If you’re smitten and you’re green, what could be more romantic than getting down on one knee, snapping open the jewelry box, and proposing to your beloved with a ring…made, in part, from air pollution? That’s the idea behind Aether, a DTC startup that makes lab-grown diamonds from carbon that’s been removed from the atmosphere, and which announced today that it raised $18 million.

• The round was led by Helena, the venture capital firm with a non-profit arm that supports environmental and social issues. Trirec, SoundWaves, Khosla Ventures, and Social Impact Capital also participated.
• Aether’s total funding since its founding in 2018 is now more than $21 million.

Nevermined

As lab-grown diamonds gain popularity as an alternative to traditional (mined) diamonds, Aether positions itself as an alternative to the other alternatives. Aether says that it’s developed a proprietary process to use CO2 which has been removed from the atmosphere. It gets the carbon from Climeworks, a carbon-capture plant company in Switzerland that’s also worked with Helena.

“The way we’ve looked at it, we’ve created this third category of diamond,” Ryan Shearman, Aether’s cofounder and CEO, told Retail Brew. “Luxury consumers can come to us without having to sacrifice on quality, and values-aligned consumers can come to us knowing that we’re going to drive a more tangible benefit to the environment.”

• Aether claims that for every 1-carat diamond a consumer buys, it removes 20 metric tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, more than the annual carbon footprint for an average American.
• Last month, the company became a B Corp, which it says makes it the only diamond company with the certification.

Carats and sticks: While brands like Vrai also tout green bona fides, Henry Elkus, founder and CEO of Helena, said what drew the VC firm to Aether is that it helps create a market for captured carbon. That, in the long run, could make carbon-capture plants more economically viable.

“Just like the solar industry needed to get its cost curve down 20 years ago, carbon capture needs to get its cost curve down or else we’re not going to solve climate change—because we need to suck CO2 out of the air,” Elkus told us.

Click here to read the full story.—AAN

DoorDash is hoping a new acquisition will deliver as it moves to expand its tech inside restaurants.

DoorDash announced yesterday it has an agreement to acquire Bbot, a tech startup that offers merchants seamless ordering and payment options both IRL and online. (The terms of the deal were not disclosed.)

• Bbot’s features include a QR code scanner that lets customers order through a merchant-branded, interactive online menu while inside a restaurant.

“We’re excited to bring our combined suite to an even wider selection of merchants across the hospitality space—including bars, hotels, and ghost kitchens—so these businesses can engage with more customers, increase their quality of service, and grow sales,” Tom Pickett, DoorDash’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement.

Planning ahead: The delivery company already offers first-party platforms like Storefront and Drive for order and pickup. But the introduction of Bbot will provide operators the ability to digitize their ordering and payment process within restaurants and offer a more seamless software solution across the board. It will function alongside DoorDash’s existing point-of-sale systems and loyalty programs.

+1: DoorDash’s most recent acquisition was last November, when it bought Wolt, a Finland-based delivery company, for $8.1 billion to help establish its presence in Europe.—JS

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Heidi Zuber recently scooped the role as global head of HR at Froneri, the international ice cream company that owns iconic brands like Häagen-Dazs and Drumstick. But she also serves as chief legal officer for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream—Froneri’s US division. The sweet gig isn’t Zuber’s first in the CPG space: She got her start as an HR manager at PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division. Here, she dishes more about her day to day.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I make sure that we have the right team at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, a team which is diverse and passionate about making, packaging, and servicing our customers and fans with the best quality and tasting ice cream. I also help keep the organization whole and support my colleagues in growing the business.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile: Aside from having wicked Excel skills for a lawyer, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and help. This is unique about us: Everyone knows everything. If I happen to be at one of our facilities and support is needed, I have the skills to jump in.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? During the pandemic, we delivered free ice cream to frontline workers and to firefighters who were battling wildfires. I love that through my work, I get to spread joy and put smiles on people’s faces.

One emerging trend that you’re excited about this year: This may not be a typical retail trend, but I am fascinated by the Great Resignation. In my role as chief HR officer, employees are an employer’s consumers. And just as consumers expect brands to do more than just sell products, employees expect employers to do more than just make products to sell. I anticipate employers will flex and extend in many ways to attract talent and I am curious to see what their organizations end up looking like.

Today’s top retail reads.

Hubba-hubba: Mexico is emerging as an attractive manufacturing hub for US companies, as complications continue for manufacturers in China. (Glossy)

Tube tops: Vintage fashion is playing its own role on the small screen. (Business of Fashion)

Sole proprietor: Reebok’s new owners have a mixed record, and some analysts are skeptical. (Insider)

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Brands and businesses scramble to respond to war in Ukraine
• DTC men’s skincare brand Lumin expands into Target
• A short list of retail exec moves in February