In The Money: eCommerce, DTC and CPG
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Listening to some the most interesting $5m-$50m founders, operators, investors, acquirers, and lenders in the DTC and CPG space.
Reading about interesting M&A deals in the consumer products category.
Seeing a proprietary deal a week from brands who want reach a broader audience of buyers.
Archive
From Nostalgia to Nature: 3 CPG Breakouts You Need to Know
🧵 This Week in Consumer: Beauty Comebacks, Collectibles, and Plant-Powered GrowthWhat do a forgotten fragrance brand, a mystery vending machine for Pokémon cards, and a torque-free putter have in common?They’re all behind some of the most fascinating growth stories in consumer right now.Reminder: We love partnering with founders thinking about an exit in the next 3–18 months. If you know a brand in that window—or a fund working through a portfolio company turnaround—we’d be happy to share insights and explore ways to help.fan [at] thehedgehogcompany.com
Capital, clarity, and category creation.
We look at how brands are navigating crowded categories, how the right investor can see around corners, and why the next billion-dollar business might be sitting next to a stale incumbent. Plus: a candid conversation with Asher Hochberg on capital efficiency, growth traps, and finding the blurry edges of breakout markets.
Billion-dollar exits, franchise rockets, and the shifting ground under Target’s feet.
What do skincare, hot chicken, and big-box retail have in common? They're all flashing signals about where the consumer brand landscape is heading. L’Oréal’s $1B buyout of Medik8 marks another huge win for beauty—and for private equity. Dave’s Hot Chicken shows how speed, story, and franchising can turn a parking lot hustle into a billion-dollar empire. And Target’s slowing sales? A wake-up call for CPG founders banking on retail distribution.Plus: on the pod, Matt Jung (Goodonya) shares hard-won wisdom from building and buying brands—with a playbook that drove 125% YOY growth without paid media.Let’s dig in 👇
🍬 From Candy to Candle Media: Lessons in Growth, Licensing & Smart Capital
This week we cover:Lands’ End explores a sale — could this be a rare sub-0.3x revenue apparel buyout?The $3B kids content roll-up you’ve probably streamedHow a low-sugar candy rebrand just raised $30MAnd insights from Anna Whiteman on what actually makes a business venture-backable in 2025
📉 $100M brand sold for $1M + Ridge’s insane run + Ashwinn’s hot takes from both sides
This week’s edition tracks three arcs of consumer brand life:📉 One of the best DTC exits of the 2010s... now worth pennies on the dollar💼 A brand that went from Kickstarter to $100M+ in just a few years🧊 An outdoor staple acquired twice—but at half the valuation multiple🎙 And at the end: hard-won wisdom from Ashwinn Krishnaswamy, who straddles both brand and agency worldsLet’s get into it.
From $20 Socks to $1B Beauty: DTC's Wild Week in Capital, Credit & Category Creation
If you needed a reminder of how strange, brilliant, and high-stakes the DTC and CPG world remains, this past week delivered in spades. We saw an influencer-led brand flip for $1B, a delisted company secure $277M more in credit, and a startup sock brand doubling on eight figures while keeping margins clean. Here are the key moves — and what they say about the evolving playbook.
