The Consumer VC Roundup #79
News & Events For the Emerging Consumer Ecosystem
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Hey everyone,
For all those who came out to our last coffee meetups and happy hour – I hope you had a good time! We’re going a bit lighter on the coffees this month since August is a funky month – the only month with no national holidays, yet it’s the month people love to go on holiday (this might be a little self serving as well since I will also be going on holiday). We have LA and Austin this month, but will pick back up in September. Here are the meetups followed by the latest emerging consumer news.
Morning Consumer Series
Austin, TX –>☕️ Wake Up! CPG
📆 Thursday, August 22nd
🕗 8:30am-10:30am CDT - SIGN UP HERE
Culver City, CA –>☕️ Consumer Sunrise
📆 Thursday, August 29th
🕗 9:00am-11:00am PDT- SIGN UP HERE
This Week In Consumer
🧃Consumer Brands👚
💰Fundraises💰
🌱 Summer Fridays, a clean skincare and hybrid makeup brand, has received a strategic growth investment from TSG Consumer Partners, with Prelude Growth Partners exiting its investment. TSG, also an investor in Huda Kattan's Huda Beauty, will support Summer Fridays' growth initiatives while maintaining the core brand and products, focusing on product development, brand building, and geographic expansion. BeautyPackaging
🧼 W, Jake Paul's men's personal care brand, has raised $14 million in Series A and seed funding led by Shrug Capital and Anti Fund, valuing the company at over $150 million. W plans to use the capital to support SKU and retailer expansion as it aims to reinvigorate the men's personal care aisle with better-for-you products at a great value. BeautyPackaging
🧈 Sweden’s Melt&Marble, the brand that uses precision fermentation and microbial engineering to create sustainable alternatives to animal fats, cocoa butter, palm oil, and other agriculturally derived lipids, has been selected as one of 68 European deep tech startups from 969 applicants to receive a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. The company has also secured an additional €260,000 grant from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Vegconomist
🍚 Oats Overnight (OON) announces that it has raised $35M in Series B capital. The round was led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) with participation from new investor Sonoma Brands Capital and from existing investors including Impatient Ventures, Singh Capital Partners, Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners, and BFG Partners. PRNewswire
↪️Rebrands↩️
✨ PanOxyl, the acne-fighting skincare brand, is set to unveil major packaging upgrades and has launched the new Acne Banishing Body Spray with 2% salicylic acid. BeautyPackaging
🚀Debuts, Distribution & Expansion🚀
🧴 Personal Touch Skincare, the luxury skincare brand, introduces Mucin SPF 50+++, a new sunscreen combining snail mucin and glutathione. Snail mucin, known for its moisturizing and healing properties, targets the growing market for snail mucin skincare. Future Market Insights projects this market will grow from $1.56 billion in 2024 to $2.93 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 6.5%. GCIMagazine
🪮 Pacifica, the vegan and cruelty-free skincare and beauty brand, has launched five new haircare collections. Each collection is designed to meet different needs and are made for all hair types. BeautyPackaging
🪮 Sienna Naturals, the haircare brand co-founded by Issa Rae and her sister-in-law Hanna Diop to cater to textured hair types, has launched online at Sephora. Sephora offers nine Sienna Naturals products, including shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, mousse, and two kits. The products are clean, responsibly sourced, dermatologist-tested, and approved. BeautyPackaging
🍒 Sabrina Carpenter, the singer and song-writer, has expanded her Sweet Tooth collection with Cherry Baby, her third fragrance in collaboration with Scent Beauty. The fragrance is accompanied by a campaign directed by Jacob Bixenman and filmed in Los Angeles. BeautyPackaging
💆🏻♀️ ISDIN, Barcelona-based global skincare company, has expanded into Sephora U.S. This is the company's first launch into brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. BeautyPackaging
🪞 LolaVie, Jennifer Aniston's haircare brand, has launched in all Ulta Beauty at Target locations nationwide, offering a limited assortment of its plant-based products. BeautyPackaging
🧴 Dr.Jart+, the Korean skincare brand known for its high-performance derma skincare products, has launched on the U.S. Amazon Premium Beauty store. This is the third Estée Lauder Companies brand to open a storefront. BeautyPackaging
✨ Kiehl's, the cosmetics brand, has launched a 2-in-1 discoloration and SPF treatment featuring Auto-Tone, which has been tested to improve post-blemish marks, dark spots, patches, and uneven tone. BeautyPackaging
🪮 Olaplex, the hair treatment brand, has launched its Bond Shaping Technology, featuring products designed to support natural curls and textures, marking a revolutionary advancement in curl innovation. BeautyPackaging
💆🏻♀️ SkinCeuticals, the medical skincare brand, has introduced P-TIOX, a clinically backed peptide serum aimed at reducing the appearance of contraction lines. This serum provides advanced wrinkle modulation, enhances skin smoothness, and promotes radiant skin. BeautyPackaging
🥬 UNLIMEAT, the plant-based food brand, producer of popular “K-Vegan” products from upcycled, discarded vegetables, has launched five of its products into 149 GIANT and MARTIN’S stores in the USA, as the surge of interest in Korean food continues worldwide. Vegconomist
🥣 Three Robins, the Scottish baby-food brand, has announced the launch of two oat milk-based fruit smoothie pouches for children’s lunchboxes and family outings. Vegconomist
🍋 Ingredion has launched two clean-label citrus fiber ingredients, FIBERTEX® CF 500 and FIBERTEX® CF 100, in the EMEA region. Made from upcycled citrus peels, these minimally processed fibers provide viscosity, gelling, emulsion, and texture stability, supporting claims like “derived from natural sources,” “fruit-based,” and “source of dietary fiber.” Vegconomist
🍦 Italy’s Comprital, a leading innovator in the ice cream and pastry ingredients market, has launched a new product line called PURE VEGAN for ice cream manufacturers who believe that vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers should not compromise on taste. Vegconomist
🍰 Urban Dessert Lab (UDL), the “World’s First Oat-Milk Ice Crème™ Shoppe,” has announced the expansion of its dessert menu with the introduction of several new plant-based desserts. Vegconomist
🪇Collabs🪇
💄 Chipotle and Wonderskin's latest collaboration, Lipotle, introduces a burrito-proof lip stain kit that is making waves in the beauty industry. This launch comes on the heels of Chipotle's 2021 collaboration with e.l.f. Cosmetics. GCIMagazine
🫧 Old Spice, the men’s body care brand, has teamed up with Marvel Studios' Deadpool and Wolverine for a new campaign. Featuring Deadpool and his roommate Blind Al, the campaign humorously highlights Old Spice Total Body Deodorant, providing Deadpool with 24/7 freshness from pits to toes. BeautyPackaging
☀️ La Roche-Posay, the skin-care brand, has partnered with the Mubadala Citi DC Open as the official sunscreen partner. The sponsorship aims to raise awareness for sun safe habits during everyday life, and especially while participating in playing or viewing outdoor sports. BeautyPackaging
🍔 Stockeld Dreamery, the Sweden/New York-based vegan cheese brand, has partnered with vegan fast food chain Mr. Charlie’s to introduce the Mr. Royale with Cheese burger. Vegconomist
🔻Bankruptcies🔻
👩⚖️ Johnson & Johnson's bankruptcy-related legal battles continue to resolve claims that its talcum powder caused ovarian cancer. The company's attempt to disqualify an opposing law firm on this settlement was rejected, and a $505 million settlement was proposed to talc suppliers Cyprus Mines Corp. and Imerys Talc America, both of which claimed bankruptcy due to J&J. GCIMagazine
💻Consumer Software💻
💰Fundraises💰
🩸 Flo Health, a London-based period-tracking app focused on fertility, announced that it has secured $200 million in Series C funding from General Atlantic. This investment values the startup at over $1 billion post-money, making it, according to the company, the first "purely digital" women's health app to achieve unicorn status. TechCrunch
🥗 Zoe, a London-based nutrition company, is expanding into the United States after securing $15 million in a Series B extension from U.S.-based Coefficient Capital. This brings Zoe's total funding to $118 million, including a £25 million ($30 million at the time) raise in 2022. TechCrunch
🚀Debuts, Distribution & Expansion🚀
🚲 Lime, the shared micromobility giant, is piloting two new vehicles designed to appeal to women and older adults, featuring a lower step-through frame, smaller wheels, and an upgrade from pedal-assist. TechCrunch
Thanks for reading!