It’s been a big month for consumer M&A, but investors are still waiting for IPOS
A string of big, buzzy M&A deals over the past month — including Church & Dwight acquiring Touchland in a deal worth up to $880 million and E.l.f snapping up Rhode in a $1 billion deal — has led to a bit of chest pounding in the industry, with some rushing to declare that “consumer is back.”
But six months into 2025, there’s one thing that’s still missing to support the narrative that consumer startups are having a breakout year: IPOs. In the first quarter of 2025, there were 59 IPOs, according to EY, up from 38 in the same period last year. But none of the IPOs this year have been from consumer product companies. Harry’s, which reportedly confidentially filed to go public last year, appears to have put that on the back burner after it rebranded to Mammoth Brands.
Other companies appear to be at a similar standstill, as the rumored windows when they would be looking to go public have long passed. The Information reported in 2023 that Liquid Death was preparing for a 2024 IPO and that Skims was taking steps to go public in the first half of 2025.
For many companies that sell physical products, 2025 has so far not been an ideal time for executives who want to confidently talk up their businesses on roadshows. That’s because tariff uncertainties — including how long they’ll last, how they may impact consumer uncertainty — have put a cloud over most of retail. BNPL provider Klarna, which was hoping to go public this spring, has now put its IPO plans on hold.
Investors and bankers interviewed for this article say that more IPOs are vital for the consumer ecosystem for several reasons. There are only so many strategic acquirers out there that have the cash on hand to pay $1 billion or more for a brand. So, for companies that have raised venture capital at a billion-dollar-plus valuation, like Vuori and Glossier, the only way for them to deliver a good return to investors is to go public. Additionally, they say, having more IPOs would prove that consumer businesses are capable of having multiple, strong paths to exit, and aren’t just dependent on the whims of strategic acquirers.
The reality is that “IPOs are the top of the food chain, when it comes to exits,” Mike Duda, managing partner at investment firm Bullish, said. When there’s a solid IPO, he said, the sentiment around it just sticks in the market longer and “gives people the confidence that it is OK to go out there [and transact].”
“It is overly romanticized, but it is the ultimate feat of capitalism to ring the bell and go public,” he said.
Andrew Dunst, managing director of e-commerce at The Sage Group, said that what the most recent crop of exits from Touchland, Rhode and even Poppi shows is that “the premier assets out there are still commanding interest in the market.” Touchland, for example, is quite profitable, with EBITDA of $55 million in the trailing 12 months.
But, he said, it is “harder for assets that have a little bit of a story to them — maybe their growth hasn’t been there, or, if they have had ups and downs, maybe [those deals] are harder to get done, particularly with strategics.”
“In all spaces — not just consumer, in all spaces — having functional capital markets and frothy capital markets really helps energize investors, because they can see that there are more pathways to liquidity,” he added.
Still, the non-consumer companies that have IPOed this year have not found very frothy capital markets. According to the Information, every VC-backed company that has gone public in the last 12 months has transacted at a valuation that essentially equates to a down round.
When taking into account all of the other wrinkles that come with going public, like added compliance, many companies are finding it’s just not worth it right now.
Duda and Dunst both say what’s needed to drive more IPOs this year is more certainty — not just in tariff policy, but also in consumer sentiment, as there are still a lot of questions around how the latter will change through the rest of the year.
“Sentiment changes faster than ever,” Duda said. “The sentiment is trending positive, make no mistake of that.” But, he said, the reality is that “there are still very real tariff implications for some more than others.” And — as there is a new change to tariff policy, or as a new index comes out indicating worsening consumer sentiment — “the music stops every now and then.”