dive
🚀 Product Launches
Gopuff is launching a new line of premium coconut water in collaboration with Tom Brady called Good Nut. This is the second time Tom Brady and GoPuff have collaborated on a product. This product aims to expand Gopuff’s beverage offerings. - Fox Business
Nurri has launched an ultra-filtered milk shake for kids exclusively at Sam’s Club, highlighting its new product offering - BevNet
💻 Consumer Technology 💻
💰 Fundraises 💰
Malama Health closed a $9.2 million seed round led by Acumen America, targeting Medicaid-covered births. The startup aims to address maternal care gaps in the U.S. - Forbes
GammaTime, a microdrama streaming app, raised a minority stake from Versant Media Group as part of its Series A round. The investment will help adapt parts of Versant’s entertainment library into scripted originals for the app. GammaTime focuses on mobile-native drama content across genres like romance and true crime - Forbes
CardsHQ, a platform for trading card collectors, received a strategic growth investment led by Shamrock Capital and EnOne Ventures to fund new stores and enhance its technology platform. The investment merges CardsHQ and Sports Card Investor into a single entity, aiming to expand retail locations and improve collector engagement. The merger creates the largest commerce, media and technology platform in the sports card and trading card game industry - PRNewswire M&A
Garner Health has closed a $100 million Series E round, led by Index Ventures, bringing its valuation to $2.74 billion. The funding will help address the demand for better healthcare provider selection and cost reduction for consumers - PRNewswire VC
💸 M&A 💸
Brand Velocity Group has acquired RCX Sports, the leading youth sports platform in North America, to enhance access and participation in youth sports. This acquisition is supported by a strategic investor group and aims to strengthen community partnerships and operational resources - PRNewswire M&A
📰 News 📰
Gopuff is enhancing its shopping experience to be more instantaneous, impacting consumer behavior at checkout - NOSH
Sephora is enhancing its digital beauty shopping experience by integrating with AI platforms like Google. This move aims to leverage its expertise in beauty product discovery and personalization to meet evolving consumer shopping habits - Glossy
Meta is rolling out premium subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram under the banner of ‘Meta One’ - Forbes
🛒 Commerce & Retail Tech 🛒
💰 Fundraises 💰
Scotch, which provides liquor retailers with an all-in-one software POS system, raised $20M in a Series A round led by VMG Partners, with participation from First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau, and Toba Capital. The funding will support its growth, which has exceeded 500% year-over-year, and has surpassed $1 billion in processed payment volume - Crunchbase
Paypercut, a payments platform for online merchants, raised €5M in a seed round co-led by Concentric, Passion Capital, and Araya Ventures, bringing total funding to EUR 7M. The funds will accelerate market expansion and product development - PRNewswire VC
Rep AI has raised $6.2 million in strategic follow-on funding led by Silicon Road Ventures to enhance its AI platform for ecommerce. This funding will support product innovation and market expansion - PRNewswire VC
Stord raised $250 million in a Series F round at a $3 billion valuation to advance its physical intelligence layer for commerce, with investors including Strike Capital and Kleiner Perkins - PRNewswire VC