The audacity of launching now

(An interesting side note of the current situation is that startups like Blueland can’t just radically scale up supply overnight to capitalize on the unexpected demand: Beyond production constraints, air freight costs have increased 6x, Yoo says.)

For example, sales at Blueland, an environmentally minded cleaning supply startup, have increased “pretty meaningfully” over the past several weeks — a “surge in demand” both from new customers and repeat buyers — to the point where demand now surpasses supply, co-founder and CEO Sarah Paiji Yoo tells The New Consumer.

And then looking forward, as we eventually exit this pandemic and slog through the economic downturn, what will convince mass consumers to move their money toward more environmentally friendly products?

There’s a lot going on here at once: The materials, their recyclability, the impact that has on design, aesthetics, and performance, the “circular” concept, the pricing, the idea of renting shoes vs. owning them, the direct consumer relationship vs. buying from a local store, and of course, the subscription business model.

It’s still early, but Sperduti thinks this will push brands even more toward what he calls a “progressive posture.” And something like this, he says, “just accelerates the trend tenfold.”

Entrepreneurs looking to enter the market have an opportunity to re-write the rules. This means focusing on the end consumer — marketing and delivering direct to her. It also means creating better beverages and new spaces/contexts for drinking. Today’s customer wants something that’s enjoyable, conscionable, and just a bit healthier.

The direct-to-consumer wave began in the twenty-tens as a new generation of startups promising to “disrupt” traditional industries for consumer goods. Instead of leaving the market to century-old stalwarts like Gillette, for example, a company like Dollar Shave Club, founded in 2011, would set up its own supply chains to manufacture razors; add cle... See more