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Brandless

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Brandless
Company typePrivate
IndustryConsumer packaged goods (CPG), grocery
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
FoundersIdo Leffler
Tina Sharkey
Headquarters
Draper, Utah
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
Cydni Tetro (CEO)
ProductsFood
Beauty
Personal care
Housewares
Number of employees
100 (2021)
Websitebrandless.com

Brandless is an American e-commerce company that manufactures and sells products under its own label led by Cydni Tetro as CEO.[1]

Brandless was founded by Ido Leffler and Tina Sharkey, it launched in July 2017.[2][3][4]

On February 10, 2020, the company confirmed it would cease operations.[5] The assets of Brandless were purchased in June 2020 by Clarke Capital Partners and Ikonifi.[6] Brandless subsequently relaunched in the summer of 2020 with Cydni Tetro appointed as CEO. The company raised $118 million in August 2021, one of the largest funding rounds ever to be led by a female CEO.[7][8]

History

Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler met while living in Mill Valley, California. Sharkey, the founder of iVillage and the former CEO of BabyCenter, had a background in online communities, and Leffler, the founder of several companies, including Yes To, Inc. and Yoobi, had experience in consumer products.[3]

In mid-2016, Sharkey resigned from her position as CEO of Sherpa Foundry to become CEO of Brandless, with Leffler serving as its chairman.[9] The company raised $16 million in funding led by Redpoint Ventures in November 2016,[10] and at launch had received a total of $50 million in venture capital from New Enterprise Associates, Google Ventures, and others.[3]

In 2018, the company launched a pop-up store in Los Angeles in May.[11] Brandless launched a second, larger pop-up store in New York in October 2018.[12]

In May 2019, Brandless raised $240 million as a part of its series C funding round.[13] Soon after, Tina Sharkey stepped down as CEO after friction between her and lead investor SoftBank Vision Fund.[14]

In February 2020, Brandless announced that it would cease operations,[15] citing fierce competition and business model inviability in the direct-to-consumer market. The business laid off 70 staff members (about 90% of the operation at the time) with the remaining employees managing open orders.[16]

The assets of Brandless were purchased in June 2020 by Onward Partners, LLC, a company formed by Clarke Capital Partners and Ikonifi.[6][17] Brandless relaunched under the leadership of Clarke Capital Partners, a family office based in Silicon Slopes, Utah, and appointed Cydni Tetro as CEO. The company raised $118 million in debt and equity in August 2021, one of the largest funding rounds ever to be led by a female CEO.[6][18]

Business model

Brandless was based in San Francisco, California, and operated an additional facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It marketed its foods as GMO-free, its health and beauty items as cruelty-free, and paper products as adhering to sustainable forestry practices.[1] Products' labels consist of only a white box with the product's name and two to five descriptors, such as organic, kosher, or gluten-free.[19] Brandless is a brand of its own.[20]

The company operated a direct-to-consumer model.[10] Initially, Brandless priced single items at $3, or multiple items for $3 total.[3][21][22] That policy changed in January 2019 and higher-priced products were offered.[23]

In 2019, Brandless began to offer an optional subscription service to its customers.[24] Under the new management, the business model moved to a mission-driven, omni-channel e-commerce platform making acquisitions of like-minded companies to plug into Brandless growth engine.[25]

Awards and recognition

In February 2018, Brandless received the Best NewCo of the Year award from NewCo Honors for disrupting retail markets and donating 250,000 meals to Feeding America.[26] Additionally, it was awarded "StartUp of the Year" by Ad Age in 2018[27] and was also awarded one of "The World's Most Innovative Companies in Retail" by Fast Company in 2019.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Meyer, Zlata (July 14, 2017). "What does $3 buy you? On this website, everything". USA Today. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ^ Terlep, Sharon (July 12, 2017). "Brandless Fights Big Brands with $3 Pricing". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Feldman, Amy (July 11, 2017). "Brandless Hopes To Shake Up Consumer Products With Direct-To-Consumer Basics For $3". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Co-founders of online grocer Brandless on their mission to make shopping simpler". CBS This Morning. July 13, 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. ^ "SoftBank-backed Brandless to lay off staff, shutter operations". CNBC Retail. February 10, 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Brandless Closes $118 Million Round of Funding to Drive Acquisitions and Growth". Silicon Slopes Newsroom. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  7. ^ Brandless (2021-08-04). "Brandless Raises $118 Million to Accelerate Digitally-Native Platform and Mission-Driven Acquisitions". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  8. ^ TechBuzz. "Brandless Raises $118 Million". www.techbuzz.news. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  9. ^ Anzilotti, Eillie (July 13, 2017). "This New Site Sells Food And Household Essentials–All For $3 Or Less". Fast Company. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. ^ a b Rao, Leena (December 7, 2016). "Exclusive: Investors Bet on Brandless as the Next Procter and Gamble for Millennials". Fortune. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Discount start-up launches first pop-up—with a twist | Chain Store Age". Chain Store Age. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  12. ^ Crook, Jordan (October 2018). "Brandless is launching a pop-up shop in NYC". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  13. ^ htc (2019-05-30). "Brandless Receives $240 Million In Series C Funding Round, Enabling Continued Growth For The E-Commerce Startup". HiTechChronicle. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  14. ^ Bernard, Zoë (2019-06-19). "Inside the Turmoil at SoftBank-Backed Brandless". The Information. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  15. ^ Loizos, Connie (2020-02-10). "SoftBank-backed Brandless shuts its doors for good". Techcrunch. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  16. ^ Dumont, Jessica (2020-02-10). "Brandless shuts down". Grocery Drive. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  17. ^ Pattanayak, Komal (2020-12-12). "Startup Failure Series Case Study: Part 5". VCBay News. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  18. ^ Raymond, Art (2021-08-04). "Utah's Brandless ready to grow e-commerce biz with $118 million in new funding". Deseret News. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  19. ^ Schwab, Katharine (July 14, 2017). "Lessons On Branding From A Company That Has No Brand". Fast Company Design. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  20. ^ Pomranz, Mike (July 12, 2017). "Online Grocery Store 'Brandless' Sells Everything for $3". Food and Wine. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  21. ^ Peterson, Laurie (September 5, 2017). "Interview with Tina Sharkey, CEO and Co-Founder of Brandless". Whole Foods Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Startup Aims to Offer Savings by Ditching Brands for Good". NBC News 2. September 3, 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  23. ^ Ruff, Corinne (March 20, 2019). "Brandless expands health and wellness assortment". Retail Dive. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  24. ^ Ruff, Corinne (January 17, 2019). "BRIEF Brandless launches subscription option". Retail Dive. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  25. ^ "Brandless Closes $118 Million Round of Funding to Drive Acquisitions and Growth". Silicon Slopes Newsroom. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  26. ^ "2018's Most Inspiring Companies: The NewCo Honors Award Recipients". NewCo Shift. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  27. ^ "Ad Age Announces The Winners Of The 2018 Creativity Awards". Ad Age. March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  28. ^ "2019 The World's Most Innovative Companies". Fast Company. January 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
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