Vyudu Inc’s Post

This week's Emerging Brands Brief is out - as the year draws to a close, deal activity has reached a frantic pace, here's what you might have missed🚀 🌱 Ontario-based cleantech startup Friendlier raises $5 million seed extension led by Relay Ventures and Garage Capital to support elimination of single-use packaging 💄 Makeup brand Subtl Beauty raises $5.5 million in series A funding from CULT Capital, Grouse Ridge Capital, LLC, and Innovation Works 💊 O Positiv, a women's wellness brand, is making its retail debut in Target stores ☕️ Chobani acquires coffee roaster La Colombe Coffee Roasters for $900 million, marking its re-entry into the coffee category 💎 Coupang, a global retailer, plans to acquire FARFETCH Holdings, with plans to become a leader in the luxury goods segment 🛍️ Bankrupt biotechnology company Amyris sells makeup line Rose Inc to AA Investments, skincare line Stripes, and hair care line JVN to Windsong Global 🌸 Co-founders Zoë Foster Blake and Paul Bates regain ownership of Go-To Skincare Pty Ltd after parent company BWX collapses 🩸 The Flex Co. acquires Allbodies Inc. to enhance reproductive and sexual health education and develop innovative women's health products 🥦 Bain Capital and 4x4 Capital are set to acquire a stake in 1440 Foods, a healthy foods company 👗 Fashion brand Something Navy, founded by Arielle Charnas, is reportedly being sold to IHL Group for $1, with Charnas staying on as ambassador 🛴 Bird has entered into a financial restructuring process to strengthen its balance sheet and accelerate progress towards profitability Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gBaGabzG and stay on top of the latest trends and insights from the Axcelerate team by following us here. #emergingbrands #retail #acquisitions #partnerships #expansion #retail #fashion #health #beauty #ecommerce #startup #venture #newsletter

Proud to be a part of Agapi's historical fundraise along with ALSiSAR IMPACT ARUN Seed Satoko Kono and other prominent investors. This is an important milestone for Ahaana Ventures, which I founded on the premise that investing in earth- and people-centered business models with female and indigenous leadership has the power to transform industries and economies. When I first started talking to people about the concept, I heard a lot of: “Oh, that's nice, but shouldn’t you just give those women grants? They can’t possibly be investible.” So I thought to myself, better to show than tell. As an early investor and Board member, I’ve seen agapi grow under Rinzing Choden Bhutia and Varsha Shrestha's skilled leadership from an unfinished room in Rinzing’s house to setting up a unit (staffed with an all-women team) capable of supplying large-volume orders to large retail stores and corporate clients, including JW Marriott and Taj Hotels. All in a year's time. When I visited one of Agapi’s suppliers, an indigenous woman-owned tea and coffee estate, we had a conversation about using waste green tea powder for an Agapi product line. When I visited the unit yesterday, sure enough, the first sample of green tea facial oil was already on the shelf for me to purchase. These women know how to execute, and fast. And, I’m more convinced now than ever before that this company has the power to disrupt the global skincare industry. How? Take my example: I used to go through hundreds of plastic tubes every year for my personal care - shampoo and conditioner bottles, shower gel bottles, separate plastic tubes of face wash. One day last year, I heard Rinzing saying to a customer: “These soaps are made from the highest quality ingredients, many of them are good enough to eat! You can use them on your face as well.” Lightbulb! I haven’t bought a plastic bottle of face-wash since. On my last trip, Rinzing convinced me to try out the Hibiscus Amla natural shampoo bars. It took some getting used to, but I haven’t gone back. Every day, it gives me so much joy to know that by nurturing my body and hair with all-natural and organic ingredients, I’m creating economic opportunities for women, and reducing plastic waste. Now, multiply that by even a small fraction of the global skincare market. Who says indigenous women-run businesses aren’t investible? Still don’t believe it? Keep watching. This is just the beginning. #womenentrepreneurs #himalayas #socialenterprise #impactinvesting Dipali Patwa Kapila Ahuja Manjot Kaur Anuj Sharma Anvitaa Rastogi Roshni Shah, MSN Krishna Dahya Divya Reddy Ritika J. Sayuri Sharper Cartier Women's Initiative

This week's Emerging Brands Brief is out - as early Thanksgiving week sales kick off, catch up on the week's key developments in emerging consumer⚡ 👗 London-based fashion brand Urbanic has raised $150 million in Series C funding to accelerate its growth and expand its technology-driven and socially responsible fashion designs globally 🍻 Digital health company Sunnyside raises $11.5 million in funding to help users reduce alcohol use through moderation 🌱 Morgan Stanley Investment Management has invested in Huel, a plant-based food supplier, as part of its climate-focused growth strategy 🔑 CPG manufacturing platform Keychain raises $18 million in seed funding to use AI in connecting brands with manufacturing partners 🤖 Airbnb acquires stealth AI startup GamePlanner.AI for $200 million 💆♀️ Mental health platform UpLift acquires women-focused company Minded, expanding its reach to five additional states and increasing women-led offerings 🥪 Private equity firm General Atlantic is increasing its stake in Danish sandwich chain JOE & THE JUICE, valuing the company at $600 million 🏢 Luxury design studio Vesta acquires furniture rental companies Fernish and Feather 💰 Grove Collaborative and Beyond Meat report Q3 earnings Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gTa_z87N and stay on top of the latest trends and insights from the Axcelerate team by following us here. #emergingbrands #retail #acquisitions #partnerships #expansion #retail #fashion #health #beauty #ecommerce #startup #venture

Over the last two decades, Unilever Ventures has been a constant in the beauty and wellness investment landscape, empowering founders with strategic capital investing in brands, commerce-enabling technologies, and B2B/enterprise technologies. Unilever Ventures is the quietly loud firm that has made early-stage investments, amassing a portfolio of some of the best brands in the beauty and wellness ecosystem. Olivier Garel, the Managing Partner of Unilever Ventures, leads the quietly loud London-based venture and growth capital arm of Unilever. He shared his thoughts about the beauty and wellness investment landscape. Story by Kelly Kovack. #beautybusiness #beautyindustry #finance #venturecapital #investment

#indiasportsindustry Unilever’s venture capital arm invests in What’s Up Wellness >>FMCG major Unilever’s venture capital arm Unilever Ventures has invested Rs 14.40 crore in health and wellness company What’s Up Wellness to ramp up the startup’s team and product development. This is Unilevers first investment in Wellness >> What’s Up Wellness said it will utilise the fresh fund towards ramping up its team, furthering growth and scaling efforts, and the development of an array of new products aimed at solving all the major pain points faced by users. >> What’s Up Wellness, which offers gummy supplements, has till date served more than 2.5 lakh users across India and plans to launch 12 new products in next two years. #wellness #sports #sportsbiz #sportsindustry

True Beauty Ventures (TBV) and Unilever Ventures (UV) have announced a minority investment in clean fragrance brand The 7 Virtues. It’s the first time either venture capital firm has made a fragrance investment, and signals ongoing investor confidence in the sector. Prestige fragrance has been a particularly strong category, with sales up 56 percent against pre-pandemic levels last year according to market research firm Circana, and unit sales up almost a quarter. Gen-Z are also significant users, with 83 percent using fragrance in 2023, up 5 percent from the previous year. https://lnkd.in/em3JjE4D

Are CVCs (Corporate Venture Capital funds) in FMCG doomed to disappear? It is a good provocation Here is why: 1) Most of the completed investments are not delivering in line with their business plan as start-ups struggle to scale-up with an ever increasing Consumer Acquisition Cost (CAC), the increasing difficulty to get listed in Retail and the current economic context pushing consumers to cheaper options 2) Too few companies CVCs invest in end up being acquired by the mother company 3) On the VC segment, valuable (large penetration potential, industry leading gross margin %, scalable brand growth model, reasonable multiple) acquisition targets are increasingly scarce and increasingly riskier for reasons mentionned in 1) 3) The CVCs that had a Build mandate (like Future Snacks - cf. below article) realized how low ROI this effort is (high effort/ high mortality rate) and decided to focus purely on Acquisitions 4) Externally, many competing options to CVCs exist (consumer funds, incubators/ accelerators) even if none of those options are perfect pushing CEO/ CFO to question the very existence of their CVC 5) M&A focus in the FMCG industry is shifting from VC and (& in a lesser extent) mega-deals (>$6bn) to mid-sized ($0.5-5bn) deals that are proven to deliver higher ROCE For all of those reasons, it is increasingly difficult to convince the CEO & CFO to continue investing into their CVC and they increasingly question openly their reason of being We predict that a majority of CVC funds in the FMCG industry will be closed by 2024-25 unless they drastically change how they operate to increase the value they bring to their mother company (better coordination with the mother company M&A teams, focus on larger/ more established assets - >$25m if not larger revenue mark - really depending by category, strengthen their due diligences capabilities to finely understand the targets assets success drivers, increased & better use of strategic consumer research to understand current consumers/ penetration potential & optimal 4Ps, enhanced capabilities to really create value for the portfolio companies). All of the above should lead to increasing the number of start/ scale-ups that end up being acquired by the mother company Would it be enough to justify their existence? Time will tell Exciting & decisive times for CVCs Keen to hear your perspective To hear more on our research on M&A in the FMCG industry: https://lnkd.in/eaUgq3KU   To get all our FMCG CEO insights, sign-up to our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eR8vDpvE Mondelēz International Richie Gray Olivier Garel Unilever Unilever Ventures Rakesh Narayana Reckitt The Coca-Cola Company PepsiCo Danone L'Oréal The HEINEKEN Company AB InBev The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. #cpg #fmcg #corporateventurecapital https://lnkd.in/e7XWeNqz

Sustainability-conscious retail investors have a keen eye on various industries, ranging from food to fashion. Recently, investors hailing from Alante Capital, S2G Ventures, and Closed Loop Ventures LP have disclosed their evolving investment strategies and updated due diligence processes. . #thewecommgroup #sustainability #retailinvestors #WeComm #WeTech #WeCommJobs #WeTechJobs #LifeAtWeComm #IndustryNews #retail #fashion #food #investment #strategies

Launching With Purpose: Brand Activism Done Right 🚀 Too often, brand activism seems like an afterthought - but not for Daridorei. This startup launched with the core mission of alleviating poverty through fair trade clothing production. 🌼 From their supply chain sourcing sustainable, eco-friendly materials to their slogan “Look Good, Do Good”, positive social impact is woven through every fiber of their brand DNA. 🧶 Rather than slapping purpose washing onto a profit-driven business, Daridorei built its business model around driving social change from day one. They collaborate exclusively with worker-owned factories lifting communities out of poverty through ethical jobs. Then provide full transparency on wages paid across their production line. 👏 While launching any business is hard - Daridorei shows that centering your brand around a meaningful cause can resonate remarkably with today's conscious consumers. Since their founding in 2019, their organic community of changemaker customers has fueled 300% year-over-year growth. 📈 Key lessons for purpose-led startups: ➡️ Build your business model around driving impact ➡️Weave your social mission through your brand identity ➡️ Prioritize transparency on progress Let's chat if you also have a venture idea aligned to a social purpose! At Communik, we provide brand strategy consulting specialized to mission-driven companies. 💚 #BrandActivism #PurposefulLaunch #DaridoreiLaunch #SocialImpact #FairTradeClothing #SustainableFashion #EthicalBusinessModel #WorkerOwnedFactories #TransparentWages #ConsciousConsumers #ChangemakerCommunity #YearOverYearGrowth #PurposeLedStartups #ImpactfulBusiness #BrandIdentity #SocialMission #TransparencyInBusiness #CommunikBrandStrategy

Have you heard? Five of the world’s leading grocery retailers have come together to establish a pioneering collaborative VC fund, called W23 Global. W23 Global will be led by CEO and Chief Investment Officer Ingrid Maesseek and will invest in startups and scale-ups deploying technology to: -Benefit consumers by driving faster, more personalized and connected experiences across stores and online; -Create more efficient grocery value chains to the benefit of all stakeholders; -Address grocery’s biggest sustainability challenges from farm to household, including emissions and waste reduction, packaging innovation, product traceability and transparency, healthy choices and biodiversity. See which five in Progressive Grocer: https://bit.ly/3wa83nb #W23Global #Grocery #Retail #CRE #NewMarkMerrill