Consumer VC is brought to you by:
The Hidden Gems: There’s a lot of bull$#!+ in the Agency landscape. That’s why Brand Founders and Executives big and new trust: The Hidden Gems. They provide the most optimal boutique Agencies to conquer any goals/needs with top quality and efficiency. Brands get preferred rates. Can’t lose. They’re supporting the growth of incredible brands like Dr. Squatch, Monster Energy, Gorilla Mind, Saatva, and many more. David Drexler (founder) has agreed to provide the service for FREE forever to anyone in the Consumer VC community or mentions Consumer VC.
Whatever your need, just send a request and they’ve got the solution... it’s that easy! –> david@thehiddengems.com
Fundraises
Blank Street Coffee Raise $105 Million. Blank Street Coffee, the coffee house chain that was started in coffee carts in Brooklyn, raised $75 million in primary capital and $30 million in secondaries at ~$650 million valuation. Investors in the round include private equity firm and Joe & the Juice owner General Atlantic as well as Left Lane Capital, General Catalyst, and Tiger Global. Their last valuation was $500 million last year. The capital is to fuel their U.S. expansion and expand their menu. This past week, they also launched their first shop in Los Angeles and plan on expanding their afternoon menu options, like ice cream - Refreshment Mag
The Stitch Fix for Men’s Personal Care Raised $300k. Hale, the men’s personal care curation app by offering a guided experience based on individual assessments. The company raised approximately $300,000 in a friends-and-family round, with $100,000 coming from Andy Dunn and Red Swan Ventures, to support its operations and product offerings. The founder of Hale used to be Chief of Staff at Andy Dunn’s social media app, Pie. – Beauty Independent
Self Tanning Goes Premium as Dolce Glow Raised $11m Series A. Dolce Glow, a self-tanning premium brand, raised $11 million in a Series A round led by CAVU Consumer Partners. Founder Isabel Alysa Vita is the go-to Hollywood’s tanning artist – Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, JLo, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus have all been clients. The funds will be used for inventory, retail distribution, innovation, and team expansion. Dolce Glow aims to become a $100 million brand in the sunless tanning category. - Beauty Independent
Past Category exits: Kao buying Bondi Sands for ~$300M against ~$98M-$123M in revenue, a 2.4x-3x multiple
Beekeeper Coffee Raises Equity From Sports Stars, Expands to Target Nationwide. Beekeeper Coffee, the RTD coffee brand that has ties to LeBron James’ companies, raised an undisclosed amount from Rich Paul, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine, Jared Goff, Fred VanVleet, De’Aaron Fox, Min Woo Lee, Matthew Pritzker - Food & Beverage Magazine
Retail News
Target Targets Food & Beverage Sector For Growth. Target is expanding its Food & Beverage sector, achieving $9 billion in growth since 2019. The retailer is focusing on curating innovative products and fostering emerging brands to enhance its grocery offerings for busy families - Forbes
Target is winning over higher-income shoppers, becoming the fastest-growing retailer among the $125k+ income customer, with 5.5% YoY growth among frequent shoppers. This is a higher growth rate than Walmart. In a study by Alvarez & Marsal, households making more than $100,000 per year plan on increasing their food & beverage spend by 22%, hereas lower-income households plan to increase their spend by only 3%. Target has been very aggressive in bringing in emerging brands that are premium and/or better-for-you alternatives to legacy brands to further appeal to higher-income households. I’ve talked to a few brands that are launching nationwide at Target with little sales history.
Off Price Retail Soars. Ross Stores saw 13% Sales Jump in Q2 2026. TJX Companies plans to increase its store growth, targeting a long-term global base of 7,500 stores. Currently, they operate 5,285 stores. The company opened 23 new stores last quarter, including a second TJ Maxx in Spain, and is focusing on opportunities in both rural and urban markets. This quote jumped out at me:
In the first quarter of 2026, visits to Ross Dress for Less rose 17.7% year over year, while visits to TJ Maxx were up 2.6%, and visits to Marshalls were up 3%, per Placer.ai. Meanwhile, visits to traditional apparel stores were down 4.8%.
Source: Modern Retail
Gopuff Expands Private Label To Include Seasonal Products. Gopuff expanded its private-label portfolio with the launch of Crave Shoppe, focused on confections and baked goods. The new seasonal products include cakes, cookies, and edible cookie dough, designed based on customer preferences.
This has become a big part of Gopuff’s strategy. They launched their private label earlier this year, and now it appears in 1 out of 5 GoPuff orders. GoPuff has been explicit that transitioning to an owned-inventory model vs. a marketplace model is key to becoming profitable, as it allows them to capture more margin. Private label takes this one step further, as they will have much more control over margin and pricing.
Debuts, Distribution & Expansion
Beyond’s Beverage Goes Beyond The East Coast Beyond Meat has launched its Beyond Immerse functional beverage line in Erewhon stores across Southern California, marking its first retail presence on the West Coast. Their initial retail launch was in 26,000 retail outlets across New York.
Cure Hydration Launches in Walmart. Cure is expanding its retail presence by launching in Walmart – 4,500 of them. It takes their retail distribution to 27,000 doors. What’s impressive is they’ve raised only $8.2 million. They’ve reported that over the past three years, they’ve grown 561%, doors are up 35% YoY, and the company has been profitable since 2024. Walmart will offer a selection of Cure‘s hydration products for adults and children, including various packs priced between $10.98 and $24.98. This marks Cure‘s largest retail expansion to date, emphasizing its goal to become a family hydration brand. The functional drinks market is on fire and projected to grow from $165B to $316B by 2033, roughly an 8.5% CAGR - Beauty Independent