The Consumer Roundup #48
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Hey Friends,
I hope you had a great weekend.
Coming Up
📆 Tomorrow on Wednesday, December 13th at 1pm EST / 10am PST I’ll be moderating a webinar on how to optimize your inventory and manage cash flows as you scale your brand. Our panelists are Pranay Srinivasan, CEO of Manufactured; and Ronak Trivedi, CEO of Pietra.
Discussion topics:
What inventory financing options make sense for your brand
Managing omni-channel operational complexities
Choosing the right 3PL
Hidden costs along the supply chain you should be aware of
Negotiating pricing/terms with suppliers at higher order volumes
When to use debt vs. cash to finance your growth
This webinar is produced by Manufactured. Manufactured helps brands with inventory financing and optimizing their COGs. If you’re a growing brand and looking for inventory financing as your expand, feel free to reach out to me.
On to the update –––
Consumer Technology
Klook Travel Technology, the Hong Kong-based travel company which helps consumers discover and book travel, tours, local transportation and restaurants in more than 2,300 locations globally, raised $210 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from BPEA EQT and SMIC SG Holdings - The Business Times
Leonardo.AI, the Australian-based AI art production platform, raised $31 million from Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Smash Capital, TIRTA Ventures, Gaorong Capital and Samsung Next - TechCrunch
Ladder, the strength training fitness app, raised $12 million Series A round led by Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures - Business Wire
Beeper, which launched a new app called Beeper Mini that enables Android users to send and receive end-to-end encrypted iMessage chats for just $1.99 per month, raised $16 million in total through its Series A, led by Garry Tan with participation from SV Angel, Samsung Next, Liquid2 Ventures, Niv Dror from Shrug Capital, and Kevin Mahaffey - TechCrunch
Sharpen, a digital platform that helps parents assess their children’s reading skills, raised $11 million led by Learn Capital - FinSMEs
Sona, a free music streaming platform that also is a Web3 marketplace that allows artists to sell their digital assets, raised a $6.9 million seed round from Polychain Capital, Haun Ventures and Rogue Capital - TechCrunch
Plum, the London-based fintech startup that helps consumer consumers save and manage their investments, raised $5.3 million led by Eurobank - UKTech
HomeCooks, a London-based marketplace that enables consumers to buy ready to eat meals from chefs, raised a $3.1 million seed round led by Speedinvest and includes the participation Dutch Founders Fund, angel investor syndicate Ventures Together, and Atomico - Tech.eu
Gacha Monsters, a media company focused on entertainment in the web3 landscape whose first media property is “Poglin”, raised $3 million seed round led by Animoca Brands, Infinity Ventures Crypto, FBG, and Big Time Games - FinSMEs
Consumer Brands
Fantuan, the Vancouver-based ecommerce platform that offers Asian food delivery and grocery, raised $40 million Series C co-led by GrubMarket and Celtic House Asia Partners with participation from VisionPlus Capital and JSD Capital - PR Newswire
Sons, the U.K. based haircare brand that offers functional solutions to hair loss, raised $7.2 million led by The Davy EIIS Fund and a consortium of private investors - The Industry Beauty
Meatiply, the Singapore-based cultivated meat company whose first proof of concept included kampong chicken yakitori, chicken katsu bites, and a smoked duck breast prototype, raised a $3.75 million seed funding round co-led by Wavemaker Partners and AgFunder with participation from Seeds Capital - Vegconomist
Supply Chain
Omniful, the supply chain and warehouse management startup for ecommerce brands, raised $5.85 million seed round led by VentureSouq, with participation from 500 Global, DASH Ventures, Jahez Group, SEEDRA Ventures, Bunat Ventures, Hala Ventures, RZM Investments and the family offices of Al Rasheed, Siraj Holding, Al Bawardi and Al Nafea - TechCrunch
M&A
Unified Commerce Group, a retail platform focused on acquiring and scaling the next generation of purpose-driven brands and bought their first brand Frank & Oak in 2020, buys a majority stake of Spiritual Gangster, the Los Angeles-based athleisure brand - WWD
Funds Raising Funds
Shiseido, the 150 year old Japanese cosmetic company, is launching a VC fund investing in emerging beauty and personal care brands called Long Term Investments for the Future Ventures, or LIFT. They have already invested in two brands – Phyla, and PATRICKS - WWD
Ackerley Sports Group ("ASG") launched an investment platform focused on investment in the future of sports and media. The new platform will invest in sports teams, leagues, and growth stage sports technology on a global basis - PR Newswire