The Consumer Roundup #39
Welcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.
Hey Friends,
Last week was a busy one. Sorry we had a cancel our coffee event right before FounderMade. We told the venue the wrong date 🤦♂️. BUT if you were in town for FounderMade, I hope you had a great time. I really enjoyed it and connecting with brands and seeing friends. Also, thanks to Pipe17 for having me at your dinner on Wednesday.
From November 6-8, it’s Beauty Connect LA. If you’re coming out for it, we’re working on throwing a coffee event on the 7th and would love to see you there. If you can pencil it in on your calendar, will confirm in the next issue.
Also, I’m moderating a webinar this week –
📆 12pm PST / 3pm EST Thursday, October 26th –– Do you have an apparel brand or want to learn more about how brands are releasing new products in today’s market? I’ll be moderating a webinar with Manufactured called “How Do You Grow Your Apparel Brand From a One-Hit Wonder to a Household Name?” We will be featuring our friends at Particl, Chubbies Shorts and Modern Brands.
RSVP Here For October 26th Webinar
On to our fundraising update ––––––––
Consumer Brands / Inventory-Based Businesses
Eat The Change, the snack brand that also has an iced tea line called “Just Iced Tea” by Seth Goldman and Spike Mendelsohn, raised $14 million - Nosh
CIONIC, the first bionic clothing for mobility impairment and technology company, raised a $12 million Series A extension led by L Catterton with participation from THVC and Enable Ventures - Business Wire
Tia Lupita Foods, the Mexican inspired CPG brand made with better-for-you ingredients, raised a $2.6 million seed round led by Santatera Capital and GBM Ventures - FinSMEs
Meolaa, a digitally-native sustainable consumer products e-commerce platform that is the fastest-growing one-stop store for high-performance, environmentally responsible items tailored for Gen Z, raised $2 million in seed funding led by Turbostart - Retail.com
Líha, the vegan skincare brand that blends the rich botanical life of West Africa with traditional English aromatherapy, raised $1.215 million - WWD
Consumer Software
Petfolk, the modern veterinary care company, raised $40 million Series B led by led by Movendo Capital with participation from White Star Capital and Idea Farm Ventures - PR Newswire
Noodle Cat Games, the gaming studio founded by Epic Games and Electronic Arts veterans, raised a $12 million Series A led by Hiro Capital, with additional participation from Makers Fund, KRAFTON, and Sony Innovation Fund - PR Newswire
Allara, a telehealth platform that connects women with chronic hormonal conditions with medical professionals, raised a $10 million Series A led by Google Ventures with participation from Great Oaks Venture Capital, Humbition, Vanterra, Gaingels and Tom Lee and Maggie Sellers - TechCrunch
Sidebar, the tech company that is focused on creating group coaching programs that drive individual career growth, raised a $13.55 million seed round from investors including Foundation Capital, Scribble Ventures and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp - TechCrunch
Forge, the video game platform that lets users earn rewards for playing, raised $11 million in seed funding led by Makers Fund, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Animoca Brands, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Polygon Ventures, Formless Capital and Adaverse - FinSMEs
SwingVision, the A.I. tennis app whose goal of bringing professional-grade analytics to tennis players of any skill level, raised $6 million Series A led by Authentic Ventures - Sports Pro Media
Vopero, the Uruguay-based fashion and apparel resale marketplace that currently operates in Mexico and Uruguay, raised $4 million led by Cencosud Ventures with participation from Grupo Axo - TechCrunch
Jam & Tea Studio, the gaming studio that is creating a new generation of multiplayer roleplaying video games, raised a $3.15 million seed round led by London Venture Partners, with participation from Sisu Game Ventures and 1Up Ventures - Business Wire
M&A
Patreon acquired Moment, the live stream ticketing platform, for an undisclosed amount - TechCrunch
Ferrara Candy Company, the holding company whose brands include Nerds, SweeTARTS, Black Forest, and Trolli, acquired Jelly Belly Candy Company for an undisclosed sum - FoodDive
Maia Active, the Chinese apparel company that designs and sells premium active wear designed for Asian females, sells 75.13% of the company to Anta Sports. Anta Sports is the third largest sporting goods manufacturer behind Nike and Adidas - Business of Fashion
The Compleat Food Group, whose brands include Pork Farms, Wall’s Pastry, and Wrights Food Group, acquired the dairy-free cheese brand, Palace Culture - Just Food
Steph Curry and Marc Lasry buy the 5th team (their are six teams in total) in TGL, Tiger Woods’ golf league - BNN
eCommerce Infrastructure, Enablement & Retail Tech
JOOR, the fashion wholesale platform that digitizes the entire wholesale buying and selling process, raised $25 million co-led by Brightwood Capital and Tamarix Capital Partners, with participation from Macquarie Capital, Battery Ventures, and Canaan Partners - PYMNTS
Salted, a platform that builds QSR brands, raised $14 million Series B - TechCrunch
Creative Force, the Denmark-based AI-powered tech company that helps brands and retailers create and manage marketing campaigns, raised a $8.9 million Series A from Export, the Investment Fund of Denmark and Hearst Ventures - TechCrunch
Ergo, the tech company that will enable ecommerce shoppers to negotiate the price they pay when buying goods online, raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round Anthemis and Wischoff Ventures - TechCrunch
Creator Economy
Hook, which uses AI to make it easy for content creators to remix and mashup their favorite songs, raised a $3 million seed round led by Point72 Ventures and Waverley Capital with participation from Mark Gillespie’s Three Six Zero and Japan-based entertainment company Avex - TechCrunch
Grandstand, which gives athletes the opportunity to create their own fan communities and participate in the creator economy, raised a $2.75 million round led by Will Ventures - Sportico
eCommerce Aggregators
Society Brands, the e-commerce aggregator that acquires brands that sell on Amazon and Shopify, raised $25 million co-led by Callais Capital and North Coast Ventures. This takes their total equity raised to $230 million - PR Newswire
Thanks for reading!