Sundaily, the Cambridge-based ingestible skincare startup, has been acquired for an undisclosed amount by San Francisco-based Grove Collaborative, a digital-first brand and e-commerce platform for natural home and personal care products.
As a two-year-old, three-person startup, Sundaily did not originally set out to be acquired. That changed in December when a retailer approached the startup directly: Had the team thought about a strategic acquisition?
"It surprised and honestly sort of flattered us," said CEO and co-founder Chris Tolles. "With that first interest, we kicked off our own outbound process. We had the luxury of having not raised a ton of money. I'm very much a disciple of Eric Paley [at the Founder Collective]: Venture capital is a hell of a drug. We knew from the start, that wasn't our airplane. Because we had the flexibility to consider an acquisition that was earlier and smaller than most, we started our own pretty intentional process."
Tolles began reaching out to companies that he thought might be interested in acquiring his startup. A slew of cold emails resulted in three offers from potential buyers, including Grove Collaborative.
Like Sundaily, Grove Collaborative is a certified B corp. The two companies share a commitment to positive social change, including increased ingredient transparency and long-term sustainability, as they see it. The mission alignment put Grove over the top, Tolles said.
"[Grove] really walks the walk," Tolles said. "They are both a super-compelling business and actually very lovely people who believe deeply in their mission and care about it beyond marketing value."
With the acquisition, Tolles and his co-founder will step away from Sundaily's operations, serving instead as advisers to Grove as the companies become fully integrated. The day-to-day business will all shift completely to Grove's San Francisco headquarters.
Despite the coastal transition, Tolles credits the Boston-area consumer startup ecosystem with Sundaily's success, citing Wildgrain and Butcher Box as friends and success stories.
"We as a company have been proud to feel like we've been able to build community around other consumer brands in Boston," Tolles said. "It's a smaller community, but we're proud that it is a thing we do here, and we try to do it well."
