Consumer Brand M A Boom · Arie Scherson

On May 27, 2026, I wrote, “I think the market is noticing,” but did not specify what I thought it was noticing. I also shared a quoted post by @ariesnotebook, who asked whether “these guys” owned Rhode and said they felt Rhode was worth $3 billion on its own. The capture does not identify “these guys” or establish ownership; the $3 billion figure was @ariesnotebook’s opinion, not a valuation I independently made.

On June 19, 2026, I reacted to Gruns going from zero in e-commerce to a $1.2b exit in 32 months, calling it “so wild.” I imagined that “these stories will only get bigger and bigger.” The post did not explain what “from zero” meant or provide details or a source for the exit claim.

On July 27, 2026, I said I knew the market was undervaluing $ELF. Although I mentioned that $ELF could benefit greatly from AI, I said my main idea was simpler: they own 100% of rhode. In my opinion, rhode is the most culturally relevant skincare brand on earth. I gave no valuation, price target, or explanation of how I assessed the market’s view.

On August 6, 2026, I replied to @ChrisCamillo: “Check it out Chris, this was heavily inspired by your teachings. Thanks for sharing your knowledge man!” The captured reply does not specify what I wanted him to check out. It quoted @ariesnotebook’s $ELF thesis—that ELF owned 100% of rhode, which they considered the most culturally relevant skincare brand on earth, and could benefit from AI. Those were @ariesnotebook’s claims in the quoted post, not claims I independently verified in my reply.

I have followed several consumer-brand deals and e-commerce exits as examples of the scale and pace of consumer brand M&A, while distinguishing my own reactions and estimates from claims made by people whose posts I quoted.

On August 15, 2026, I reacted enthusiastically to the reported Ferrero Group agreement to acquire Purely Elizabeth, a Boulder-based better-for-you breakfast brand. I wrote, “600 M's for a granola brand,” said these CPG exits make me “so hyped,” and expressed my view that there is more than enough to go around and “The pie is only getting bigger in fact.” The deal and company details below came from @drewfallon12’s quoted post, not from independent reporting by me: financial terms were not disclosed; Purely Elizabeth had reportedly sought a $600M valuation in April after surpassing $200M in sales and was on track for $300M that year. The quoted post said the company was founded in 2009 by nutrition counselor Elizabeth Stein, offered granola, oatmeal, and cereal, and was pushing into protein. The $600M was a sought valuation, not a disclosed acquisition price. The excerpt ended mid-phrase after “Prior backers inclu” and did not identify the backers.

On September 16, 2026, replying to @seanquinlan and @WatfordStatus, I said I had read a number incorrectly and thought the total was now $600m. I did not identify what the total referred to, and I expressed uncertainty with “I think.”

On May 19, 2025, I called Pepsi’s reported acquisition of Poppi “Huge for ecom” and described the path as “Zero to $1.95 billion exit in 5 or so years.” The acquisition report came from @StockMKTNewz; my comment framed it as a notable e-commerce outcome.

On June 11, 2025, I reacted “Hugeee” to @drewfallon12’s post about L’Oréal acquiring Medik8. The quoted post—not my independent reporting—said the deal was for $1.07B, estimated sales of approximately $115m “this year,” and described the valuation as approximately 8–10x sales and the highest sales exit multiple in its skincare comp set.

On March 26, 2026, I said e-commerce M&A was booming again. The accompanying figures and comparison were @drewfallon12’s: more than $3B deployed across 5 transactions in the last 4 days, with all the brands generating more than $100m in sales. Drew described a mix of private-equity and strategic buyers as refreshing, contrasting it with 2025, when dollars were dominated by large strategic acquirers despite a year full of “fireworks.”

On April 9, 2026, I wrote that it “wouldn't be far fetched” to presume Grüns represented a $1B e-commerce exit from zero in ~3 years; I also said it had retail “on lock” and praised its operational excellence. These were my estimate and assessment, not confirmed deal terms. In the post I quoted, @drewfallon12 said Unilever had acquired Grüns, cited a 300m run rate, and estimated an average revenue exit multiple of 3.5x from publicly available comps. Drew also questioned whether an average multiple applied to Grüns given its growth and execution, and noted that Unilever was not known for disclosing financial terms.

On April 9, 2026, I reacted “Holyyy buckets” to @drewfallon12’s quoted post. Drew said Axios confirmed a Grüns deal valued at $1.2B and included https://t.co/K5eKsVv4Cr; that claim was Drew’s, and my reaction did not state an opinion about the deal.

Later on April 9, 2026, I wrote, “This will be good,” asked whether “this channel” had been acquired by OpenAI “or something,” and added, “Wild times!” I did not identify the channel or confirm an acquisition. The post I quoted was by @tbpn, which reported that Unilever acquired Grüns for $1.2B and that @chadjanis would join “tomorrow at 12:15p PT” to discuss; these were @tbpn’s claims, not an announcement by me.

On May 16, 2026, I shared the headline “This $150M Beauty Ecom Store Is Selling A $1.2B Brand.” The captured post did not identify the store or brand, explain what either dollar figure measured, or provide supporting details.

On May 20, 2026, I asked, “Don’t these guys own Rhode now?” and said I felt Rhode was worth $3 billion on its own. I did not identify who “these guys” were, establish ownership, or give a basis for my estimate.