Sandra Oh Lin took her knack for creating fun STEM activities for her kids and turned it into KiwiCo, a monthly subscription box business that fuels kids’ passion for creativity. On this episode, Oh Lin describes how she went from engineer to entrepreneur and the lessons she learned the hard way as demand for the popular kids’ activity boxes quickly grew. Originally released July 1, 2019.

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Food52 was created with the vision of celebrating a love of food with a like-minded community. With more people staying at home during the pandemic and turning to cooking for comfort, Food52’s massive community of engaged followers has grown even more. Listen to learn more about how the brand turns fans into customers with crowdsourced product launches that sell out in days and why consumers connect with their human approach to cooking. 

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The pandemic of COVID-19 is hitting everyone hard, the retail industry included. Despite that, many retailers are coming together to find creative ways to help each other, their customers, and their communities. Today, we’re sharing the stories of some of those companies and how they are innovating to accommodate.

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Retailers are facing unique challenges in today’s environment. Today, we're looking at how consumer behavior is changing amid the COVID-19 crisis with NRF Senior Director of Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen. NRF has been checking in on how people have adapted to the coronavirus pandemic, including popular purchases, shopping methods, and the broader ways this impacts their lives and behaviors.

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How do you make shopping for LEGOs as fun as building them? That’s the question — and the ambition — behind Martin Urrutia’s work as the Head of Global Retail Innovation at LEGO. With more than 25 years of retail experience, his job is to push innovative retail practices that will keep the company at the forefront of customer expectations.

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Originally released May 14, 2018: BARK, the makers of BarkBox, began where so many great companies do — in a heart-shaped bed on a cruise ship. Henrik Werdelin and his co-founders bonded over a mutual love for dogs and an obsession with making their furry family members happy. In this episode, Werdelin discusses how BARK’s dog-obsessed culture drives every facet of the business and attracts an army of similarly obsessed fans.

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How do you stay on the cutting edge of wellness while maintaining consumer trust? Sharon Leite, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe, starts by asking a question: “How can we make this relevant for today and how do we make sure that we can take it forward into the future?” In this episode, Leite talks about how The Vitamin Shoppe is innovating around everything from the customer experience to CBD products. Sharon has learned how to take her years of retail experience fundamentals and apply them to turning companies around.

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What does it take to become the person responsible for creating some of the world's most-loved fragrances? Jo Malone, the creator of Jo Loves, shares her origin story and how she came to be called an English scent maverick. Learning to sell as a means of survival, Jo cultivated a passion for her business that has led to the creation of two global brands.

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Originally released Sept. 9, 2018: For millions of people around the world, Pinterest is the first stop on their retail journey — it’s a place to discover, get inspired and personalize. For retailers, Pinterest is an opportunity to engage with customers earlier and more often, well before a transaction takes place. To learn more about how brands of all sizes are taking advantage of this social media platform, we sit down with Amy Vener, the head of retail strategy at Pinterest.

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Annie Agle, Director of Impact and Brand at Cotopaxi, shares how its customers are gathering around a mission of sustainability, conscious capitalism and an ambitious goal of ending poverty, as well as what other companies can learn from the startup’s unique approach to sustainable outdoor apparel. 

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