Cake raised a bridge round of funding ahead of expansion into Target, led by existing investor Lerer Hippeau.

WHO: Cake was launched in 2020 by Hunter Morris and Mitch Orkis with a mission to help the world have more fun sex. The brand's line of specialty lubricants, toys, and sexual hygiene products are made of the highest-quality ingredients and designed for specific types of sexual enjoyment, all at an affordable price point. Each product is inspired by real individuals and couples and tested across the spectrum of sexual preferences before launch.

WHY: Cake will use the fresh funding for retail expansion to support inventory needs, marketing, and building out its team.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "We wanted to focus on the bridge round and not a Series A, because our cap table [of existing investors] was able to support us again on this," Hunter Morris, CEO of Cake, told Glossy. "Sometimes you may see bridge rounds where brands have to bring in new investors because something's not going right. Ours is additional support from our [investors] who have been on our side for a long time. Things are going really well and going faster than anticipated, which means more capital demand."

DETAILS:

• Cake raised a $2.5 million bridge round of funding by existing investor Lerer Hippeau with new investors Bullish and Kendra Jackson and additional seed investors including Sugar Capital, Brand Foundry Ventures, Selva Ventures, Silas Capital, Gabby Slome, Brian Bordainick, and Kate Wallman.
• This round brings the total funding raised to date to $8.3 million. 
• Cake launched in Walmart in July 2021 with four products in over 4,000 doors, and is expanding to Target with five products in over 1,000 doors.
• TechCrunch reported that between February 2021 and February 2022, Cake saw over 500% in revenue growth, with 40% of its customers making repeat purchases. 
• In June 2021, the brand raised $4 million in seed funding, led by venture capital firm Lerer Hippeau, to support a national Walmart launch.
• In June 2020, the brand raised $1.435MM in seed funding with backers including Brian Spaly, co-founder of Trunk Club & Bonobos, Roth Martin, co-founder of Rothy's, Brand Foundry Ventures, Finn Capital, and others.