Luxury wellness brand OTO has acquired South West Brands, which includes female wellness brand FEWE and Gen Z beauty brand Love MeMeMe, with an eye toward rapid US expansion.
WHO: UK-based South West Brands is a global, multi-brand consumer goods group developed for the CBD industry, on a mission to change the face of the global cannabis industry through the development and acquisition of beautiful, considered consumer brands powered by celebrity and influencers. CPG business South West Brands includes consumer brands FEWE (female wellness), Love MeMeMe (Gen Z beauty), and Botanic Lab F&B wellness products brands, set to relaunch in 2024.
Launched in 2019, OTO has grown to be the UK’s leading premium CBD brand, with a presence in over 400 locations including Harrods, Selfridges and Mandarin Oriental, and is expanding globally.
WHY: The acquisition of South West Brands by OTO builds on the success of both entities, creating synergies and efficiencies that exponentially enhance profitability and growth potential. It is the first step of a "build and buy" strategy and accelerates the group’s mission to develop the wellness brands of the future, today.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Gemma Colao, founder, OTO said, “I have always been fiercely passionate about creating products and building brands that people feel inspired by—as a creative and designer, it’s my heartland. It’s been my dream to expand the OTO offering for some time, and the opportunity to work closely with SWB’s inimitable founder, Rebekah Hall to further our mission of building a powerhouse brand for women, by women is incredibly exciting. We’re only just getting started.”
Rebekah Hall, founder, South West Brands, said, “The acquisition of SWB by OTO provides a huge acceleration in our mission to build a portfolio of global female focused wellness brands that serve our customers at the cutting edge of innovation. Women’s health and wellbeing has long been underserved in the consumer goods industry. In OTO, a fellow female founded and focused business, we have found a shared vision, ethos and drive. The enlarged OTO Group will undoubtedly be an exciting and dominant force in the wellness industry.”
"Many UK brands think the US is the panacea of growth, but that growth can come at a significant cost. We have received a lot of inbound interest from US retailers but have always been aware that when we launch, we need to ensure we can support that growth through knowledge, capital, relationships, and experience. With OTO already having broken ground in the US earlier this year, we have the expertise and firepower to back our brands as they come to market and build a leading position in the exciting and growing women’s health consumer space," says Hall.
The move also retains the consumer at the heart of each business. "We recognize that there are many customers with different needs, and trying to meet all of them with a singular brand is not the right approach. Having a stable of brands means we can speak to a broader group of customer segments and address each of their needs in a specific way which we haven't been able to previously," says Colao.
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