The Consumer Roundup #59
Hey Friends,
First, HUGE thank you to Marc Nathan and Bill Murphy for throwing AWESOME events last week in Austin. Turn Up! CPG Celebration on Wednesday night and WakeUp CPG on Thursday morning were a blast. Glad I made the trip and it was great hanging with you all and meeting the CPG community in Austin.
Speaking of events…we have a few coming up. First, if you’re headed to SXSW…we’re doing a Consumer VC Live at Funded House. I’m really excited to interview George Milton and Erin Link, founders of Yellowbird. If you haven’t tried Yellowbird…you’re missing out. All their hot sauces I had are excellent…and their variety pack has become a nice holiday present I send to my dad. He’s also a big fan (he LOVES hot sauce). I can’t believe this will be our THIRD SXSW Consumer VC Live. Here are the details:
🌶️🐥The Consumer VC Live with Yellowbird
📆 Monday, March 11th 1:30pm - 5pm CST
📍Funded House – 200 E 6th St Austin, TX
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☕️ Rise, Roast & Meet CPG
📆 Thursday, March 14th 8:00am-10:00am PST
📍Sunset Deck (5th Floor) at the Hilton Hotel in Anaheim
Have any plans in the morning during Expo? Well if you don’t join us for our “Rise, Roast, & Meet CPG” event from 8am-10am on that Thursday (3/14). I’m delighted to partner with Manufactured, Cult Capital, Bridge Finance Group, ForceBrands, J.P. Morgan, smartrr, ShipBob, dash.fi, DayZero, WeFunder, and BrandRock. Come for coffee, treats and conversation!
💻 Webinar: From Clicks to Bricks: Successful Scaling from DTC to Wholesale Distribution to Retail for Rising Natural Food Brands
📆 Thursday, March 7th 2:00pm-3:00pm EST
I’m delighted to be joined by Cody Berenson from Siddhi Capital and Chris Carter from Porter Road to discuss the transition from direct-to-consumer (DTC) success to the competitive shelves of brick-and-mortar retail. This lead-in to Expo West will provide a platform for thought leaders to share their insights on overcoming the barriers to entry when going from online to the aisle.
FounderMade’s Direct to Consumer Summit
📆 Thursday, March 7th (All Day)
📍Soho House, Austin TX
Our friends at FounderMade are hosting a summit during SXSW. FounderMade’s Direct to Consumer Summit ATX is a future-led day of thought leadership and networking for executives at CPG brands generating $5M+ in annual revenue and the resources that help their businesses scale. Featured speakers include executives from Kendra Scott, Chubbies Shorts, The Honey Pot Company, Super Coffee, William Murray Golf, and more. Brands generating $5M+ in revenue receive a complimentary ticket.
On to the consumer fundraising update –
💻Consumer Software💻
Planity, the French appointment booking platform for hair salons, raised $48 million led by InfraVia Capital Partners with participation from Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Revaia and Bpifrance’s Digital Venture - TechCrunch
Blackbird Health, which offers hybrid therapy services for kids and young adults struggling with social, developmental, and school-related challenges, raised a $17 million Series A led by Define Ventures with participation from Frist Cressey Ventures and GreyMatter - Forbes
dub, an investment platform that enables everyday investors to replicate the portfolios of emerging investment managers, famed hedge funds, or elected officials, raised a $17 million seed round led by Tusk Venture Partners - PR Newswire
Loora, the Israel-based company that is developing a generative AI English language learning platform, raised a $12 million Series A led by QP Ventures, with participation from Hearst Ventures, Emerge and Two Lanterns Venture Partners - CTech
Bolero, Paris-based web3 music rights investment platform that enables fans to invest in their favorite artists’ masters, raised $2.17 million seed round led by XVC Tech - Tech.eu
🛍️Consumer Brands / Inventory-Based Businesses🛍️
Carewell, the e-commerce company that serves as a hub for independent caregivers and sells incontinence supplies and nutritional supplements, raised $24.7 million Series B led by MBF Healthcare partners with participation from Sageview Capital and Headline. Additional investors in this round include Primetime Partners, Nextview, Florida Opportunity Fund, and Anchor - FemTech Insider
Miruku, a New Zealand-based company that’s developing dairy proteins and fats via molecular farming and oilseed crops, raised $5 million pre-series A round led by Motion Capital with the participation of previous seed investor Movac and new investors NZVC, Cultivate Ventures, and Icehouse Ventures - Vegconomist
Sway, the sustainable packaging startup that uses seaweed-based, rapidly compostable replacements for plastic, raised a $5 million seed round led by Third Nature Investments with participation from The Helm, Alante Capital, BAM Ventures, Superorganism - Beauty Matters
Prefer, the Singapore-based beanless coffee brand that uses food industry byproducts, raised a $2 million seed round led by Forge Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, A*ccelerate, Better Bite Ventures, Sopoong Ventures, SEEDS Capital, Entrepreneur First and Pickup Coffee - Greenqueen
🛒eCommerce & Retail Tech🛒
Crisp, which provides brands, distributors and retailers with real-time inventory data, raised a $50 million Series B extension from Blue Cloud Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Spring Capital and 3L - PYMNTS
💸M&A💸
Buzzfeed sells Complex for $108.6 million to live shopping platform NTWRK. Buzzfeed orginally bought Complex in 2021 for $300 million - Axios