Doechii is a masterclass, TikTok Shop is bigger than SHEIN, etc.
Time for some brand snacks
Happy new year. I rung it in with a small gathering at mine. We ate chips, caviar, onion dip (need to get my friend’s recipe for you guys) and pizza and played Wavelength (we’re deep in our games era — can someone launch a group game in 2025? Analog only — none of that Heads Up shit).
At midnight, we lit sparklers and everyone went home. It was perfect.
This is the first year I wrote down quantifiable goals that felt kinda scary — a few related to this Substack. I even did a vision board. Not sure I did it right but here it is:
I’m over most brand moodboards, but I do think a vision board with some teasers for the year ahead would do well for certain brands.
Here, have some brand snacks 🫒
Doechii’s Denial is a River is a masterclass in the type of “long-form” content we should be seeing more of from brands this year. Calling the SKIMS collab now (or maybe she’s too cool?).
After 10 years in business, a viral TikTok (and the return of dairy) inspired a movement that spiked Good Culture’s YoY growth from 35% to 80%. I personally just purchased for the first time, and it really is the superior cottage cheese.
Poignant reminder that premium brands are all fighting for a small piece of the pie: “The top 20% of earners now account for nearly 50% of consumer spending. Sounds like a big opportunity, right? But when you realize that’s only 1 in 5 people, and every premium brand is chasing them, it hits you—your TAM is way smaller than you think.”
If this $160M 3-year exit case study doesn’t persuade you to figure out your target market, idk what will.
Most food brands with products that don’t lend well to in-store demos would just forgo it. Not Row 7 — they hired 40 cooks to run their Whole Foods demos, sampling 100K+ veggies and sautéing products on-site to showcase the convenience. While this strategy is expensive and doesn’t scale, Whole Foods performance can be make or break — you can’t take it for granted and gotta go hard. A mentor of mine who founded Harmless Harvest credits much of their Whole Foods success to an aggressive demo strategy and relationship-building with store-level employees (that was pre-TikTok, but still relevant).
Jolie founder + CEO Ryan Babenzian on why Meta is not the path to profitability: “Negative economies of scale is a rare occurrence. BUT it is what happens about 100% of the time on Meta. The more you spend on Meta the less efficient your marketing spend will become. Why would anyone scale that?”
Bala founder and CEO Natalie Holloway has a Substack where she shares BTS of building the brand. Last week she shared their DTC marketing mix — nothing surprising here but some highlights include $10 Meta CAC, affiliate and TikTokShop. She offers an intro to her agencies as well.
On that note, TikTokShop is already bigger than SEPHORA and SHEIN.
Not sure if we have any fractional leaders or hopefuls in here, but if so this newly minted guide from the folks at Fractional Jobs is super helpful.
A bunch of CPG VCs shared their top predictions for 2025. It’s kind of boring but highlights are less funding, more better-for-you as a result of MAHA (not sure I agree), further blurring lines between beauty and wellness (agree) and more M&A.
Intrigued by this co-working concept by an alum of The Wing.
I feel like there’s about to be a next wave of men’s body care brands. I started my CPG career at BRAVO SIERRA, a pioneer in premium men’s care along with brands like Huron and Hawthorne, but the space quieted down for a bit. This new brand HOMIE is interesting, feels like the right time for it.
P.S.
interviewed me and it was a delight!
Also a big fan of good culture these days!