Church & Dwight, The Boring Conglomerate Quietly Winning Gen Z
Church & Dwight doesn’t chase hype cycles. They buy at troughs.
In 2022, they acquired Hero Cosmetics for $630M (~5.5x on ~$115M revenue).
Fast forward to Jan 2026 earnings:
19%+ share in acne patches
Growing ~3x category
Expanding into cleansers + Mighty Shield
Massive value creation in <4 years
Meanwhile:
Sold VitaFusion/L’il Critters in Dec 2025
Acquired Touchland (double-digit growth post-acquisition)
The C&D playbook:
Ruthless portfolio culling
High-repeat hero SKUs
Asset-light, high-EBITDA brands
Distribution scale as a machine
Signal: Strategics don’t need $1B platforms. They need scalable, profitable relevance.
Ollie, Fresh Pet Isn’t a Trend. It’s Infrastructure.
Spanish conglomerate Agrolimen just acquired Ollie for $600M+ (~2.7x revenue).
In a compressed DTC multiple world, that’s meaningful.
Ollie:
~$225M revenue
~$118M raised
Subscription-first model
Cold-chain national infrastructure
Acquired DIG Labs (AI diagnostics)
This wasn’t a dog food acquisition.
It was:
Recurring revenue
Premium positioning
U.S. exposure
Preventative pet healthcare stack
Context:
The Farmer’s Dog → $1B+ revenue
Nom Nom → acquired by Mars for $1B+
Freshpet → multi-billion public valuation
Signal: High-retention DTC still clears, if infrastructure and velocity are real.
Once Upon a Farm, The IPO That Shouldn’t Have Worked (But Did)
Once Upon a Farm (NYSE: OFRM) debuted with a 17% day-one pop and ~$850M market cap.
After a four-year drought.
Why did this one clear?
Not vibes. Not celebrity glow.
Numbers:
$225.9M in net sales
60%+ CAGR since 2018
3,200+ branded coolers driving 61% incremental retailer growth
Expanded from baby pouches → bars → frozen meals
Customer lifecycle stretched from 18 months → 12 years
Cold-chain grocery is brutal.
They proved:
Velocity
Retail execution
Operational maturity
Signal: Public markets are rewarding execution machines, not growth stories.
🎙 The Podcast: Stop Branding Your Way Out of a Product Problem
In my conversation with Russ Wallace of Freestyle, the throughline was simple:
Parents say they buy sustainability.
They actually buy performance.
Freestyle pivoted:
From bamboo storytelling
To SkinShield performance technology
They:
Survived 12–18 month retail cycles
Landed Walmart
Operate with manual weekly financial tracking
Focus on premium performance without influencer tax
Signal: Capital rewards product superiority + discipline. Storytelling is optional.
🎧 Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify.
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Deal Alert: Off-market Amazon-first consumer platform exploring strategic options. 4-brand portfolio with ~$16M in revenue and ~$1.7M of post-market contribution margin, across apparel, health & wellness, specialty consumables, and recreational categories.
Highlights:
Amazon-native platform with long operating history and strong review moats
Contribution-positive brands at the asset level (post COGS + ads)
Anchor brand with category-leading hero SKU and #1 BSR Diversified revenue across multiple established brands
Lean team, disciplined operations, and clean data
The business has navigated a tougher e-commerce environment (higher ad costs, category competition) and price is being evaluated with that in-mind.
Potential fits:
Experienced FBA operators
Consumer platforms looking for cash-generating brands
Strategics (manufacturers, distributors, category owners)
Buyers seeking scale + infrastructure rather than early-stage risk.
Email: fan [at] thehedgehogcompany.com
That’s it for this week.
If you liked this issue, forward to a friend who obsesses over brand strategy, capital flows, or exit timing.
In the Money – following the flow of capital in consumer
P.S. We love talking to brands interested in exiting in the next 3-18 months. If you know of any brands interested in exiting, or any firms trying to help port cos manage turnarounds, we'd love to share a POV.
fan [at] thehedgehogcompany.com
