DIP 025: Welcome to my crib

PLUS: Body wash by the gallon, a beauty livestream platform, and the quietest place on the internet

👋 Hi. This sameness is starting to feel like quicksand. Every Tuesday I wake up thinking that it’s Sunday, then panic when I realize that it’s not. It’s not that Tuesdays are scary, but rather that time and structure and traditional demarcations feel increasingly arbitrary. And I’m realizing that most of all, I miss being a sponge to the world around me — observing people and soaking up culture. It’s been harder to nurture the embers of ideas because of it, but mostly I’m bitter that I didn’t get to see the Judd show at MoMA before everything shut down. As always, reply with questions, comments, or thoughts about anything you read here.

The Chips ☕

• Malin + Goetz is selling gallon-size jugs of body wash.

• Saveur makes cookware now.

• Negative Underwear launched a nursing bra.

• This face mask vending machine feels like a sign of things to come (with regard to both the ubiquity of face masks and vending machines as no-contact retail solutions).

• The Confidence is a new gut health supplement.

• BluDot is engaging customers at home with a creativity contest called Swap Meet.

• Wrap + Deliver offers a gift-wrapping solution for online shopping.

• Primer is an AR-powered decorating tool that visualizes paint colors and wallpaper.

• REI is dabbling in the lifestyle space via a collaboration with West Elm.

• Earth & Star makes oat milk lattes infused with functional mushrooms.

• Design magazine Domino launched a vertical dedicated to renovations.

• Equinox launched Variis, its on-demand streaming platform.

• The Pivot facilitates partnerships between athletes and organizations. Related: Tracksmith hired Mary Cain and Nick Willis as full-time employees and sponsored athletes.

• The Newness is a livestreaming platform for the beauty community.

• I’ve been loving Landa Conservatory’s transportive nature recordings.

• It’s getting hard to keep up with all of the new plant companies launching, but Grounded’s visuals caught my eye.

• As a person who intentionally buys shirts that are two sizes too big, I’m excited to see what Bagggy has to offer.

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The Dip 💻

In DIP 024, I looked at tactics that companies adopted to stay nimble as the reality of the pandemic set in. A few more weeks have passed since then (but really, what is time?) and we’re seeing more sustainable solutions begin to emerge.

Even as states allow businesses to re-open, it’s clear that we’re not going back to how things used to be any time soon. This allows businesses to introduce alternative revenue streams and for consumers to explore new purchasing habits that may ultimately have staying power (Lightspeed’s Nicole Quinn explored the latter in the context of China).

Come on in

In the Before times, restaurants would occasionally sell branded mugs or t-shirts or hats — small pieces of merch that allow fans to display their loyalties. The dining experience was most often confined to the four walls of a restaurant and ended as soon as the bill was paid.

In recent weeks, a number of neighborhood restaurants in New York have adopted grocery store models (it’s happening in other cities, too, but I’m just speaking to what I’m familiar with). They’ll sell dry goods, ready-to-roast chickens, aperitivo snacks, and wine. In doing so, customers are able to more intimately engage with a restaurant.

It’s not the same as ordering takeout. Rather than going to a restaurant to dine out, you’re welcoming the restaurant into your home. The customer has to work to incorporate the ingredients into a meal, which in turn feels more special and more intentional. It’s the culinary equivalent of wearing a pair of collectible sneakers.

Restaurants have previously adopted grocery models for secondary or tertiary revenue streams: April Bloomfield had White Gold Butcher, Gjusta has long sold oils and spices, and Sqirl sells jam and granola. In doing so, the restaurant is not just a destination for a meal, but rather a resource that can be habituated into your daily life.

On the reg

There’s something about it all that reminds me of pre-supermarket ways of purchasing. Shops were more localized, more curated, more personal. You could walk into a greengrocer and the owner would know your preferences. Connection begets loyalty, and while we’re a ways away from any semblance of normalcy, restaurants have a lot to gain from becoming household staples.

Instacart and Prime Now previously found popularity for the convenience they offered. Right now we’re seeing people turn to a different type of delivery out of necessity — CSAs and milk deliveries, both recurring deliveries that support local, seasonal food systems, are booming — and it’s possible that that habit sticks. As noted in DIP 005, the seeds of a circular delivery revolution are being planted.

(An aside: I don’t know much about grocery delivery operations or logistics, but it always seemed absurd to me that Instacart functions by having a person shop in a store on behalf of another. There’s nothing streamlined about it.)

In many ways, the convenience of subscribing to a CSA exceeds the convenience of grocery delivery. While the goods themselves are less predictable, it guarantees a steady supply of fresh ingredients — something most grocery stores can’t promise right now. The service being offered may draw a customer in, but it’s the product that unlocks habituation.

Let’s play a game

Since the pandemic unfolded, digitally native brands responded in one of two ways: by tasking factories with producing masks or hand sanitizer, or by diverting marketing budgets to ramp up digital content.

Now that content fatigue has set in, there’s an opportunity for brands to find new and unexpected ways to engage with customers — especially at home and especially by looking beyond their core product. I’m surprised that more consumer brands haven’t created puzzles, especially in partnership with Jiggy, Inner Piece, Piecework, or another buzzy label. Glossier, with its high-impact photoshoots, seems particularly well-suited to the concept.

Instead, a handful of companies are seeking to encourage purchases by offering video consultations. As noted in DIP 024, Everlane and Glossier are offering styling sessions. Parachute now offers design consults, too. While the experience might appeal to high-intent consumers and likely results in higher order values, intimacy is a privilege and 1:1 video calls likely aren’t something many consumers will be comfortable with.

The solution lies in reacting authentically and empathetically to the present moment. And in the same way that restaurants can maintain cash flow (albeit dramatically reduced) by diversifying their product offering, brands can, too. Brother Vellies did this by introducing Something Special, a monthly delivery of one-of-a-kind, handcrafted goods.

Diversifying a product line with small add-ons won’t make up for losses, but it does offer a new way of engaging and retaining customers, which in turn builds a stronger, more resilient brand. And in the context of a pandemic, resilience is a pretty good trait to establish.

Still hungry?

• As the reality of the coronavirus set in, Sweetgreen accelerated the launch of plates, an expansion previously alluded to in interviews with the New York Times and Recode. Plates had first been tested in Sweetgreen’s Houston locations and were intended to be exclusive to “3.0” locations and ghost kitchen, but were rolled out early to accommodate housebound fans.

• Brands are flocking to Animal Crossing. The Wing, Gossamer and Offhours, Jeni’s, Glossier, and Seed have adapted their wares to the video game.

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Real Dip 🍷

Agrodolce relish borrowed from Six Seasons.

Put a small handful of golden raisins in a small bowl. Add red wine vinegar until it begins to pool around the raisins. If they’re submerged, you’ve gone too far. Let it sit for a few minutes.

Add a small handful of pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds, a large handful of chopped parsley, and zest and juice from one lemon. Add a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper. Mix it all up, then add a few big glugs of olive oil and mix some more.

Plays well with roasted potatoes, radishes, and hummus.

Thanks for snacking,

— Emily 💤