When Some $100m Brands Become $1B Platforms, and Others Break

Liquid I.V. is what a revenue-multiple deal looks like when it actually works

Liquid I.V. is now a $1B+ revenue brand inside Unilever.

The setup:

• Founded: 2012

• Acquired: 2020

• Purchase price: ~$525M (incl. earnout)

• Revenue at acquisition: ~$200M

Unilever paid ~2.5x sales for a brand that scaled into a global hydration platform.

Why this one compounded:

• High-frequency use case (hydration > vanity)

• Hero SKU dominance with premium pricing

• DTC + Amazon proof before global retail expansion

This is the cleanest bull case for revenue-multiple M&A:
simple product, daily habit, obvious global scale.

YSE Beauty shows how fast the bar has moved in beauty

YSE Beauty, founded by Molly Sims in April 2023, just raised a $15M Series A led by Silas Capital, with participation from L Catterton.

The traction is the story:

• Sephora exclusive launch: June 2025

• 361 U.S. doors + online

• ~120% YoY growth in 2025

• >80% growth expected in 2026, targeting ~$30M revenue

• Focus: clinically tested skincare for women 35+

Most indie beauty brands take 3–5 years to earn national Sephora distribution.
YSE did it in ~24 months.

Food52 is the reminder: revenue ≠ durability

Food52 has filed for Chapter 11 and agreed to sell assets to America’s Test Kitchen. This is the 2026 consumer unwind pattern: Great brand + capital-intensive model + leverage → asset-level rescue by a structurally better owner.

Context:

• Peak revenue (2020–21): ~$80–100M

• Commerce-heavy revenue mix

• ~$130M institutional capital raised

• Majority stake sold to The Chernin Group in 2021

What broke:

• Paid traffic economics deteriorated

• Inventory + working capital ballooned

• Media margins couldn’t subsidize retail volatility

Why ATK works as the buyer:

• Subscription-led, content-first model

• Minimal inventory risk

• Predictable cash flows

• Buying IP, audience, and trust, not growth-era liabilities

🎙 Podcast Highlight: Food is brutal, which is why it matters so much

That’s why my conversation with Nathan Cooper of Barrel Ventures was so clarifying.

Key takeaways:

• Food is hard, and massive
  Lower margins than beauty or VMS, but every consumer eats 3x a day, for life. Habit + scale matter.

• Velocity > door count
  Distribution is meaningless without sell-through. Door count is a vanity metric.

• Venture math still applies
  A $100M food business can be great, but venture-scale requires a path to hundreds of millions or more.

• Brands are built online. Companies are built in-store.
  DTC can spike revenue. Enduring food companies are built through retail, supply chain, and repeat purchase.

• Capital discipline matters more than ever
  Most companies don’t fail because the idea is bad.
  They fail because they run out of cash.
  
  🎧 Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify.
  
  Thanks to sponsors:  
  ⚙️ Visit Richpanel - AI powered customer service for eCommerce
  🧾 Check out Numeral - stay compliant and automate away sales tax
  ✈️ Go to Passport - for international shipping, compliance and localization

Deal Alert: High-growth, mission-driven DTC personal care brand exploring strategic options.

Key highlights:

~ $15M+ LTM revenue; $20M+ budgeted for 2026
~80% subscription revenue with strong retention
Predominantly DTC, supported by a 1,400+ ambassador / community network
Expanding product set across baby care, feminine care, and body care
Clean supply chain with minimal tariff exposure

The business sits within a corporate parent and is being evaluated as a non-core asset/ looking to divest.

Strong fit for:
Consumer platforms / strategics
Sponsor-backed growth vehicles
Mission-aligned operators looking for scale + loyalty, not just paid traffic

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