April Monthly News Roundup

We are pleased to share with you our TRAUB monthly news roundup from April 2019. Telehealth and Femtech startups had a big fundraising month, The RealReal entered the Unicorn Club, several brands including Everlane and Bumble announced new product or brand extensions and more!

In April we continued to see high activity across the public and private markets. Telehealth and Femtech startups had a big month with a number of companies taking in new investments. Ro, a DTC online pharmacy, led the way with an $85M Series B. Other funding rounds in the space included: Candid ($63M), femtech hardware developer Elvie ($42M), pop-up fertility clinic operator Kindbody ($15M) and organic feminine care product maker Cora ($7.5M).  Additionally, we saw another new entrant to the Unicorn Club this month with The RealReal  raising $70M at a $1.1B valuation. Other notable raises included: hospitality startup Selina ($100M), at-home strength trainer Tonal ($45M), upscale wellness club The Well ($14M), return services provider Happy Returns ($11M), dog search marketplace Good Dog ($6.7M) and DTC cookware brand Made In ($5M).

On the acquisition front, Unilever acquired supplement brand Olly and Neiman Marcus invested in resale site Fashionphile. As it relates to exits, Kellogg sold Keebler and Famous Amos to Ferrero for $1.3B, AMI offloaded the National Enquiror to Hudson Media and Sequential Brands sold the Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse brands to Marquee Brands for $175M. In the public markets, Pinterest went public on the NYSE, valuing the company at at about $12.7B. 

Several brands announced new product or brand extensions this month. This phenomenon has become increasingly common as brands look to become lifestyle brands and provide more than just a single product to their consumers. Everlane entered the crowded sneakers market with the launch of its eco-friendly sneaker line "Tread". Lululemon announced plans to launch a self-care product line that will include deodorant, dry shampoo, basic balm and face moisturizer. Soylent debuted its first solid food product, Squared. And Bumble became the latest digital native brand to make a foray intro traditional print media with the launch of its new publication, Bumble Mag. Bumble joins digital native brands such as Away, Casper and Dollar Shave Club who have already launched their own print magazines. As these brands mature and new entrants come to market, in order to remain successful it will become increasingly necessary to provide more than just a single product to the consumer. Brands can accomplish this goal either by expanding the brand's product offering like Everlane and Lululemon or by providing engaging content like Bumble and Away.   

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