Hey friends,
Some news. We added another city to our monthly consumer morning series – Chicago! This one is being led by Nikki Gryll, founder of Knack PR. Nikki is one of the best consumer brand and VC PR agents in the biz and is deeply passionate about health and wellness brands. Some of my favorite moments at Expo West were meeting up on a floor at random times.
This should be a BLAST if you’re in the Chicago area. These meetups are designed to be simple and casual. They exist to bring the emerging consumer ecosystem together with conversation, caffeine (coffee) and sugar (baked goods) on a regular cadence. You don’t have to partake in caffeine or sugar in order to attend, but conversation is preferred. Hopefully you meet someone that you end up having a great chat with and was helpful. These are mostly designed for consumer brand executives, investors, retailers and distributors. We are working on expanding these to more cities. Here are all the links/info for this month–
☕️ Wake Up! CPG - Austin, TX
📆 Thursday, May 23rd
🕗 8:30am-10:30am CST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Marc Nathan
☕️ Consumer Chi Coffee Club - Chicago, IL
📆 Thursday, May 30th
🕗 9:00am-11:00am CST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Nikki Gryll
☕️ Consumer Sunrise - Los Angeles, CA
📆 Thursday, May 30th
🕗 8:00am-10:00am PST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Mike Gelb
☕️ Consumer Brews - New York, NY
📆 Thursday, May 30th
🕗 9:00am-10:30am EST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Sumeet Shah
On to the latest consumer fundraising update, but first here’s a word from our partner.
This issue is brought to you by Propeller Industries.
Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies. Thinking about profitability, extending your runway, and improving efficiency in your operations? Managing your company’s finances requires multiple skill sets. Propeller’s fractional model offers a dynamic solution that provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time finance talent.
To learn more about The Consumer VC sponsor opportunities, you can email me.
💻Consumer Software💻
🏥 CereVasc Inc, the clinical-stage, medical device company developing novel treatments for neurological diseases, raise a $70 Million Series B funding led by Bain Capital Life Sciences and existing investor Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund (PXV), with participation from other existing investors. PR Newswire
🔋 Princeton NuEnergy, a leading clean-tech innovator specializing in lithium-ion battery direct recycling, announced a successful round of equity funding of $10.3 million. Key investors include SCGC (a subsidiary of SCG Group), Tech Council Ventures, and a subsidiary of LKQ Corporation. PR Newswire
🤖 Fairgen, the company generating accurate AI responses to surveys, raised $8 million in Seed funding led by Maverick Ventures Israel, with participation from Tal Ventures, IGNIA and Creator Fund to move consumer insights into the AI era as its launching FairBoost, its flagship solution that doubles the size of under-sampled segments using predictive synthetic responses. PR Newswire
🛍️Consumer Brands / Inventory-Based Businesses🛍️
🥩 Meati Foods, the mycelium-based meat maker, closed a $100 million C-1 funding round led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech to meet the growing demand for its products. Food Dive
💰 Three Ships Beauty, the beauty brand that uses natural alternatives to potent skincare ingredients, has raised $2.5 million in funding led by Thrive Venture Fund, a woman founder-focused venture capital fund from investment firm BDC Capital backing late seed-, series A- and series B-stage companies, with participation from angel investors to strengthen its team and marketing as it eyes a bigger presence in the United States. Beauty Independent
🤰 Dandi, a fertility care brand assisting Americans going through often tough in-vitro fertilization treatments, is launching with $1.3 million in funding led by Tiferes Ventures, Ruttenberg Gordon Investments, Winklevoss Capital and WeWork Alumni Fund. Beauty Independent
💸M&A💸
🌽 B&G Foods announced that it is considering the potential sale of certain or all of its brands within the frozen and canned vegetable category. The company stated that this divestiture may occur either in a single transaction or through multiple deals. Food Dive
🥹Debuts🥹
🧴 Kelly Slater, the passionate surfer, officially launched a new skincare brand “Freaks of Nature”, a Squared Circles company, introducing leading-edge clean, high performing skincare products for the outdoor athlete inspired by Mother Nature. Additional investors include Mike Meldman, Co-Founder of Casamigos tequila and Founder of Discovery Land, and actor and filmmaker Jonah Hill. PR Newswire
🏪Distribution Expansion🏪
🥛 Del Monte Foods, the company which introduced a line of boba shop-inspired beverages called Joyba three years ago, is expanding production and distribution to meet growing demand for the product. Food Dive
🍎 Daily Harvest, the company trying to make eating more sustainably-grown fruits and vegetables is launching a selection of its Smoothies, Harvest Bowls and Pops at select Target locations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Washington State. PR Newswire
🔻Bankruptcies🔻
🚫 Foxtrot Market's assets were auctioned for $2.2 million to Further Point Enterprises, a pre-existing investor, nearly a month after its unexpected closure. Despite the sale, questions remain about the company's future. Grocery Dive