Oura Health Seeks $11 Billion Valuation, Society Brands Buys Crunchi & More
Consumer VC Roundup #138 – Latest News in Emerging Consumer Brands, Tech & Commerce Enablement From the Week of October 6th
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This Week In Consumer
📰 Consumer News📰
OpenAI has launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, letting U.S. users buy directly from Etsy sellers and soon over a million Shopify merchants, including brands like Glossier and Skims. The feature, currently for single-item purchases, aims to streamline shopping within ChatGPT and will expand to more regions and multi-item carts. RD
🧃Consumer Brands👚
Oura Health, maker of the popular smart rings tracking sleep and wellness metrics, is seeking an $11 billion valuation through an $875 million Series E funding round. BI
Genesco Inc., owner of Journeys, has merged its Journeys, Schuh, and Little Burgundy brands into a single global entity called Journeys Global Retail Group. Andy Gray, former Journeys president and Foot Locker veteran, becomes CEO, while Chris Santaella, also from Foot Locker, serves as chief merchant. RD
Heineken has announced a $3.2 billion deal to acquire beer, soft drink, and retail assets in Central America — its first major M&A move in four years. CEO Dolf van den Brink called the acquisition a “transformative milestone” for the company. JD
Society Brands has acquired clean beauty brand Crunchi, known for its micro-influencer network, and plans further acquisitions in the health and personal care space. BI
Kohl’s has expanded its FLX athleisure line to kids and pre-teens, offering joggers, hoodies, and T-shirts priced $14.99–$50. The new collection is available online and in 300 stores, with plans to expand further next year. RD
Nike’s Jordan is opening its first U.S. World of Flight store on Oct. 10 in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. The location, housed in a historic Beaux Arts building, is the brand’s sixth global flagship, following stores in Milan, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, and Mexico City. RD
Big Lots is celebrating its comeback with a chainwide grand opening event on Oct. 30, 2025, after reopening 218 stores under new owner Variety Wholesalers. The celebrations follow a turbulent year that included a 2024 bankruptcy and failed sale to Nexus Capital before Variety Wholesalers acquired and revived the brand by mid-2025. RTP
Tom Brady’s collectibles brand, CardVault, is opening its first New York City flagship in SoHo on October 8. The store will feature trading cards, collectibles, a collector’s lounge, exclusive NYC merchandise, and on-site grading services from PSA, Beckett, and SGC. RTP
Uniqlo will open 11 new U.S. stores in 2026, including locations in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis. The expansion will bring its U.S. total to nearly 90 stores. RTP
Ikea is hosting a “Year of Cooking and Eating” pop-up in NYC’s Union Square from Oct. 2–26, featuring food-themed activities, tastings, and kitchen demos. The retailer also partnered with Vanguard Renewables to divert food waste from its restaurants and will roll out 200+ new food-related products this year. RTP
Vinarchy’s Echo Falls brand is launching a new ready-to-drink wine in the UK aimed at Gen Z consumers. The 250ml canned Summer Berries Fruit Fusion Spritz, with a 9% ABV, will be available at Tesco and Asda stores nationwide from the end of the month, priced at £2.50 ($3.35) per can. JD
Miraclesuit maker Swim USA is launching Aeston West, a new skincare brand for Gen X women, debuting Oct. 8. The line includes three products priced $58–$98, featuring the patent-pending Cellevitae ingredient and luxe, easy-to-use packaging. Aeston West will sell directly online, focusing on simplicity and accessibility. BI
UK wellness brand Ancient + Brave, known for collagen supplements, has launched in the U.S. after a 1,400% sales surge. Founded by Kate Prince in 2018, the brand offers seven clean, EU-sourced collagen products priced $46–$68 and plans a Los Angeles pop-up in January following £20 million in 2024 sales and £7 million in funding from Piper. BI
Evereden, aiming to be the leading Gen Alpha skincare brand, has launched in Sephora US as the retailer expands its Gen Alpha focus. BI
Blueme has opened a flagship store in Manhattan, introducing its line of luxury functional candles to New York City. BI
At Home’s bankruptcy reorganization plan has been approved, allowing the furniture retailer to erase nearly $2 billion in debt and secure a $500 million loan. It will soon emerge from Chapter 11 under the ownership of lenders including Redwood Capital, Farallon Capital, and Anchorage Capital, after filing in June due to tariffs and consumer uncertainty. RD
Rite Aid has closed all of its stores following its second bankruptcy filing in eight months. The retailer, which operated about 1,275 locations and three distribution centers across 15 states, cited debt and weak retail performance for its collapse. CVS, Walgreens, and Dollar Tree have taken over many of its former sites and leases. RD
Madame Lemy founder Holly Eve is shutting down her natural deodorant brand to protect her mental health after years of setbacks and stress. She’s now focusing on consulting and mental health advocacy, saying no business is worth her well-being. BI
💻Consumer Software💻
Meta launches Business AI, a customizable agent that helps brands chat with shoppers, answer questions, and boost sales across Facebook, Instagram, and websites. RTP
Mastercard has launched Mastercard Commerce Media, a global digital media network reaching 500 million consumers and 25,000 advertisers, using insights from 160 billion annual transactions to deliver targeted, transparent, and privacy-safe ads. RTP
dunnhumby has launched dunnhumby Incubate, a new program to co-develop innovative technologies with startups and entrepreneurs in data science, AI, retail tech, and customer experience. The initiative includes an external portal for idea submissions and an internal competition to surface innovation from within the company. BW
Vectice has partnered with ServiceNow to enhance AI governance and compliance for financial institutions. The integration will let ServiceNow IRM users automatically generate audit-ready AI model documentation, improving visibility, traceability, and approval efficiency. The move aims to help institutions meet tightening regulations while keeping pace with rapid AI innovation. BW
Amplio, an AI company helping manufacturers manage surplus, has raised $11.1 million in Series A funding led by Hitachi Ventures and Yamaha Motor Ventures. The funds will support expanding its go-to-market efforts and developing new AI systems, with plans to extend into categories like raw materials and finished goods. BW
Veylan has launched an AI-native advertising platform that unifies strategy, creative, media buying, and optimization in one system, aiming to replace fragmented adtech tools. Early adopters report 70% lower costs and 10x faster campaign execution, with new features offering real-time insights and automated campaign asset creation. BW
Oath Surgical raised $24 million in Series A funding led by FPV Ventures, bringing its total to $35 million. The company will use the funds to expand into oncology, grow its network of surgeon-owned, AI-powered surgery centers, and advance OathOS, its unified AI surgical platform. BW
AiPrise, a Y Combinator-backed compliance startup, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Headline to simplify global KYC and KYB processes. The platform helps businesses cut onboarding times from weeks to minutes across 150+ countries and serves over 150 enterprise clients, including Bridge and D.Local. PRN
HiOctave, an AI software company for SMBs, launched with $15 million in funding led by Khosla Ventures, aiming to combine AI and human agents to deliver personalized customer experiences and automated booking solutions. PRN
🛒eCommerce & Retail Tech🛒
French wine producer Castel-Vins has acquired Italian e-commerce platform Tannico from Campari and Moët Hennessy, ending the spirits giants’ nearly three-year ownership of the site. JD
Ikea’s parent company, Ingka Group, has acquired U.S.-based logistics tech firm Locus to boost its home delivery operations. The AI-powered platform will improve route planning, real-time tracking, and resource optimization across Ikea’s supply chain. RTP
AI-powered finance platform Drivepoint, which raised $7 million in August, is now targeting beauty and personal care brands with over $100 million in annual sales as it expands its demand planning tools. BI
Walmart is rolling out ambient IoT sensors from Wiliot to track pallets across stores and distribution centers, aiming for 90 million sensors by 2026 to boost supply chain efficiency and inventory accuracy. RTP
Thanks for reading!
always love these! thank you :)