Brandless

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

Brandless
TypePrivate
IndustryConsumer packaged goods (CPG), grocery
Founded2016 (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 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. 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. 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. "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. 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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