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Brand News
06 March
Better-for-you snacks, grocery fulfillment robots raise funding
Dealboard has investment updates from Oats Overnight, BelliWelli, Poppy and more.

Fulfil Solutions' grocery fulfillment robots (Courtesy photo)
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 group of brands in better-for-you snacks and staples raised new venture capital for expansion. Meanwhile, innovation in grocery fulfillment, apparel recycling and digitization of physical goods received new funding.
Funding
The Oats Overnight production team. (Courtesy photo)
Oats Overnight, a high-protein oatmeal brand, raised more than $20 million in a Series A round. Oats Overnight takes a social approach to R&D. Each month, it shares a new flavor with 100,000 active subscribers in its community. Now, the brand is at a gross revenue run rate of more than $100 million. With the funding, the brand plans to grow the sales team, and fund construction of a new 85,000-square-foot production and fulfillment center in Phoenix.
Participants in the financing included Singh Capital Partners, BFG Partners, Impatient Ventures, Watchfire Ventures, Morrison Seger Venture Capital Partners, Vanterra Ventures, Access Capital, Pure Ventures, and more
BelliWelli, a probiotic snack brand, raised $15.4 million in a Series A round, FoodBev Media reported. The Invus Group led the financing. The brand caters to people with gut health issues such as IBS. Bars are available in Sprouts, Hungry Root, Bristol Farms and Gelson’s Markets.
Immi, an instant ramen brand, raised $10 million in a Series A round. The financing was led by Touch Capital, with participation from celebrity investors including Naomi Osaka, Usher, Apolo Ohno, David Grutman, Kygo's Palm Tree Crew, and Gryffin. The brand sells across its website, Amazon and wholesale channels, as well as Whole Foods. Going forward, the brand plans to hire key leaders, add new flavors and expand retail doors.
Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn raised $3 million in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by JACS Capital, the family office of former GE CEO Jeff Immelt. Led by Co-CEOs Susan Aplin and Ginger Frank, the Asheville, North Carolina-based brand plans to double existing manufacturing space with a $2 million investment in new equipment and technology. With the funding, Immelt is joining the brand’s advisory board, and Chris Renno will join the board of directors.
Fulfil Solutions, a robotics startup focused on online grocery fulfillment, emerged from stealth with $60 million in Series B funding. Eclipse led the financing, with participation from Khosla Ventures and DCVC. Fulfil recently opened an automated dark store with The Save Mart Companies in the San Francisco area that powers same-day grocery and pickup for the Lucky Now service.
Circ, a recycling tech company, raised $25 million in a Series B extension. Investors included European fashion platform Zalando, materials science company Avery Dennison and Korean manufacturer Youngone. Founded in 2011, Circ breaks down textiles using a hydrothermal process that allows them to turn into new products. The company previously raised $30 million in Series B funding from investors including Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Zara parent Inditex.
Hexa, a 3D asset and visualization platform, raised $20.5 million in a Series A funding round. Investors included Point72 Ventures, Samurai Incubate, Sarona Partners and HTC. Hexa’s software is designed to create a 3D, interactive digital twin of a product that can be displayed on websites, social media and AR. Clients include Amazon, Macy’s and Crate & Barrel. "We are convinced 3D content will be at the heart of all online and offline retail," said Hexa CEO Yehiel Atias, in a statement.
Mergers and acquisitions
Wella, a better-for-you foods manufacturer, acquired nutrition bar maker Thunderbird, Baking Business reported. Founded in 2010, Wella makes plant-based bars that are soy free, dairy free and gluten-free. The acquisition expands a copacking partnership signed between the two companies last year.
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17 March
Kellogg's takes inspiration from employees, Latin in snacks rebrand
Kellanova is now the parent of Pringles, Cheez-Its and Pop Tarts.
Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash
Kellogg Company's snacks business is now Kellanova. Here are a few finer points about how the forthcoming parent of Cheez-Its and and Pop-Tarts arrived at the new name.
Last year, Kellogg announced plans to split its business into multiple companies.
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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