The Story of a Brand Show

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

Stuga Studio's mission is to simplify and beautify the process of buying a hardwood floor, says Marc Bacher, the company's Founder and CEO.

Stuga provides a direct-to-consumer solution for home-improvement shoppers. Marc says there's a wonderfully artistic attribute to wood - it's so much more than a building product.

Marc got an early start in the hardwood business, working for a Swedish company but later decided he'd instead pursue an e-commerce opportunity than grow with the existing brand. That sparked the creation of Stuga Studio.

In Part 1, Marc talks about:

* The need to be grateful to customers. * The artistic sense of Stuga's brands. * How living in Scandinavia changed his perspective on life, happiness, and design. * The attraction of working directly with consumers. * Having a conversation with your potential customers. * The opportunity to take the inherently confusing flooring factors and simplify them for consumers.

Join Ramon Vela and Marc Bacher as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Stuga, visit: https://stugastudio.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

It took more than two years to develop PYT's first clean beauty product, says Co-Founder and CEO Mary Schulman. Potential manufacturing partners told them the products they wanted couldn't be made at the prices they wanted.

Mary says that perseverance and a commitment to PYT Beauty's mission got the company the products and investors that were a good fit.

Finding the right distributors was the key to success as well, Mary says. Ulta, Macy's, Credo, and Target all aligned with PYT Beauty's values, which made them great partners.

PYT's mission to remain moderately priced offers a student discount program aligned with Student Beans to make its products more affordable.

In Part 2, Mary talks about:

* The struggle of pursuing clean packaging. * How pushing back on potential partners is critical to staying true to a mission. * Lessons learned in her snack food company proved compatible with her new venture. * Work with influencers who love your brand. It's more authentic. * Beauty is a saturated industry, so you need to stay true to your particular mission. * Her company's "hero" products. * Why it's essential to be "present in the moment."

Join Ramon Vela and Mary Schulman as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on PYT Beauty, visit: https://pytbeauty.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

PYT Beauty's mission is to provide "clean" beauty products at a fair price, says Mary Schulman, Co-Founder and CEO. This would allow everybody to access products free of toxic ingredients without busting the budget.

That mission now includes product packaging made with post-consumer recycled plastic and bio-based sugar cane.

However, changing your life and career from a stable and high-paying job to something you love is a challenge, Mary says. She urges entrepreneurs to research and not just assume the grass is always greener in a new industry.

In Part 1, Mary talks about:

* How she transitioned from a finance career into starting a natural snack food company. * Her daughter's first look at the makeup in her purse sparked the idea of PYT Beauty. * What reason drives the consumer to switch to "clean" products. * The challenge to leave a stable career to do what you love. * How to learn from uncomfortable situations. * The grass isn't always greener.

Join Ramon Vela and Mary Schulman as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on PYT Beauty, visit: https://pytbeauty.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Connor Meakin, the Founder of Bluebird Provisions, thought his company would "crush it" sales-wise when the pandemic hit, but instead, business slowed to a trickle.

When there's an empty shelf of a food product, the food producer is often the last to know. There are so many uphill issues with wholesale and retail stories that upstart brands must cope with, Connor says.

In Part 2, Connor discusses:

* How a startup food producer's lack of resources can hurt retail sales. * The product's taste was the most challenging part of developing the dehydrated version of the product. * The importance of having good partners from a food science perspective. * How powdered products were easier to get into the U.S. market than liquid products. * The challenges of being a startup include being forced to change the company's name in 30 days.

Join Ramon Vela and Connor Meakin as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on BlueBird Provisions, visit: https://bluebirdprovisions.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Connor Meakin, Founder of Bluebird Provisions, is a bone broth enthusiast and a self-described "health food kind of nut," which explains his passion for Bluebird's products.

Connor discovered the health qualities of bone broth after suffering a devastating foot injury in 2016. The broth's protein and amino acid composition proved to be a much-needed healing solution to his health troubles. When he discovered bone broth was hard to come by, he decided to make his own and sell it.

Today, Bluebird has a line of certified organic liquid bone broth and a new lineup of instant bone broth powder.

In Part 1, Connor discusses:

* How his athletic injury sparked a discovery of a little-known food product. * How a longtime battle with anxiety and depression led him to become a more balanced human being. * The importance of developing a "toolbox" of strategies to deal with personal and professional challenges. * How the pandemic caused a near standstill in retail sales, forcing Bluebird to pivot to online DTC sales. * The challenges of developing a shelf-stable version of the product. * The discovery that the DTC version of the product also helped retail reception.

Join Ramon Vela and Connor Meakin as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on BlueBird Provisions, visit: https://bluebirdprovisions.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Designing a gourmet cotton candy product is more technical than the consumer probably thinks, says Art of Sucre Founder and CEO Emily Harpel. It took a design team to work out the candy's fluffiness, packaging, and consistency.

"Creativity is truly endless" when it comes to product options, says Emily. Art of Sucre began with six original flavors and has grown to feature dozens more, including seasonal ones.

For now, Art of Sucre is a DTC brand, but Emily hopes that strategy will evolve in the near future as the pandemic fades.

In Part 2, Emily talks about:

* How freeing it is as an entrepreneur when you let go of what other people say. * Her joy of corporate gifting opportunities. * Overcoming her initial discomfort working with social media. * How her determination to try her idea - to take the first step - was the most challenging but satisfying lesson.

Join Ramon Vela and Emily Harpel as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Art of Sucre, visit: https://artofsucre.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Art of Sucre isn't any average cotton candy maker, says Founder and CEO Emily Harpel. The Ohio-based company offers flavors such as watermelon, bourbon, pina colada, and "glitter bombs" - tiny fluffs of cotton candy dropped into drinks to reveal edible glitter inside.

The idea of making cotton candy came to Emily as she was planning her wedding. She wanted a food-based party favor that was truly unique and was disappointed by the options she found online.

Emily got her start with event planning, and the customer service experience she gained there helped her when it came time to launch an online store for her product.

In Part 1, Emily talks about:

* How as you get older, it becomes more difficult to take chances with your career. * Why she passed on graduate school to pursue this business. * How she used the pandemic as an opportunity to redesign the product's packaging. * Her start in event planning and how that helped launch Art of Sucre. * How her product is not only a dessert but an experience. * The unexpected reaction her husband had to her business idea.

Join Ramon Vela and Emily Harpel as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Art of Sucre, visit: https://artofsucre.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This podcast is supported by Yotpo, the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands looking to drive customer loyalty.

As I’m sure many of you know, customer retention is the new acquisition. With Yotpo, brands can provide value through a strategic loyalty program — and ensure shoppers come back time and again.

Want to know more? Visit https://yotpo.com/storyofabrand 

And turn your one-time shoppers into lifelong brand lovers.

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

In part 2, Siouxie Boshoff, also known as the Gummy Queen, Founder & CEO of Scrummy Sweets, talks about how some organic gummy bear brands add 2-3 spoonfuls of sugar in their products.

Siouxie shared the difficulty she goes through to source organic ingredients like Non-GMO gelatin from Europe and how she refuses to buy ingredients from China.

She and her husband developed their bestseller vegan caramel gummies with coconut cream. She laments that they went through a challenging but enlightening journey when finding and working with manufacturers. But, in the end, even manufacturers appreciated Siouxie's insistence on using specific ingredients.

She also talks about:

* Brand building * More deep dive into her being inflexible * Integrity with the product * New product releases * Health benefits and ingredients of Scrummy Gummies

Join Ramon Vela and Siouxie Boshoff as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Scrummy Sweets, visit: https://scrummysweets.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

In part 1, we have Siouxie Boshoff, also known as the Gummy Queen, Founder & CEO of Scrummy Sweets.

Siouxie had a very successful career of 20 years as CEO of a digital marketing company. Due to a health condition, she preferred to follow a ketogenic lifestyle. But she longed for sweets, and they had to follow her dietary restrictions.

In 2020, she iterated her gummy recipe 64 times and struck gold with her guilt-free snack. Her 12 years grandson loved the gummy bears and said, “There's no way these don't have sugar.” She and her husband knew they were on to something since kids are generally transparent about their taste.

She also talked about :

* Figuring out what is important to people * Talking to a lot of people about creating a snack brand * Being inflexible with quality of ingredients * How to turn an idea into a business * Persistence

Join Ramon Vela and Siouxie Boshoff as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Scrummy Sweets, visit: https://scrummysweets.co/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen to your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Ordergroove.

It’s time to let your customers enjoy the products they love without the friction of reordering...

That’s why innovative brands like Peet’s Coffee and Il Makiage rely on Ordergroove’s subscription solution to build long-lasting relationships that drive recurring revenue.

From enrollment incentives to churn-fighting AI, Ordergroove gives your business the tools it needs to be a subscription success story.

Book a demo today and receive 2-months off your contract. Visit https://www.ordergroove.com/story/ 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

“To help them with brand awareness, content, and customer acquisition” that's what Mavely does for brands. In part 2, Peggy O'Flaherty, Co-Founder of Mavely, mentions they enable brands to widen their distribution channel.

Mavely allows individuals to earn additional income by talking about their favorite brands on social media and essentially paying people for being micro-influencer. Peggy highlights that they are not an agency instead of a platform.

The Mavely platform is open for brands from beauty, lifestyle, cookware, food, and other various industries.

She discusses:

* Earning additional income * Made In Cookware * Absence of multi-level marketing company * How brands get involved with Mavely * Brands testing new channels * How individuals get started * Everyday influencers * How integration works * Brand criteria

Join Ramon Vela and Peggy O'Flaherty as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Mavely, visit: https://www.joinmavely.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story