Retailers control brand & positioning. Brands can leverage this, but cannot control their own narrative.

eComm is noisy. To stand out, brands need a personal relationship with their end customers, independent of resellers.

'On-shelf' competition on platforms like Amazon is increasing. Brands want to set up their own shelves.

Reordering products is a repetitive process, occupying mental RAM. It's a hassle.

Consumers increasingly feel guilty about their consumerism. They are more aware of their ecological and social impact.

Consumers don't want to pick from 20 similar brands. They want one brand that fits their needs & identity, and stick with it.

D2C subscription startups don't mass-produce from Day 1. They can differentiate by focusing on product quality through technology, craft or both.

D2C startups have more control over their commercial story. The most successful ones have very strong brands and identities, and therefore stand out.

Customers turn to Subscriptions for convenience mostly. Part of that is not having to go to the store.

Customers, and businesses, also turn to subscriptions for predictable expenses / income. Subscriptions facilitate this by charging a fixed price per unit time.

Nearly all successful D2C subscription brands had at least a small poll or quiz to personalize their offering.

D2C Startups can build a brand from scratch, and ingrain sustainability in their processes a way larger businesses cannot compete with.

Removing friction is the foundation of a convenience oriented proposition. Just look at tools like Fast.

Supply Chain Commoditization kills the ability to be unique. Strong mission driven narratives give consumers something to emotionally rally behind. See: Billie

Type: Brand

Good gamification with the right incentives can prevent users from switching to the numerous competitors you're likely to have.

Type: Switching Costs

Apple creates product-service ecosystems that make it very inconvenient to have to change brands. Create interdependent products + services to lock customers in.

Type: Switching Costs

Charge a fixed fee per unit time for an ongoing delivery of product or service.

Sell a one-time product at a loss, that comes with recurring consumables at a profit. Can also be: Product (one-time) + Software (recurring).

Financing of product with low monthly rates, giving a 'subscription' experience to a purchase. Peloton combines this with Razor & Blades Model with video-class subscriptions.

Optimize Margin/CAC by funneling customers into more expensive subscriptions.

The CAC for Subscription D2C is high, and heavily Ad dependent.

HiSmile was able to grow $20k to $40M almost exclusively through influencer marketing – starting out in the niches.

The now infamous hype loop by Harry's shows that a good pre-launch campaign can create virality even before launch.

Work with drops and exclusives to keep the hype-cycle going and boost demand through Scarcity.

Through SEO & SEM target competitor keywords to steal some of their market share.

Loyalty is crucial to reduce Churn. Create a gamified loyalty program. Referral programs are crucial for growth. Create incentives for Word of Mouth.

'Collect them all' gamification to extend CLTV.

Famous for their pre-launch referral campagn.

Great personalization and awareness of a growing market (parenting x food delivery)

Great branding and product positioning. Smart strategic category expansion.

Started from a niche (fanatic programmers). Disruptive from a product perspective.

Tackled a niche that is fanatic by nature, and leveraged that to go mainstream. Smart product + software hybrid.

Went deep on personalization. Counter-positioning traditional skincare brands.

Strong sustainability-driven positioning.

Best use of influencer-based brand building I can remember.