The Consumer Roundup #60
The Consumer Roundup #60
Hey Friends,
Last week it was awesome connecting with folks in the eCommerce space at eTail. It was my first one and loved it. We got some fun stuff planned over the next couple of weeks – webinar, South by, Expo West. Here are more details followed by your consumer fundraising and venture capital update.
💻 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.
🌶️🐥The Consumer VC Live with Yellowbird
📆 Monday, March 11th 1:30pm - 5pm CST
📍Funded House – 200 E 6th St Austin, TX
If you’re headed to SXSW…we’re doing a Consumer VC Live at Funded House. I’ll be interviewing George Milton and Erin Link, founders of Yellowbird. If you haven’t tried Yellowbird…it’s pretty delicious. All their hot sauces I had are excellent…my dad is also a fan. Here are the details:
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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!
On to the consumer fundraising update –
💻Consumer Software💻
📸 Lapse, the app turning your phone into an old-school camera, received a round of funding of $30 million led by Greylock, DST Global Partners, and previous backers GV, Octopus Ventures and Speedinvest also participated. Tech Crunch
🖼️ Toronto-based Ideogram, a company developing artificial intelligence image generation technology, is raising $80 million from investors in Series A funding. Bloomberg
👾 Particle.news, the AI-powered news reader built former Twitter engineers, has raised a total of $4.4 million in seed funding from Kindred Ventures and Adverb Ventures, as well as various angel investors, including Twitter and Medium co-founder Ev Williams and Behance founder, Scott Belsky. Tech Crunch
🎥 Passes, a creator platform that allows fans to buy access to exclusive content and experiences, raised a $40m Series A led by Bond Capital, with Mood Rowghani joining Passes’s board as well as other people joining or doubling down on the round. The Passes Blog
🩺 Salvo Health, the virtual care clinic for people with chronic gut issues, closed a $5 million Seed Prime round led by City Light Capital and Human Ventures as well as the company's existing investors. MobiHealthNews
🛍️Consumer Brands / Inventory-Based Businesses🛍️
🍓 New Jersey-based Oishii, the Indoor vertical strawberry farm, closed a $134 million funding round, planning to use it to open a solar-powered facility, expand distribution and invest in advanced robotics. Food Dive
🦴 PawCo Foods, the plant-based dog food brand using AI technology to improve the nutrition and palatability of its products, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by Elevate Ventures, with participation from angel investors such as Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi. Vegconomist
🛒eCommerce & Retail Tech🛒
🛎️ Mews, an industry-leading hospitality cloud, raised a fresh funding of €101 million in a round led by existing investor Kinnevik, alongside Revaia, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Notion Capital and new investor LGVP. EU Startups
🍪 Topsort, the clean advertising platform that's free of third-party cookie tracking and privacy-invasive data, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Upload Ventures and returning seed round investors, Quiet Capital and Pear Ventures. PR Newswire
🪙 London-based KLIQ, the no-code business infrastructure platform for creators and solopreneurs to launch their own-branded apps and independently engage with their audience and customers, announced €1.4 million in pre-seed funding round led by Serena Ventures and existing investors including Techstars and international sports star Kieran Gibbs. EU Startups
💸M&A💸
💰 Berlin’s Razor Group, a global eCommerce aggregator, has acquired U.S.-based eCommerce aggregator, Perch. On top of this it has also raised just over $100 million on a $1.7 billion valuation led by Presight Capital with other undisclosed investors participating. Tech Crunch
🥨 Creations Foods, a portfolio brand of private equity company Rio Investment Partners, has acquired High Key, a manufacturer of reduced sugar snacks, for undisclosed terms. Food Business News
🧴 Clinical Skin, the professional-grade skincare brand, has acquired Glytone skincare brand from Pierre Fabre Laboratories, the dermatological skincare solutions company. Beauty Packaging
🥹Debuts🥹
💆🏻♀️ NUON is debuting a technology-infused skincare cap that is combined with traditional skin care products, offering numerous advantages to users. Global Cosmetic Industry
💰Funds Raising Funds💰
📊 New York-based Inspired Capital, the generalist fund, leading Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A rounds with checks from $1M to $15M, is closing its Inspired Capital Fund III with $330 million in capital commitments backed by institutional investors, including leading endowments, pensions and foundations. Tech Crunch
📈 The Financial Times, the business news organization, has launched a new venture arm to invest in high-growth media and tech companies, as the first investment is in Charter, a future-of-work media startup. AXIOS
💰 The team behind UK-based Grwth Club launched consumer venture fund Grwth Ventures, which is focusing on sustainable growth in consumer products and technology. Tech EU
🏪Brand Expansions🏪
🥤 Topo Chico, the Coca-Cola-owned mineral sparkling water brand, is expanding into a new collection of non-alcoholic mixers including Ginger Beer, Tonic Water and Club Soda. Food Dive
🥘 Le Creuset, the French-Belgian maker of cookware, announced the launch of its new range of enameled cast iron cookware: The Alpine Outdoor Collection. Rugged and ready for adventure, as it was specifically designed for use over an open flame. Business Wire
🫧 Beautycounter, the direct to consumer company that sells skin care and cosmetic products, is launching its first scents: Clean Eau De Parfum. WWD
🧴 RMS Beauty, the beauty brand created by makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift, is introducing three products to their skin care range: a moisturizer, a serum mist and a face oil. WWD
🔻Bankruptcies🔻
🏛️ Thrasio, the U.S. startup that raised billions of dollars and popularized the concept of e-commerce aggregation, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to cut its losses on a mountain of debt. It said it has also secured an emergency $90 million in emergency financing from unnamed existing lenders. Tech Crunch