OLIPOP

A healthy alternative to soda, OLIPOP calls itself a ‘delicious fizzy tonic.’ Its products consist of soda-like flavors packed with digestive health benefits – prebiotics, plant fiber, botanicals and more. OLIPOP’s online DTC business features a discounted subscription and facilitates fast transactions with easy cancellation and texting features. Consumers can find OLIPOP in curation outlets like Erewhon (where nearly 5K cans were sold in one month alone) and independent coffee shops. This year, OLIPOP has aggressively expanded at retail, with retail sales spiking 400% since mid-March, driven by distribution in Sprouts, Kroger, Whole Foods, Safeway, and Wegmans.

HU Kitchen

HU Kitchen’s journey to disruption in premium chocolate began in 2011 as a paleo/primal restaurant concept. When the founders struggled to find a delicious chocolate that met their restaurant’s strict health criteria, they decided to launch their own line of chocolate. By 2013, HU chocolate launched into Whole Foods, coinciding with their Union Square (NYC) restaurant launch. From 2016 to 2018, their retail penetration grew from 400 to 3,000 stores. Today, the brand applies a unique test-and-learn model with its in-house test kitchen and insights lab to cultivate a loyal following through both retail and DTC.

Hint

To combat her diet soda addiction, Kara Goldin habitually put fresh fruit into pitchers of water for herself and her family. This led to the birth of Hint in 2005. Fast forward to 2019, and Hint is the number one independently owned non-alcoholic beverage company in the U.S with $140 million in annual revenue. Goldin has prioritized an omnichannel approach to cultivate Hint’s rise to the top. While 60% of Hint’s sales comes from retailers like Whole Foods, Target, and Costco as well as Silicon Valley cafeterias, 40% still stems from the DTC arm of the business that makes it easy to customize soda packs with a 20% subscriber discount.

JustFoodForDogs

As a dog parent himself, Shawn Buckley felt compelled to disrupt the $30 billion pet food market by offering human-grade dog food beyond a can or bag. He went to market with a bang as the first-ever public kitchen for dogs! The kitchen was not only an efficient production facility, but also a unique marketing tool that attracted a loyal pet owner following. After its success in the DTC landscape, JustFoodForDogs partnered with Petco in 2019 to open a 1,350-square-foot retail activation kitchen in Petco’s Union Square (NYC) store. By expanding to over 1,000 Petco stores and embracing DTC and Amazon, JustFoodForDogs has reached $80 million in revenue.

Mush

Debuting on Shark Tank in 2017, Mush is an all-natural ready-to-eat overnight oatmeal founded by San Diego natives Ashley Thompson and Kat Thomas. Thompson and Thomas created Mush out of frustration with the lack of healthy, easy to prepare breakfasts and snacks available in the marketplace. Prior to its appearance on Shark Tank, Mush sold through farmer’s markets. Since partnering with Mark Cuban, Mush has rapidly grown its retail penetration, expanding into over 3,500 stores, including Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Publix. In addition, Mush has bolstered its DTC arm by offering subscription discounts for its customizable “Everyday,” “Weekday,” and “Snacking” packs.

Public Goods

Public Goods, a membership-based online home goods store, was founded in 2016 to combat the paralysis of choice faced by consumers at retail today. Offering just one type of product per need, the site touts minimalism and pleasing aesthetics across its portfolio. In 2020, Public Goods announced a CVS retail partnership where consumers can forego the annual membership to access the brand’s products, albeit at higher prices. CEO Morgan Hirsh views this as a strategic move to expand reach among new consumers who primarily shop B&M, with the aim of introducing them to the brand, building their loyalty, and increasing Public Goods’ membership numbers.

BirchBox

Founded in 2010, Birchbox has pioneered subscription commerce, helping consumers conveniently tailor beauty products to their lifestyles. The service provides each consumer a personalized box of products featuring both prestige and niche brands to fit his or her beauty routines. Beyond its established DTC offering, Birchbox has invested heavily in its retail arm to secure selective partnerships. Birchbox placed beauty consultants in 3,000 Walgreens nationwide to educate beauty shoppers on the brand and fuel an increase in monthly subscribers from Walgreens. Birchbox also introduced its products at select Gap locations. Between these partnerships and its DTC stronghold, Birchbox amassed over 1 million subscribers.

Sumo Citrus

Available for just 4 months a year, the “dekopon” varietal of mandarins known as Sumo Citrus are a highly coveted seasonal fruit. Celebrated for its sweetness, distinctive top knot, and ease of peeling, the Sumo Citrus brand benefits from its digital presence and sense of exclusivity. Eager consumers can sign up to receive a notification when the varietal becomes available, and in season, consumers can purchase gift boxes of the fruit to be shipped nationwide. Sumo’s real brand value creation comes from its in-store staging. Leaders like Whole Foods, Wegmans, Target and Publix allocate large displays and signage to capitalize on the fruit’s seasonal excitement, demand, and premium ring.

Rothy’s

Rothy’s took the professional women’s apparel landscape by storm beginning in 2015, providing women with trendy flats that are washable, handmade, and made from recycled plastic bottles. Online drives the lion’s share of brand sales, but the brand has recently expanded with in-store locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. In 2018, Rothy’s debuted in the retail landscape by dropping an exclusive collection at Nordstrom. That same year, Rothy’s sold over one million pairs of shoes, contributing to a valuation of over $700 million and driving genuine sustainability impact that helps Rothy’s inspire continued shopper engagement both online and in-store.

Cocokind

Cult-favorite skincare brand Cocokind launched in 2014 with a mission: to make clean, efficacious skincare more accessible. The brand became an early hit with influencers and bloggers, with their hero Collective Sticks (like MYMatcha) being shared frequently on Instagram personal pages and routine videos. CEO Priscilla Tsai has personally taken charge of Cocokind’s social media, creating posts that relate to the skincare challenges of Cocokind customers. What started primarily online quickly expanded with retailers like Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Target.

Pillar #1: Relevance to my values

Next generation consumers want to spend their money on more than a product; they use their beliefs to direct purchasing. Winning brands position themselves as relevant to contemporary values and empower consumers to use their purchasing power to support a greater purpose.

Brands aligned to consumer values (e.g., ways of eating, environmental stewardship, donation of proceeds to various causes) also command a price premium as consumers are willing to pay more for the enhanced benefits delivered by a values-based brand. We see this justified premium as a growth unlock across categories.

Unlock: Use forward-looking insights to identify emerging values that drive purchase decisions

Prioritize leading-edge consumers (those creating change in the market) and identify what they value most when selecting products. These consumers portend where purchase decisions are trending, and brands that deeply understand these values-based decisions can better delight this group and remain ahead of broader market trends.

A few examples include:

Pillar #2: Cultural relevance

Brands often struggle to appeal to next generation consumers in today’s ultra-competitive landscape. Successfully creating stickiness in consumers’ minds requires talking to consumers through mediums and situations that are relevant to their culture. Connecting to the next generation’s culture in an authentic way while remaining true to the brand’s heritage will allow the brand to build relevance with a spectrum of consumers.

Unlock: Link your brand to contemporary culture As consumers see advertising everywhere, from subway ads to Snapchat stories, it has become more difficult for brands to capture mindshare. One way to stand out authentically is to leverage borrowed interest from pop culture, making smart, relevant connections to your brand and what it stands for.

A few examples include:

Pillar #3: Lifestyle relevance

As the next generation builds careers, families, and homes, they seek solutions that fit meals, snacks, and personal care and household occasions into busy schedules, spurring a resurgence across categories from home cleaning to frozen meals to dairy and pasta. Brands can win by updating old standbys for evolving needs as consumers seek better ‘job’ solutions.

Unlock: Connect with trending values as a ‘way in’ to today’s lifestyle

For the next generation, food values are about more than just nourishment; they are integrated into consumers’ sense of self and wellbeing. Brands whose products better fulfill evolving consumer ‘jobs’ associated with changing lifestyles will earn greater market share.

A few examples include:

Pillar #4: Budget relevance

With college tuition increasing 500% since the 1980s and cost of living more than tripling, the next generation of consumers is accustomed to living on a budget. In the consumer goods space, they are seeking an even greater value equation. Low prices alone are not the answer. It is more important than ever to identify and deliver on the aspects of the value equation that matter most to them.

Unlock: Over-deliver on the value equation

Offering exceptional value through the right benefits at the right price requires a deep understanding of where value lies for your consumer. By offering exactly what consumers value most and not investing in what they don’t, brands can be highly relevant while saving on areas that expand profit margin.

A few examples include:

Pillar #5: Relevant availability

Today’s consumers expect brands to be seamlessly available for purchase in their flow of life outside traditional retail channels, whether offline or online. However, brands must still stand out in the traditional brick and mortar retail environment while expanding omnichannel through availability online, in foodservice, and/or in unexpected UDS (up-and-down-the-street) channels such as apartment buildings, workplaces, and gyms.

Unlock: Develop breakthrough availability

As social networks expand in-app purchasing capabilities, brands can capitalize, reaching younger consumers where they already browse and removing the friction to purchase online. In real life, brands can break through by ensuring their in-store presence is unforgettable (or better yet, Instagrammable) and by increasing distribution in grab-and-go locations that accommodate the next generation’s on-the-go lifestyle expectations.

A few examples include: