Cash Flow: Unilever To Acquire SmartyPants Vitamins, Function Of Beauty Raises $150m, A $30m Fund For Cannabis

The game-changing investment, acquisition and funding news impacting the industry and driving the business of wellness this week.

Unilever to acquire vitamin brand SmartyPants

Unilever is set to acquire SmartyPants Vitamins, a US‐based supplement company founded in 2011. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Discussing the move, Fabian Garcia, President of Unilever North America, said: “We are delighted to welcome SmartyPants Vitamins to the Unilever family and our portfolio of purpose-led brands. SmartyPants Vitamins aligns strongly with our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of consumers and empower people to take charge of their health with solutions they can understand and trust.”

Function of Beauty raises $150m strategic investment

Function of Beauty, a creator of customizable hair, skin, and body care products, has raised a $150 million strategic minority investment from L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. CircleUp and GGV also reinvested during the round. 

The investment will accelerate the company’s product development, support its continued worldwide expansion and build upon its popular customised manufacturing capabilities.

Curio Wellness launches $30m investment fund for cannabis industry

Curio Wellness, a vertically integrated medical cannabis company and trusted healthcare partner, has announced a new funding program that will provide startup capital for minority business owners to open their own Curio Wellness franchise location. 

Created for women, minorities and disabled veterans, Curio Wellness’s investment fund (the Fund) will allow the medical cannabis and wellness company to further its goal of serving patients with safe, effective and reliable cannabis-based medicine in multiple states through its unique Wellness Center retail business concept. A legally separate but affiliated entity from Curio Wellness, the Fund will provide $30 million in capital funding.

Lyra Health raises undisclosed amount to extend Series D funding

Lyra Health, a US-based provider of mental health care benefits for employers, has extended its Series D funding, three months after closing a $110m round led by Addition Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Existing investors include PLUS Capital, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Klay Thompson and Tony Gonzalez. 

Food tech company Eclipse Foods secures $12m for plant-based products

Food tech company Eclipse Foods, which makes dairy products that are “indistinguishable” from its dairy equivalents, has raised U$12m in a Series A funding round led by Forerunner Ventures. The round also featured participation from Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman and co-founder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian.

The company plans to expand on its vegan ice cream with additional dairy-free products.

Fitness app Salut raises $1.25m

Salut, an app-based service that enables fitness trainers to host classes virtually, has raised $1.25m in a funding round led by Charles Hudson, an investor at Precursor Ventures.

The startup plans to use the funding to scale the platform, which currently has 55 registered trainers. Currently, users can donate to, or tip, trainers that host classes, however, a subscription model is in the works.