Most expensive beer, telemedicine startup raises BRL 200 million and what matters in the market

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Beer has not escaped inflation in Brazil, the world’s third largest consumer of the product, and its price has increased 11.1% between June 2021 and May 2022, according to a Nielsen survey obtained by Sheet.

To try to avoid a significant brake on the consumption of the drink, the sector provides for a lower pass-through of costs to bars, while in supermarkets the Brazilian must leave premium brands aside.

What explains: barley and malt became more expensive in the context of the war in Ukraine, while the cost of shipping here increased along with the rise in diesel prices.

in the barsthere is a negotiation with the industry for the transfer to be lower in the face of the return of circulation after the restrictions of the pandemic, says Paulo Solmucci, president of Abrasel, the association of bars and restaurants.

• The idea is to prioritize returnable glass packaging, used in these places. As they can be reused, they end up costing and polluting less than aluminum cans.

in supermarketsthe expectation is for an increase in the sale of mainstream, medium-priced beers, in a reversal of the trend observed in the pandemic, when Brazilians increased the consumption of the most expensive beers at home.

In numbers: while the increase announced by breweries is expected for the period from August to October, the trend of lower transfer to bars already appears in the IPCA data.

• In the 12-month period ended in May, there was a variation of 5.22% in the price of beer in bars, while in households the increase was 9.38%.

• The strategy makes sense for the industry also because bars and restaurants accounted for 59% sales by volume last year, according to data from research firm Euromonitor.

Bittersweet

Year of the World Cup usually generates expectations of high consumption for retail at a time of lukewarm sales for the sector.

In 2022, however, the World Cup held in Qatar starts only in November – not in June, as in other editions – and it can overlap with other end-of-the-year purchases.

This is the concern of Roberto Fulcherberguer, president of Via (owner of the Casas Bahia and Ponto chains), at the premiere of Interviews with Entrepreneurs, a new series by Sheet.

Because it’s different: the World Cup, which traditionally drives demand for televisions, will share the attention and wallet of Brazilians with Black Friday and Christmas sales.

• This while consumers see their purchasing power eroded by inflation and credit made more expensive by high interest rates.

cost pressure: Via says the higher freight price due to more expensive diesel hits it less hard.

• Fulcherberguer says the impact is smaller because half of the company’s deliveries are made from its physical units – classified by the term “last mile”, the last step before the product reaches the consumer.

More on retail inflation:

In the 12 months through May, clothing prices rose by 16.08%, according to the IPCA. It is the highest inflation in the sector since July 1995, when the country was experiencing the impacts of the transition to the Real Plan.

Startup of the Week: Conexa Saúde

The “Startup of the Week” board brings on Mondays the x-ray of a startup that recently received funding.

The startup: Founded in 2017, Conexa Saúde is a digital health platform focused on telemedicine care.

In numbers: healthtech (health startup) announced that it had received a BRL 200 million in a Series C round (understand the stages of investing in startups here). This was the largest capture recorded in Latin America last week.

Investors: the investment was led by Goldman Sachs and was also attended by General Atlantic, Igah Ventures and Endeavor.

What problem does it solve: the platform connects doctors, institutions and patients through telemedicine. It also has a product designed for companies with digital health services for employees.

Why it’s featured: in addition to the expressive amount raised during a lean period for startups, the investment shows the interest for the telemedicine market in the country, which should add 30 million consultations this year.

More about the startup: CEO Guilherme Weigert said in an interview with the Brazil Journal website that the startup “is very close to starting to generate cash”, which should happen in nine months.

Main customers: its services are used by operators, such as Unimed, Bradesco Saúde, NotreDame Intermédica, and by large companies that offer the benefit to employees, such as Vale, Magazine Luiza, BRF, Mercado Livre, among others.

The week at a glance

There were 15 fundraising rounds carried out in Latin America, with $157 million (R$ 834 million) in investments, triple the previous week. Brazil led the number of contributions (11) and the volume raised by startups ($119 million or R$632 million).

Data is provided by the Sling Hub platform.

Growing demand for tax-exempt assets

With the promise of a real return (above inflation) of around 6% per year and with no incidence of IR (Income Tax), bonds issued by banks and large companies have been more sought after by Brazilian investors.

In this class are LCIs (Real Estate Letters of Credit), LCAs (Agricultural Letters of Credit), LIGs (Guaranteed Real Estate Letters), CRIs (Real Estate Receivables Certificates), CRAs (Agribusiness Receivables Certificates) and incentivized infrastructure debentures.

Alphabet soup: each security has distinct characteristics that must be taken into account by the investor.

• LCIs and LCAs are covered by the FGC, which guarantees the return of the amount contributed up to BRL 250 thousand by CPF and financial conglomerate, in case of any dispute with the institution when honoring the payment.

• The lesser-known LIGs are guaranteed by the institution that issued the bonds and a portfolio of real estate financing, which is separate from the bank’s equity.

• For CRIs, CRAs and incentivized debentures, these types of collateral do not exist. In this case, investors have to analyze with an even greater magnifying glass the financial health of the companies issuing the debt and the characteristics of the security.

In numbers: all the aforementioned securities showed an increase in the volume of issuances from January to May this year compared to the same interval in 2021. The survey was carried out by B3 at the request of the Sheet.

• Highlight for the LCAs, which added BRL 115.3 billion compared to BRL 52.4 billion last year and for infrastructure debentures, which rose from BRL 136.4 billion to BRL 192.5 billion.

More about investments:

• The new Safra Plan increased from 50% to 70% the possibility of using the resources of the LCAs and should create good paths for investors looking to take advantage of the current favorable moment, writes columnist Marcos de Vasconcellos.