The Cookie as a Status Symbol
A new Juicy suit, YETI acquires a backpack company, and Robert Downy Jr. founds a coffee brand
Howdy, we made it to Friday but more importantly, we made it to February. I feel like we all deserve an award after this January and all her chaotic energy. Here I am placing a gold medal over your hard while holding eye contact as we mutually acknowledge the trials we have just overcome in the last month. Indulge in one of your vices this evening (fancy chocolate, a bath, an episode of Real Housewives, your substance of choice) and send January off into the sunset with me. Okay, I promise I’ll shut up about January now. Some news.
🍪The Cookie Wolfed Down By Wall Street
Cake Zine, self-described as a print publication exploring culture through cake, posted a teaser for their fourth issue Tough Cookie. It’s a story about what it was like working as the executive chef for a powerful Manhattan bank in the ‘80s and both the author and the bank are redacted due to NDAs. On the thirtieth floor of this well-known Wall Street investment bank, the marker of status wouldn’t be what you think. The sign of exclusivity, who was in and who was out, was in fact a chocolate chip cookie. “But, the only people who could have the cookies were those with rights to dine in the Partners Dining Rooms…. The majority of the employees at the firm knew the cookies only by reputation.” A great read.
📚Big Night Released a Book
The Brooklyn shop for dinner, parties, and dinner parties released a book to help make hosting that much easier. It’s not a cook book per se, but does include 80+ recipes as well as a tips and tricks for hosting. It will be released June 4th of this year.
💰📈💸Funding Rounds and Acquisitions💰📈💸
💰June Shine Secures Seven Figure Funding from PE Firm InvestBev
San Diego-based hard kombucha brand June Shine will receive a seven-figure investment from InvestBev, the largest private equity firm in the adult beverage space. June Shine will be the first kombucha brand to join a portfolio of other industry pioneers such as Ten to One rum and Cann THC-infused tonics. It's no secret that there is growing demand for healthier and alternative beverages within the alcohol industry, so I’m glad to see June Shine will get a boost in capital to help it carry on. While living in Southern California a health-conscious friend and I started using GT’s as a mixer for cocktails before going out (to help with the hangover) and were so excited when the bars in Dana Point and Newport started serving June Shine. Last year they were looking for a buyer and their last round was $24MM so while the undisclosed seven-figure deal isn’t necessarily a marker of huge growth, it’ll ensure my favorite hard kombucha stays around for the time being.
💸Mezcla Raises $4MM in Series A
The plant-based protein bar company Mezcla recently raised $4mm in a Series A funding round led by existing investors Dream Ventures and Santatera Capital. Other investors included Federico Muyshondt, CEO of Body Armor, and Steve Platt, CEO of BrightFarms. The brand raised $1.1mm in a pre seed funding round, $2.3mm in a seed round, and their Series A brings them to a total of $7.5mm in funding. So far, a majority of their consumers have been millennial females but they believe “anyone could be our consumer” and hope to continue growing the brand.
🎒YETI Acquires Mystery Ranch Backpacks
The high-end cooler company YETI will acquire backpack manufacturer Mystery Ranch according to the agreement announced by the two companies on Wednesday. In the press release, YETI president and CEO Matt Reintjes said that both brands built products “with durability and performance in mind,” making the two manufacturers “a natural fit.” I’m picturing some hardcore backpack coolers in our future. Or maybe a backpack that has a small cooler on the bottom rather than the sleeping bag compartment for the boujee backcountry chef in you. Sounds heavy, but could work for just a weekend trip.
🥗PANOS Brands Acquires Bankrupt Salad Dressing Brand Tessemae’s
Panos Brands, a consumer packaged goods company, is adding organic salad dressing and condiment brand Tessemae’s to its portfolio. The $4.5mm transaction comes about a year after the brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Tessemae’s has been around for fifteen years and first debuted in a single Whole Foods Market store.
🤝Collabs🤝
👚The Juicy Suit Makes a Comeback
In a WILD collaboration, Red Robin partnered with Juicy Couture on the release of “The Juicier Collection” in celebration of the brand’s juicier burgers. The iconic Juicy Couture velour tracksuit has "Jucier” bedazzled on the butt. I laughed out loud when I saw this.
☕Robert Downy Jr. Launches Coffee Brand
Robert Downy Jr. partnered with CPG entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky to launch a coffee brand called Happy. Dubitsky is most known for founding toothpaste brand Hello and lip care brand Eos. The coffee will be available in Target and Sprouts stores. Why the name Happy? The messaging around coffee seemed a little tired and slightly intense to Dubitsky, "I love words and wordplay. And coffee makes people really happy." Not sure how much wordplay is happening here, but “happy” was available for copyright as a coffee brand so the name was settled. Look out Emma Chamberlain.
🌶️TALEA Beer Co. and Fly By Jing Made a Beer
Brooklyn-based brewery Talea and cult favorite sauce brand Fly By Jing teamed up on a new flavor of beer, the Sichuan Weekender Lager. Spicy.
💦Cure Hydration Launches at REI
This was the first time I’ve seen REI mentioned in reporting of a brand’s distribution channel expanding. Typically, distribution news is about brands landing in large national grocery chains, health food stores, or big box stores (Target, Walmart, etc.). Rarely is it mentioned when brands enter into non-food centric retail spaces, but thought it was fitting to see mention of a hydration brand landing in an outdoor retailer. It would be cool to see more mentions of brand’s distribution in alignment with their target market.
🌯You Can Finally Find Good Mexican Food in NYC
But if you’ve ever lived in Southern California, nothing will ever measure up to a hole in the wall breakfast burrito spot.
Thanks for reading today, see you next week!