The Consumer Roundup #54

Hey Friends,

For those that were able to attend the Austin meetup and New York meet up – I hope you all had a great time. We will be producing and partnering on more events in different cities to help bring the emerging consumer community together. If you want to throw a Consumer VC meetup in your city, please reach out! On to today’s update –

Events

☕️ DTC Morning Coffee - Los Angeles, CA

📆 January 31st 8am-11am PST

If you’re in LA and on the westside – come on out tomorrow! It’s been fun partnering with Cole Shapiro on these event since Spring 2023.

☕️ Wake Up! CPG - Austin, TX

📆 February 22nd 8:30am-10:30am CST

If you’re in Austin – Marc Nathan throws an awesome monthly CPG meetup. I haven’t been, but the guy might be the OG of CPG coffee meetups. He’s been doing it for years and I’ve heard from quite a few folks it’s a great time…I even heard that some people drive up from San Antonio just to go.

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Now on to the latest fundraising news in the world of consumer –

🧐 Developing News 🧐

xAI, Elon Musk’s Open AI competitor, is seeking to raise $6 billion at a $20 billion valuation. The company has been talking to family offices in Hong Kong and sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East - Deccan Herald

💻 Consumer Technology 💻

Krutrim, the India-based AI company that will launch a voice-enabled conversational AI assistant, raised its first round of $50 million at a $1 billion valuation. This round marks the fastest unicorn in India - TechCrunch

Kittl, the Berlin-based startup that’s building a web based graphic design tool, raised $36 million Series B led by IVP - TechCrunch

🛍️ Consumer Brands / Inventory-Based Businesses 🛍️

Infinite Roots, the German-based company that is developing mushroom mycelium-based nutrition, raised a $58 million Series B led by Dr Hans Riegel Holding, with participation from EIC Fund and REWE Group - Tech.eu

Chunk Foods, the Israeli company that is making plant-based whole cuts of alternative protein, raised a $7.5 million seed extension led by Cheyenne Ventures. They also announced a partnership with with meat and dairy producer Sigma Alimentos, which brings Chunk’s products to Latin America - TechCrunch

Coconut Collab, the producer of coconut-based yogurts, cream, custard, puddings and barista-style milk alternative, raised $1.9 million Series B from Ground Force Capital - Vegconomist

Country music stars Eric Church and Morgan Wallen, along with a group of experienced brand builders, acquired and relaunched the outdoor lifestyle brand Field & Stream. They purchased the trademark from DICK’S Sporting Goods and the media platform from Recurrent - PR Newswire

Millie Bobby Brown, one of the stars on Netflix’s “Stranger Things”, launched a fashion line called Florence by Mills Fashion, partnering with manufacturer Delta Galil USA - Retail Dive

🖱️Ecommerce Technology🖱️

Krepling, a no-code ecommerce platform that enables mid-market stores to have greater control of their tech stack, raised a $3.3 million seed round from Launch, Brickyard, Front Porch Ventures, 11 Tribes Ventures, Colabora Ventures, and Broadshade Investments - FinSMEs

💰Funds Raising Funds💰

Kost Capital, the Danish VC fund that invests in European food tech whose mission is to bring better food to more people, raised a $27.1 million debut fund - TechCrunch

💸M&A💸

Haleon, a publicly traded consumer healthcare company whose brands include Advil, Nicorette and Tums, agrees to sell ChapStick, the lip balm brand to Suave Brands Company, which is a portfolio company of private equity firm Yellow Wood. The total deal is valued at $510 million – Haleon will receive $430 million in pre-tax cash and a minority interest in Suave Brands Company. The minority interest is valued at ~$80 million - Haleon