Brandless

Brandless
Private
Industry Consumer packaged goods (CPG), grocery
Founded 2012 (2012)
Founder Ido Leffler, Tina Sharkey
Headquarters San Francisco, California
Area served
 United States
Products Food
Beauty
Personal care
Housewares
Number of employees
 60 (2017)
Website brandless.com

Brandless is an American e-commerce company that manufactures and sells food, beauty and personal care products, and household supplies under its own Brandless label.[1] Founded by Ido Leffler and Tina Sharkey, it launched in July 2017 with a selection of 115 items, many of them health and environmentally-conscious.[2][3][4] Brandless currently sells over 200 products.[5]

Brandless limits its offerings to simplify shopping; there is often just one choice for each type of item.[6] Every product is sold for $3.00—or two for $3 or three for $3—a price that the company says reflects the elimination of a "brand tax," or the costs associated with marketing, advertising, distribution, and brand cachet.[2][7]

According to Business Insider, "Brandless' model acts as the opposite of a model employed by e-commerce giants like Amazon and Jet.com … Instead, everything is a reliable, fixed price regardless of when you're shopping and what experience you're looking for."[8]

History

Sharkey and Leffler met while both were living in Mill Valley, California. Sharkey, the founder of iVillage and the former CEO of BabyCenter, had an extensive background in online communities, and Leffler, the founder of several companies, including Yes To, Inc. and Yoobi, had expertise in consumer products.[3] They founded Brandless in 2014 to "set a landing point for a consumers" who sought "quality and transparency, and eschewed brand loyalty and the resulting choice overload familiar to anyone who’s ever stepped into a grocery store aisle."[5]

In mid-2016, Sharkey resigned from her position as CEO of Sherpa Foundry to become CEO of Brandless, with Leffler serving as its chairman.[5] The company raised $16 million in funding led by Redpoint Ventures in November 2016,[9] 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 announced plans launch a pop-up store in Los Angeles in May.[10] In addition to selling products, Brandless scheduled two weeks of programming from May 1 to 13 in Los Angeles with different panels centered around wellness and nutrition, dubbing the programming as "Pop-Up With Purpose." In addition to the programming the company donated 5,000 meals on behalf of each speaker, 10 meals for every person who visited the pop-up and three meals every time an individual tags the company or used the hashtag #Brandless on social media.[11]

Business model

Brandless is based in San Francisco, California, and operates an additional facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Foods are GMO-free, health and beauty items are cruelty-free, and paper products adhere 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.[12] While its product packaging isn’t heavily branded like most traditional brands, Brandless is a brand of its own.[13]

The business model for Brandless begins with all its products being conceived with manufacturing partners.[14] As a result, the company owns, creates and sells all of these goods directly to the consumer,[9] a methodology that eliminates “brand tax”, the markup on most conventional brand-name items that can range from as low as 40% to as high as 370%. With their own production and distribution, Brandless is able to price single items at $3, or multiple items for $3 total.[3][15][16] At checkout, customers receive an "estimated brand tax savings" for their purchases.[6] Additional savings come if customers purchase a B.More membership.[17]

Feeding America

Sharkey and Leffler built a one-for-one social mission into the core business model; through a partnership with Feeding America, for every order placed, Brandless provides a meal for people in need.[4] Purchases by members of Brandless’ B.More program will result in 2 meals donated to Feeding America.[5]

In an interview with Whole Foods magazine, Sharkey explained that their donations are "one way to help positively impact the 42 million people in this country facing food insecurity, but it's just the start. We want to inspire and empower our community to make a difference."[15]

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. The award is given to companies who possess innovative offerings and who stand by a distinct mission in their business.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Meyer, Zlata (July 14, 2017). "What does $3 buy you? On this website, everything". USA Today. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 Terlep, Sharon (July 12, 2017). "Brandless Fights Big Brands with $3 Pricing". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 "Co-founders of online grocer Brandless on their mission to make shopping simpler". CBS This Morning. July 13, 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Anzilotti, Eillie (July 13, 2017). "This New Site Sells Food And Household Essentials–All For $3 Or Less". Fast Company. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 Newcomb, Alyssa (July 11, 2017). "Meet Brandless, the Store Where Everything You Need Is Just $3". NBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Gilbertson, Gilbert. "Is The Future Brandless?". Media Post (August 2, 2017). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Green, Dennis (July 11, 2017). "A new startup that sells everything from chef's knives to maple syrup for just $3 raised $50 million to be the 'Procter & Gamble for millennials'". Business Insider 2. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 Rao, Leena (December 7, 2016). "Exclusive: Investors Bet on Brandless as the Next Procter and Gamble for Millennials". Fortune. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Discount start-up launches first pop-up—with a twist |Chain Store Age". Chain Store Age. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  11. ↑ "Brandless' Pop-Up Is Focused on Community Engagement Rather Than Selling Products". Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  12. ↑ Schwab, Katharine (July 14, 2017). "Lessons On Branding From A Company That Has No Brand". Fast Company Design. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  13. ↑ Pomranz, Mike (July 12, 2017). "Online Grocery Store 'Brandless' Sells Everything for $3". Food and Wine. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Green, Dennis (July 11, 2017). "A new startup that sells everything from chef's knives to maple syrup for just $3 raised $50 million to be the 'Procter & Gamble for millennials'". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  15. 1 2 Peterson, Laurie (September 5, 2017). "Interview with Tina Sharkey, CEO and Co-Founder of Brandless". Whole Foods Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "Startup Aims to Offer Savings by Ditching Brands for Good". NBC News 2. September 3, 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Barkho, Gabriela (November 21, 2017). "Brandless Launches Membership Service and Potential Amazon Prime Competitor". Inverse Innovation. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  18. ↑ "2018's Most Inspiring Companies: The NewCo Honors Award Recipients". NewCo Shift. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
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