DIP 019: Better and better, bit by bit
PLUS: Studs is coming for Claire's, Away's head of CPG, and Outdoor Voices' new logo
đ Hi. To cope with shorter days and an ever-growing to-do list, Iâve been gravitating toward lo-fi indie power ballads which, apparently, are a thing. ASLâs âWhen Loving Youâ is my favorite thus far. It feels like a night at a roller rink or a trip to the A&W drive-through. As always, reply with questions, comments, or thoughts about anything you read here.
The Chips đŠ
Wine subscription company Winc is pivoting to⊠fintech?
Stripe-centric brand Kule is making furniture now. Related: New Yorkâs Coming Soon is selling a Kartell loveseat reupholstered with Buffy comforters.
Piercing start-up Studs launches November 19 with a storefront on Prince Street.
Per Linkedin, Away has hired a head of CPG: Alexis Mezzina DiResta, who previously served as a product marketing consultant at Glossier.
Blanc Creatives, maker of grail-status carbon steel cookware, is moving away from its hand-forged technique.
Seasons is a streetwear rental service.
Peloton is working on more affordable home exercise equipment.
Ahead is seeking to streamline the experience of getting ADHD meds.
Luggage company Paravel launched a suitcase made from recycled plastic. Related: Iâm surprised Away didnât beat Paravel to itâŠ
A recent customer survey (and new trademark filing) suggests that Outdoor Voices will be launching a new logo soon.
Sheep Inc. is a carbon negative knitwear company with a strong emphasis on transparency, traceability, and sustainability.
Starface has competition. Related: Iâm extremely here for the skin neutrality movement.
Pentagramâs Giorgia Lupi has teamed up with & Other Stories (part of H&M Group) for a capsule collection inspired by female scientists.
Super Smalls is a new line of childrenâs accessories.
The Dip đŹ
When Eater published a fairly scathing review of Sweetgreenâs two-week-old â3.0â concept space, I was reminded of an article that I had read a couple of years ago (which for the life of me I cannot find) that outlined how online reviews are changing the restaurant industry.
A decade ago, a restaurant would open and several months would pass before critics would even consider it for a review. Restaurants had time to identify problems and work out kinks so that by the time the restaurant was reviewed, it was in a better, more finished state. Today, opening night is fair game for critics.
Today, born-digital brands are in a similar boat. With full-service agencies like Red Antler and Mythology (fka Partners & Spade) helping with everything from logo design to product development and brand voice, as well as seed-stage funding large enough to rival Series A funding, thereâs increasingly an expectation â subconscious, unspoken, or otherwise â that these companies will get it right from the start. But where does this come from, and what are companies doing to get ahead of it?
Expectation vs reality
Iâve spent the last year and a half furnishing my apartment. My couch came from a national retailer; my rug came from a year-old direct-to-consumer brand. After purchasing the couch, I learned that it was backordered. A three-week delay turned into a three-month lag. The rug was supposed to take eight to 12 weeks to arrive. It ultimately took six months.
I tolerated the backorder from the mass-market retailer but found myself increasingly frustrated with the direct-to-consumer brand. A backordered piece from a large retailer felt predictable somehow, while the delay (and general lack of communication) from the direct-to-consumer brand struck me as inexcusable.
The root of my frustration came down to the simple fact that because direct-to-consumer brands have a more intimate connection with consumers, and because theyâre not burdened by the operational challenges of traditional retailers, we hold them to higher standards. We expect products to ship faster, communication to be prompt and human, and the product to be good.
Better bit by bit
Itâs not revolutionary to say that new things are not perfect, whether a business, product, or tech feature. Thereâs pressure to launch and scale quickly and to do as much as possible, but speed often comes at the expense of quality.
Knowing this, itâs interesting to see brands begin to communicate iterative product development â something thatâs standard in the tech space, but relatively new to the consumer product arena.
In its early days, Soylent released product updates in much the same way an app would. Plant-based nuggets brand Nuggs publishes release notes for every product update, and Entireworld launches designs with a fairly cryptic formula that speaks to both product type and version.
Shortly after launching, Haus dialed in the recipe of its Citrus Flower aperitif by adding 20% more lemon peel. Equal Parts, the first-born brand in the Pattern family, launched with curated cookware sets and said that it would sell standalone product if consumers asked for it. In recent weeks, Equal Parts has begun to unbundle its cookware.
All of this is to say that weâre seeing brands adopt a new degree of openness with regard to product. Fine-tuning products isnât uncommon, but speaking to iterations â and publicizing those changes â is a fairly new practice, and one that I think does a lot to temper consumer expectations.
In it for the long haul
Communicating a brandâs long-term mission is another way for new companies to bolster themselves against initial criticism. Buffy made sustainability its backbone, Caraway is labeling itself a design brand, and Pattern is all about mindful habits. A brandâs positioning becomes the lens through which everything else gets filtered. Itâs what might one day allow Food52 to open retail-supported cooking schools, or Outdoor Voices to make a jogging stroller. Itâs what allowed Misfits to move from juice to sausage, and probiotic label Seed to launch a research arm.
In making a brandâs future goals clear and known, consumers become aware that theyâre buying in to something bigger. Itâs not just a product, itâs supporting a vision. This knowledge doesnât necessarily make consumers more forgiving, but can make them more likely to remain loyal to the brand.
Early adopters are curious, engaged, supportive humans, and early-stage brands can gain a lot from treating them as such. Itâs about keeping them in the loop, keeping them engaged, and saying, tacitly, that their early purchase â even if that product gets phased out or improved upon â enabled something better in the long run.
Still Hungry?
Earlier this year, Rothyâs pulled a product launch because it failed to meet production standards.
On launch day, Glossier labeled its Lash Slick mascara as vegan yet listed beeswax as an ingredient. It removed the âveganâ label shortly after launch and proactively refunded all customers who purchased the mascara before the copy error could be fixed.
Real Dip đ
Add two handfuls of raw cashews, two smashed garlic cloves, a three-finger pinch of pepper flakes, a two-second glug of rice vinegar, a splash of fish sauce, and a squeeze of honey to a food processor or blender. Blitz it, taste it, see if it needs salt. If youâd rather use this dip as a dressing, add a few splashes of water while mixing to thin it out.
Plays well with a bowl of roasted carrots, chicories, and fancy grains.
Thanks for snacking,
â Emily đ