The Consumer VC Roundup #73
Events & Latest Fundraising News For the Emerging Consumer Ecosystem
Hey friends,
Some news – we’re bringing our consumer mornings to Toronto! Really excited to partner with Daniel Francavilla, Jake Karls and Heather Sloan – CreaterClub, Mid-Day Squares and Heali Medical. Thanks CreatorClub for hosting! I’m also stoked to be attending Fancy Food in NYC this year – if you’re going let me know…and come to our morning event before you hit the show on Monday (details below). You don’t need a Fancy Food ticket to join our morning event, but we will be prioritizing brands, investors, retailers and distributors. Enjoy the full event lineup for June + all the latest fundraising news in consumer.
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Consumer Mornings
🏔️☕️ Peak Roast Morning Meetup - Salt Lake City, UT
📆 Tuesday, June 18th
🕗 8:00am-10:00am MTN - SIGN UP HERE
Partners: Founders N’ Funders, Forecastr
☕️ Consumer Chi Coffee Club - Chicago, IL
📆 Thursday, June 20th
🕗 9:00am-11:00am CST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Nikki Gryll
☕️ Consumer Sunrise - Los Angeles, CA
📆 Thursday, June 20th
🕗 8:00am-10:00am PST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Mike Gelb
🍿☕️ Consumer Brews: Fancy Edition - New York, NY
📆 Monday, June 24th
🕗 8:00am-10:00am EST - SIGN UP HERE
Partners: VHS Ventures, J.P. Morgan, ForceBrands, Secure CPG, Propeller Industries, Manufactured, Dresner Partners
☕️ Wake Up! CPG - Austin, TX
📆 Thursday, June 27th
🕗 8:30am-10:30am CST - SIGN UP HERE
Led by Marc Nathan
☕️ Cuppa Consumer - Toronto, ON
📆 Thursday, June 27th
🕗 8:00am-10:00am - SIGN UP HERE
Led by CreatorClub
On to the latest consumer fundraising update –
💻Consumer Software💻
🌐 Nexus Laboratories, the zero-knowledge cryptography company, announced it secured $25 million in Series A financing co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Pantera Capital. The round included participation from Dragonfly Capital, Faction Ventures, and Blockchain Builders Fund. PR Newswire
💳 Fizz, the first credit-building debit card for students featuring an innovative AI budgeting solution to help avoid overspending, has announced it raised $14.4 million in a Series Seed round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from SV Angel, Y-Combinator, New Era Ventures, and the founders and operators behind ten unicorns, including Handshake, Postmates, and Public.com. PR Newswire
💡 Vurvey, the AI platform that leverages direct human feedback for leading and creative brands, announced it has secured $2 million in funding to boost its growth among enterprise brands. The funding round was led by Tindall Capital. PR Newswire
🛍️Consumer Brands🛍️
👟 Golden Goose, the Italian luxury sneaker maker, revealed plans for a market capitalization of up to 1.86 billion euros ($2 billion) in its initial public offering on the Milan bourse. The company has set a price range for its share listing between 9.50 euros and 10.50 euros each. Fashion Network
🛒eCommerce & Retail Tech🛒
💸M&A💸
💆🏻♀️ Megalabs, a pharmaceutical and supplement company, has acquired a majority stake in DS Laboratories, a brand specializing in hair growth products, to strengthen its presence in dermatologists’ offices. Beauty Independent
💰 Authentic Brands Group, the New York-based management company, confirmed the acquisition of Champion Athleticwear from HanesBrands. Financial terms were not disclosed. The goal is to expand its sports, lifestyle, entertainment, and media brands, increasing annual retail sales to over $32 billion worldwide. Fashion Network
🏃🏻♀️ Consortium Brand Partners, the fund manager built by operators and business leaders which also owns Draper James, is acquiring lifestyle athletics brand Outdoor Voices for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition follows Outdoor Voices' abrupt store closures in March, according to a press release. Retail Dive
🥹Debuts🥹
☀️ Lightsaver, the sun care brand founded by dermatologist David Kim less than a year ago, has officially launched at Sephora. Beauty Independent
🌬️ NOYZ, a new fragrance brand, has just launched, aiming to disrupt the traditional fragrance industry's perfect facade. NOYZ crafts unique, expressive, long-lasting fragrances inspired by real stories and raw emotions. PR Newswire
☕ Sofía Vergara, the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress, producer, entrepreneur, and proud Colombian, has launched ¡DÍOS MIO! COFFEE, her dream Colombian coffee. Available now on Walmart.com, this marks her entry into the coffee industry. PR Newswire
💰Funds Raising Funds💰
💵 After successes with Reddit and Scopely, Collaborative Fund swiftly raised $125 million for its sixth flagship fund, focusing on climate, health, and food. The firm said it has completed the fundraising in just over 90 days. Tech Crunch
🏪Distribution Expansion🏪
🛍️ Revolve Group, the fashion retailer, has announced the opening of its first permanent physical retail location in the heart of downtown Aspen, Colorado. Fashion Network
🧴 Japanese beauty giant Kosé Corporation has opened its first stand-alone store in Los Angeles, the United States. Fashion Network
🎀 Too Faced, the makeup brand, announced its launch on the U.S. Amazon Premium Beauty store, aiming to broaden access to its iconic collections for shoppers. Fashion Network
💄 Kylie Cosmetics, the international beauty brand, will make its debut at Ulta Beauty at Target. A limited selection will also be available online at target.com/ultabeauty on the launch day. PR Newswire
🍏 Wonderbelly, the clean digestive health brand founded by brothers Lucas and Noah Kraft, has expanded its reach by securing a $12 million series A funding and launching a new product. WWD
🔻Bankruptcies / Shutdowns🔻
👗 Victoria/Tomas, the Parisian ready-to-wear brand led by Victoria Feldman and Tomas Berzins, is coming to an end, despite being well established and showing at Paris Fashion Week annually since 2017. Fashion Network