Welcome to Dealboard. In this weekly feature, The Current is providing a look at the mergers, acquisitions and venture capital deals making waves in ecommerce, CPG and retail.
This week, a hydration brand raised its second $30+ million round in a year, and there’s new funding for seaweed materials and subscription tech. Plus, Gorilla Glue sells a home goods maker, and Moët Hennessy adds luxury rosé.
Funding
Lemon Perfect, the Altanta-based hydration brand, raised $36.8 million in a new funding round. Goat Rodeo Capital Management led the round, Forbes reported. Goat Rodeo Managing Partner Carlton Fowler and Arby’s CMO Rita Patel will join the company’s board. The new funding comes less than a year after the lemon water maker raised $31 million in a Series A round that was backed by Beyonce. Alongside the funding news, the company also laced up a new endorsement deal with NBA star Dejounte Murray.
Loliware, a materials tech company that makes products using seaweed, raised $6 million in a pre-Series A round. The financing includes investment from L Catterton, CityRock Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures Group, Geekdom Fund, Ehukai Investments, 5 Pillars Capital, Kilara Capital founder Ben Krasnostein, Clay Rockefeller, Kiss the Ground cofounder Ryland Engelhart, Nutiva founder John Roulac and Blue Bottle Coffee founder Bryan Meehan,
Smartrr, which provides subscription technology for Shopify brands, raised $10 million in a Series A funding round. The financing was led by Canvas Ventures, with participation from Expa and Nyca. The company’s software allows Shopify brands to offer customizable subscriptions, bundles, loyalty programs and rewards. “While Smartrr got its start in subscription management, we really see them as a leader in an emerging ‘post-purchase operating system’ for growing digital brands,” said Canvas’ Harrison Lieberfarb.
Highbeam, which provides financial insights for ecommerce brands, raised $10 million in debt from TriplePoint, TechCrunch reported. Founded by Microsoft and Shopify alums, the company will use the funding to expand its digital products, which include banking and cashflow insights.
Caliray, a beauty brand from Urban Decay founder Wende Zomnir, raised funding from early stage beauty and wellness-focused VC firm True Beauty Ventures, WWD reported. The funding will help the company expand an existing partnership with Sephora.
M&A
Moët Hennessy acquired Château Minuty, a luxury rosé producer based at an estate in the Saint-Tropez peninsula in France. With the deal, previous owners The Matton family will continue to run the estate, and operate the company. Under Moët Hennessy, the company will be able to meet export demand for the wine internationally. Terms were not disclosed.
Sapadilla, which makes environmentally conscious and naturally scented home products, was acquired from Gorilla Glue by Cincy Brands, a technology company founded by former Procter & Gamble executives that acquires “better-for-you” brands. Vancouver-based Sapadilla makes a line of hand soaps, dish soaps and cleaners that use essential oil blends and biodegradable ingredients. The brand sells through its direct-to-consumer website and Amazon. Terms were not disclosed.
Away, the DTC luggage brand, is exploring a potential sale of the company, according to reporting from Bloomberg. Valued at $1.45 billion, Away was among a generation of digitally native brands that combined product acumen, millennial-friendly design appeal and marketing prowess to achieve fast growth over the last decade. After demand cratered during the pandemic, the brand rebounded as travel returned and explored an IPO in 2021. Now, it is working to solicit potential buyers, as well as other strategic options.Trending in Brand News
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Now, one company will have North American cereals like Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Rice Krispies under the WK Kellogg Co banner.
Another will have snacks like Pringles, North American frozen foods such as Eggo and plant-based brands like MorningStar Farms.
This week, Kellogg announced that the snacks business has a new name: Kellanova.
Here are the strategies that Kellogg employed that led to this name:
- Ask the employees: Kellogg Company asked employees for input on the name, and received 4,000 suggestions from 1,000 employees.
- Listen to the results: 20% of the employees suggested a variation of the W.K. Kellogg name, while other employees suggested that the name include "nova."
- Go to the root: "Nova" comes from the Latin word for new. CEO Steve Cahillane said it "signals our ambition to continuously evolve as an innovative, next generation, global snacking powerhouse."
As The Wall Street Journal reports, this is just the latest new company name to take a Latin root in recent years, as Kellanova joins GE Vernova, Mondelez and Altria. It's also among a number of spinouts being completed by corporations, joining GSK spinoff Haleon, J&J's Kenvue and a forthcoming company that will spin out of 3M.
Even with a name that emphasizes moving forward, Kellanova is keeping one element that is familiar: The logo still has the iconic cursive K. It will even get the boldly simple stock ticker symbol "K" to go along with it.
(Courtesy photo)
Even the WK Kellogg Co is combining the past and future. The company is seeking to position itself as a "117-year-old startup," even as it draws on the name and signature of the Kellogg's founder. There's even a more subtle hint about an unwritten chapter: The "Co" doesn't have a period.
(Courtesy photo)
To get to the future, you need to bring along a bit of the past.
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