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Daily Harvest's products are now available for sale at nearly 26,000 retail distribution points with the addition of Target, the company tells Richard.

Why it matters: The maker of better-for-you organic bowls and smoothies is positioned to grow profitably less than a year after embracing wholesale.

What they're saying: While DTC helped successfully establish the brand and will remain part of the business model, wholesale will be a key driver of the business, CEO Ricky Silver tells Richard.

Zoom in: A selection of its meals and snacks will go on sale at around 300 Target locations this week.

The company said in March it would begin selling its products at 82 Costco warehouses.

Catch up quick: Daily Harvest launched in retail last summer via 1,100 locations operated by Kroger.

It subsequently added Wegmans on the East Coast, New Seasons Market and Haggen in the Northwest, and Good Eggs in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is distributed by KeHe and UNFI.

What's next: The company is in discussions to add more retailers, but is being cautious on who it partners with to ensure it is profitable, Silver says.

Between the lines: It hasn't been all smooth digestion for Daily Harvest. The company experienced a major hiccup due to lawsuits and declining sales with the FDA eventually linking its products to sickened customers.

The intrigue: "I'm really interested in exploring how we might leverage the assets we've created on the supply chain front to be more of an aggregator of opportunity for the perishable fulfillment world," Silver says.

"Those are conversations we are actively exploring ... to bring greater consumer demand through one infrastructure," he says.

"If the right strategic acquirer came to the table with the opportunity to either accelerate our growth or help us drive greater impact on our work, we would absolutely be open to it," Silver says.

By the numbers: According to SPINS retail data, Daily Harvest is in the top five in dollar sales of natural fruit and vegetable brands. Silver declined to comment more specifically.

Flashback: Founded in 2015 by former CEO Rachel Drori, Daily Harvest raised $77 million in 2021, valuing it at $1.1 billion, per Bloomberg.

It generated $250 million in revenue in 2020, which was the first year of the pandemic.

Drori stepped down last fall as CEO and handed the role to Silver, who had been overseeing the company's supply chain operations.

1 fun thing: The company has joined sustainable farming booster The Almond Project and has a partnership with CCOF and American Farmland Trust to support farmers as they transition to organic.

1 big thing: Daily Harvest takes root

Promotional photo of Daily Harvest's bowls and packaging

Nivoda, a diamond and gemstone marketplace, raised a $30 million Series B to become the one-stop shop for jewelers, CEO David Sutton tells Kimberly exclusively.

Why it's the BFD: The global diamond market is projected to reach $143 billion by 2032, up from $98.73 billion in 2022, according to research firm Spherical Insights.

Zoom in: Avenir Growth led the round, and was joined by existing investors Headline and Abstract Ventures, and Canaan Ventures.

The funding gives Nivoda about 36 months of runway, Sutton says.

What we're watching: The company could raise funds sooner if it decides to pursue acquisitions, either to enter new product categories or new markets, Sutton says.

How it works: The company's marketplace helps connect retailers and suppliers, facilitating contacting manufacturers, price negotiation, paperwork and shipping.

The process is designed to be as simple as adding items to a cart and checking out, Sutton says.

The company charges a margin markup, which includes international delivery and facilitating payments, Sutton says.

"The price we actually charge is always cheaper than paying for the shipping and doing the banking fees yourself," Sutton says.

Nivoda can do large, consolidated shipments of goods, which helps save costs.

What they're saying: Nivoda isn't just a transactional marketplace — it's fully integrated and able to process logistics, fulfillment and customs for its customers, Avenir's Andrew Sugrue says.

Typically, a retailer would need to locate a diamond cut and polish operator in another country like India, look for the shop online, call them, get the pricing, pay an international wire fee, and wait for the diamond —which has to go through customs — to come maybe two weeks later, Sugrue says.

"What's so powerful about Nivoda is that they enable all of that in such a seamless experience, he adds.

What's next: Nivoda plans to use the funds to expand into international markets where there's strong demand, such as in China and Japan, and its categories, including other gems, melee and colored gemstones.

It already started serving retailers in bridal and plans to move beyond that to tennis bracelets, pendants and watches.

It also wants to offer customers more services like listing items on their site, integrating with accounting flows and automating ordering.

2. The BFD: Nivoda raises $30M for diamond market

an illustration of gold and diamond money sign shaped earrings on a paper backing 

Tide Rock has acquired contract packaging company Premier Packaging, president Brooks Kincaid tells Kimberly exclusively.

Why it matters: The paper and packaging sector has become a hot area for private equity due to its typically resilient end markets and replicable "value creation" playbook.

Zoom in: The private equity firm paid for the company in cash as well as an offer to convert that into Tide Rock equity if they so choose.

Premier Packaging "fits a very important and consistent need for a large variety of companies, and they happen and then they also happen to be located in a good spot to develop on," Kincaid says.

The Memphis, Tennessee company has three warehouses near the Memphis International Airport, a major domestic and international hub.

Part of what Tide Rock set out to do is to bring more awareness to Premier's brand and capabilities, Kincaid says.

By the numbers: Tide Rock didn't disclose financial terms, but said it typically looks for companies in the range of a multiple of 4x-5x on an EBITDA of $2 million to $5 million.

The latest: Premier Packaging has tapped Ignacio Campos, who was previously an executive at KIK Consumer Products' pool division and Master Lock Company, as its new CEO.

He will work with closely with founder Bill McNeil, the company says.

What's next: Premier Packaging wants to expand its customers and new product categories beyond its CPG and manufacturing base.

The company will also aim to expand in new geographies where it can "replicate the same model with the right partner," Campos says.

The company plans to add more services, such as in warehousing and third-party logistics.

The big picture: There were more than 2,000 transactions in the space since 2007, with about 84 of those deals exceeding a value greater than $1 billion and 11 that were over $5 billion, according to a 2023 Bain & Co. report.

3. Tide Rock acquires Premier Packaging

Illustration of a cardboard box full of money.

❌ Poppi, the prebiotic soda maker, says it isn't in M&A talks with a larger beverage company.

Coca-Cola was reportedly circling Poppi for a potential acquisition, per Bloomberg.

"I'm not creating this brand to make it really grow and then sell it. We're just getting started. It's really about the growth of the business right now," co-founder Allison Ellsworth told Retail Dive.

😶 Puig, the Spanish beauty and fragrance group, had a muted debut on its first day of trading on Friday.

The stock had a brief bump in early trading but it retreated throughout the day to settle at €24.50.

"Pricing the offering at the top end of a marketed range showed strong demand for Puig's shares, but the flat trading suggests the pool of investors who missed out may be relatively shallow." – Swetha Gopinath and Lisa Pham, Bloomberg

💸 In other IPO news, luxury shoemaker Tod's is expected to delist from the Milan Stock Exchange on May 8.

An affiliate of L Catterton was able to secure enough shares to take the company private.

🧑‍⚖️ Adidas lost two court battles to Thom Browne over Browne's use of stripes on its garments.

A jury didn't overturn a verdict that found that Browne's four stripes on a grosgrain ribbon didn't infringe upon Adidas' three-stripe trademark.

A judge denied Adidas' motion to get a new trial due to emails that suggested there was discussion among Browne employees about using stripe designs in its collections because it could create confusion with Adidas.

♻️ Lululemon is under hot water after Canada's competition bureau opened a formal investigation into Lululemon's environmental practices after the athleisure company was accused of greenwashing by a nonprofit group.

The complaint by Stand.earth was filed in February and questioned Lululelemon's sustainability campaign from 2020.

4. Retail therapy

Illustration of a therapy couch with a pillow made of money.

Want more retail deals? Go deeper into our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Mother Science, a biotech skin care startup, raised $3.5m led by Greycroft. axios.link/4b0xPtb

• Renda, a Nigerian e-commerce order fulfillment startup, raised $1.9m led by Ingressive Capital. axios.link/3w9KElQ

• TruFood Manufacturing, a Pittsburgh-based snack food maker owned by Mubadala Capital, acquired Bar Bakers, a Los Alamitos, Calif., nutritional snack maker. truefoodmfg.com

• Swander Pace Capital sold Functional Formularies, a West Chester, Ohio, shelf-stable feeding tube formulas provider, to Danone. functionalformularies.com

• Cin7, a New Zealand-based portfolio company of Rubicon Technology Partners, acquired Inventoro, a Czech provider of sales forecasting and replenishment optimization software. cin7.com

• L2 Capital acquired Kosmos Q, a Devon, Pa., brand of barbecue rubs and sauces. kosmosq.com

• Sticky's Holdings, the parent of the NYC-based chicken tender chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. https://axios.link/3wmQd0a

5. Retail transactions

📕 What we're doing: Richard has begun reading "The Wind's Twelve Quarters," a selection of short stories by Ursula K. Le Guin.

✏️ Many thanks to newsletter editor Claire Rychlewski and copy editor Mickey Meece for today's edits.

May 06, 2024

1 big thing: Daily Harvest takes root