• 💸 Bawi Raises $3.5M Seed Round
• 👎 Lifeway Rejects Second Danone Offer
• 🏭 Milo’s Tea Grows Manufacturing
• ☕ Nestlé Raising Coffee Prices
• 👻 GHOST's NIL Cavinder Partnership
• 🍩 Drunk on Dunkin’

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It’s a question that has kept divorce lawyers well paid for decades: who gets the house? 

Translated to the world of social media, the question when brands and influencers break up is more along the lines of who gets the Instagram account? That very issue has been critical in Bang Energy maker Vital Pharmaceuticals’ ongoing bankruptcy case, and could have implications for how future break-ups are settled.

The Bang case centers around former CEO Jack Owoc’s claim to personal ownership of social media accounts tied to the company; in making his case, Owoc’s attorney asserted that his client’s personality and voice, as showcased online, became synonymous with the brand itself. 

As noted in an explainer video from law firm Lowenstein Sandler, the court assessed ownership of the account based on the existence of documentation or the basis if an individual has exclusive control of the account. Unable to reach a conclusive determination on those criteria, the next question is what the account is actually used for.

This is where the lines get interesting: the company’s use of social media has always been integral to its marketing strategy, the court noted in its ruling, suggesting a blurry but visible line separating promotion of product versus an individual. In awarding control of the accounts to the debtors, the court cited that the accounts were created by company employees, that profile names contained the company name, and that the majority of the posts were related to product and brand marketing. A district court later affirmed this decision, which has been appealed and is currently pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling may establish some precedent for brands and influencers – such as prioritizing ownership of accounts in documentation – as they continue to reshape the marketing landscape.

Agua fresca maker Bawi has closed a $3.5 million seed round as the Austin, Texas-based company plans for new retail partnerships in the coming year. 

💰 The round was led by Brand Foundry Ventures with additional funding from Rocanā Ventures and Amity Supply, as well as a “sizable investment” from TikTok president Blake Chandly, among others.

💭 The investment is a testament to the brand’s success, especially in a “funding ecosystem that is not built for minorities and women,” said co-founder and CEO Victor Guardiola.

👱🏻‍♀️ Bawi’s success is its position in a “Goldilocks zone,” between full-calorie and zero-sugar sodas, as well as its focus on a new generation of carbonated soft drink consumers.

Read the full story on BevNET.

Lifeway Foods spent little time weighing a second acquisition offer from Danone North America, and the answer is still “no.” The kefir producer officially rejected Danone’s proposal this morning, which included acquiring all remaining Lifeway shares for $27 per share – around $307 million total. The rejection came just five days after the French conglomerate upped its offer on Friday.

⏪ Danone is a minority stakeholder (23.4%) in Lifeway and initially moved to acquire the company outright in late September at a price of $25 per share, around $283 million. After more than a month of consideration, Lifeway’s board of directors rejected that pitch on November 5 and adopted a “poison pill” shareholders’ rights plan as a precaution against any hostile takeover attempt. 

⛔ Lifeway said it has rejected the second proposal after “careful and thorough consideration, conducted in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors,” believing Danone’s higher pitch still “substantially undervalues Lifeway.”

📈 It would appear that Danone is looking to strike while it’s hot: Lifeway has reported 20 quarters of consecutive growth, with total shareholder returns of 788% in the past five years.

⚔️ While Lifeway’s leadership is bullish that it can continue to drive high growth, shareholders Edward and Ludmila Smolyansky – respectively the brother and mother of CEO Julie Smolyansky – are unlikely to be happy with this latest news. Two years into a public family feud in which they sought to oust Julie from her role, the pair have been highly supportive of Danone’s motion to buy the business.

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Milo’s Tea is running into one of those good problems: increased demand is calling for more supply. 

The family-owned brand, based in Alabama, is expanding operations down South by adding $53 million in production line and manufacturing enhancements for its ready-to-drink iced teas and lemonades – a move expected to create 80 new jobs in Spartanburg County, S.C.

🚧 Milo’s already has roots in the area: a $130 million, 110,000 sq. ft. brewing, bottling and distribution center is also under construction, which this latest investment will be used to expand. 

💪 The move is part of a general ramping up in manufacturing muscle: In September, the company also opened a new bottling facility in Alabama in partnership with Altium Packaging LLC.

💧 The company is hoping that investments in production can keep its strong momentum going: Milo’s holds a 35.9% share and 6.24% share of the refrigerated iced tea and refrigerated lemonade categories, respectively, per Circana data through Sept. 6, 2024. 

That morning cup of Nescafé is likely going to get a little more expensive after Nestlé’s head of Coffee Brands, David Rennie, said that as commodity prices increase so will the cost to consumers. Not only will there be some sticker shock but Nestlé will also be shrinking packages to combat the rising market cost of beans.

💲 The company will lean more into its soluble, instant and pod varieties which carry less cost. In the last two years, Nestlé has already raised prices twice on some of its coffee products.

📊 The new coffee pricing strategy is part of Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe’s (who took over in September) plan to return the Swiss conglomerate to incremental growth.

🥤 Nestlé also announced it intends to carve out its premium beverage and water brands into a standalone business in a further recalibration of its portfolio.

Hot off its $990 million exit to Keurig Dr Pepper last month, lifestyle brand GHOST has announced its first Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) partnership with college basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder. 

• The Cavinder twins play for the University of Miami’s Hurricanes and have become breakout women’s basketball stars. They are now heading into their final seasons as college athletes.
• GHOST has long targeted gamers and other lifestyle consumer groups. This first NIL deal marks a move into more traditional sports and athlete partnerships for the brand.

🔊 “[The Cavinders] perfectly represent what it means to embody GHOST – they play hard on and off the court, stay authentic, and constantly elevate and level up those around them.” – GHOST founder and CEO Dan Lourenco.

Not an egg nog fan? Well, Dunkin’ still wants you feeling toasty at your holiday parties this year. The brand has added a seasonal Peppermint Mocha Iced Latte to its canned Dunkin’ Spiked line of hard coffees to help power through the holiday season.

🍬 Modeled after a fan favorite seasonal menu item at its restaurants, the LTO flavor is launching in 28 states and has 6% ABV. The drinks will be available in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans.

🎃 The launch follows its previous seasonal Spiked offering, a Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte that debuted this fall.