030 - What I'm Reading Week of February 11th
👋 Hello everyone.
🔗 Every link in this newsletter routes back to my blog where I provide a summary, my opinion, and access to the original content.
⭐️ = What excites me most this week.
💭 Two different reports discussing why startups fail and what happens after they die. One is a comprehensive rundown of nearly 400 startups that have gone under, the other are 15 recent D2C brands that you may be surprised to see did not make it. Unless a startup goes belly-up in a spectacular way we often do not hear about, these post-mortems shed some light onto why this happens.
Also in this week’s newsletter exciting news about what colors mosquitoes are more attracted to (I will be ditching black and going to an all blue wardrobe), and an interesting look at swimmer’s acne.
🗞 NEWS & PRODUCTS
Target announced the newest Forward Founders cohort with startups across beauty & personal care, pets, home, baby, food & bev, and gaming.
ICYMI: Haeckels, the innovative sustainable beauty brand out of the UK, received a minority investment from Estee Lauder to fuel oversees growth, and their skincare category. The brand will be expanding into the U.S. in Q4 2022.
🧴 Skin:
⭐️ Soteri Skin pH based eczema care.
Oodee, ‘allergen neutral’ skincare.
[e11ement] skincare, HCl spray for sensitive skin.
As of Today, clinical skincare with R-Peptide as the hero ingredient.
Beyonderway, an aromatherapeutics personal care brand for anywhere & everywhere.
Margin, simplified active skincare.
ICYMI: BOF is reporting that Coty is ready to relaunch Kim Kardashian’s skin care line, it is a full rebrand with new packaging, formulas, and a ‘sustainable look’. The new brand is thought to be SKKN by Kim (based on trademark filings back in 2021).
👩🦱 Hair:
Climaplex, a UK based hair brand focusing on ‘protection from the elements’.
💊 Supplements:
The Vitamin Shoppe launches True You, a line of supplements to support women’s hormonal health.
♻️ Sustainability:
Researchers at MIT have developed an ultra lightweight plastic that is 2X as strong as steel, conductive, and recyclable.
Ries offers refillable sustainable packaging with airless pumps, making it easy possible to travel with all of your personal care favorites. There are a few other startups in the same space, I just wonder what is next for these startups, where the business proposition feels quite limited.
🛍 Retail:🇨🇳 Kuai Commerce a Chinese based social commerce service announced it will be launching a number of clean D2C skincare brands targeting Gen Z into China.
L’Oreal announced this week it crushed Q4 projections, fueled by growth in China.
ICYMI:
Target announced it will be launching 40 new brands to its beauty line-up; 20 are from black founders.
Selfridges UK launches ‘Superfutures’ a well-being project, offering everything from breath work sessions to sex therapy to take part in at the store or online.
💸 M&A, IPOs, SPACs...:
Nestle acquired a majority stake of plant based protein maker Orgain. This is two years after their acquisition of the popular collagen supplement brand Vital Proteins.
⚕️♀ Thirty Madison announced it is merging with Nurx, the femtech digital health startup.
Henkel is acquiring Shiseido’s hair professional business in Asia-Pacific.
An article in Vogue Business discusses the business opportunities growing around beauty SPACs, and how it may be a favored exit. The timing of this article is really odd considering the serious SPAC slowdown over the last month in the U.S., and the increasingly negative view towards them. Yes, the founder can get a fast exit, but the upside is not as shiny as it may seem.
🔬RESEARCH
⭐️ Researchers in Singapore develop a prototype COVID breathalyzer, capable of identifying the signature of volatiles produced when infected with COVID with 95% accuracy. The test is one hopeful way of conducting mass screenings, it is inexpensive and the takes just 5 minutes to receive results.
🦷 An artificial tooth enamel that is stronger & harder than the real thing.
⭐️ 🦟 A new paper published in Nature shows how female mosquitoes are attracted to certain colors: orange, red, and black. The connection between color and scent make it possible to develop a new class of mosquito repellants.
🦠 Microbiome:
🏊♂️ A look at the microbiome of swimmers acne, an interesting study in how exposure shifts acne treatment efficacy.
Epithelial barrier hypothesis, the effect of external exposome on microbiome & epithelial barriers in allergic disease.
Unilever files a patent for a prebiotic capable of inhibiting the growth of the funghus contributing to dandruff.
🧐 REPORTS
⭐️ The Meta Trending Trends: a comprehensive analysis of over 40 trend reports, for the key meta trends. This is an outstanding summary of the top 14 trends, with a quantitative approach for how they have identified each trend, and how to tackle it.
Spate 2022 Trends Report: A look at the trends in skincare, haircare, and makeup that are expected to take off in search.
⚕️Pitchbook: The Rise of Subscription Healthcare.
⭐️ ♻️ CB Insights: The Shift To A Circular Economy: How Tech Is Shaping The Future Of Sustainable Retail. The report dives into fashion, the consumer space, food, packaging and more. For each space covered startups pioneering the space are listed and predictions for growth are provided.
McKinsey - The Rise of the Inclusive Consumer
⭐️ 🪦 When Startups Fail:
CB Insights - 397 Startup Failures Post-Mortems - this is an ongoing compilation of startups that have faltered. Startup failures are often only discussed when there are serious breakdowns or management issues; however, 90% of startups fail, so why do we never hear about their stories. Each analysis is a few short paragraphs, but provides insight into the realities behind many startups.
ThingTesting - What Happens When a Direct-to-Consumer Brand Doesn't Make It? A look at 15 DTC brands who have shutdown (some of which you will probably recognize)
💡Enjoy,
-Anne