As we have discussed before, big consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands continue to opt-out of doing their own research and development to develop new products in favor of purchasing emerging brands. This route is often cheaper, faster, and more effective, as consumer preferences and purchasing behaviors are shifting faster than ever. When does a brand become an attractive acquisition target? In an overly simplified view, the process generally goes something like this: idea, proof of concept, product-market fit and continuous growth (growing sales and profits through various channels and product ..read more

CircleUp’s Inner Circle is a community for entrepreneurs at high-growth, private consumer brands to learn, grow and connect. Brands can join Inner Circle for free, gaining access to resources, insights, and online experiences. This post is part of a series we have created to help amplify the voices of our diverse community of entrepreneurs. CircleUp spoke with Paul Voge, Co-Founder & CEO of Aura Bora, to learn more about his founder journey and how the Aura Bora brand came to be. From launching the brand alongside his co-founder and wife, Maddie, to leading the movement to “Drink Weird Wat ..read more

It is unusual for an early stage beauty brand to launch in both Ulta and Sephora. Typically, the retailers push for some level of exclusivity and are willing to give additional support to get it.  In addition, it is hard for an early stage beauty brand to manage the needs of these two behemoths, both on an inventory and marketing front.   So how does an early stage brand determine the best partner?   First, it is important to note, these are both great retailers. The strength and consistency of their same store sales growth, as shown below, is impressive. Eve ..read more

Happy National Entrepreneur Day! It’s a day to celebrate the innovators and idea makers. At CircleUp, our Inner Circle is a community for consumer brand entrepreneurs to learn, grow, and connect. A common interest among our consumer brand founders is the important role that books and podcasts have played in their evolution as entrepreneurs. Below are the top selections that influenced, supported and inspired their journeys. 10 Books Inner Circle Entrepreneurs Recommend: 1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman | Recommendation from Ryan Ayotte, Founder, Ohza 2. Mindset by Carol Dweck | R ..read more

The user opt-out option for Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) in iOS 14.5 has caused a lot of commotion in the eCommerce world. Previously, apps could collect and share data with third parties based on a unique identifier for your iPhone called an IDFA. Now, users can decline to have their activity tracked in this way. And companies selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) are experiencing higher customer acquisition costs, making the economics of the business model more challenging. You can read more about this as it relates to Facebook here. How IDFA impacts paid ads The central question aro ..read more

CircleUp’s Inner Circle is a community for entrepreneurs at high-growth, private consumer brands to learn, grow and connect. Brands can join Inner Circle for free, gaining access to resources, insights, and online experiences. This post is the first in a series we have created to help amplify the voices of our diverse community of entrepreneurs. CircleUp spoke with Lauren Schulte Wang, Founder & CEO of The Flex Co. (whose brand is on a mission to provide sustainable alternative period products that prioritize comfort, support an active lifestyle, and lend a hand to Mother Earth), to learn ..read more

Inner Circle is a community for entrepreneurs at high-growth, private consumer brands to learn, grow and connect. Brands can join Inner Circle for free, gaining access to resources, insights, and online experiences. This article will highlight takeaways from our community event, Inner Circle Live: Learnings from iOS 14.5. The rollout of iOS 14.5 and Apple’s prioritization of user privacy has shaken up the direct-to-consumer marketing community as marketing leaders reconsider ad spend and the cost of lead acquisition. Although these changes have created a sense of uncertainty within the way cam ..read more

The Story of the Squid and the Whale Noah Baumbach’s film, The Squid and the Whale, follows two sons as they deal with their parents’ impending divorce, which divides them between conflicting parental allegiances that are fraught with emotional manipulation and self-sabotage. While not as comedic, this classic drama has been playing out across the stage of e-commerce. The Squid and the Whale could be another name for “Amazon and Shopify”, two giants struggling for control of the ever-changing landscape with two competing business models and sets of tactics. Amazon  Dating back t ..read more

Supply chain issues: the topic seems to be making headlines almost daily, and you likely have experienced them in one shape or another, as either an operator or a consumer, in the past year. But what are they actually, how long will they continue, and what are the potential risks for consumer goods businesses?  Where’s my inventory? Since the creation of online shopping, people have been buying stuff from the comfort of their own home. That practice was catapulted in 2020 when the world closed down due to COVID-19 and our only safe option was to buy products through eCommerce retailers. B ..read more

The “5 day weekend” in late November that contains Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday (sometimes referred to as BFCM) is a massive opportunity for consumer brands to drive sales. Given the importance of this period for consumer brands, we dove into trends from years past, including last year’s COVID-affected BFCM to share our findings and suggestions to help emerging brands optimize for success in 2021. Source: CNN About 37% of sales during the “holiday shopping season” come from the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period alone, with 30% of all retail sales coming from Black Friday to ..read more