Native deodorant has been part of Procter & Gamble for three years.
It s taken sales at physical retailers from nothing to 50% of its business under P&G s ownership.
While it still wants to expand at stores, Native s traditional online business took off during the pandemic.
If you ve seen Native s pumpkin spice-scented deodorant or its collaboration with lifestyle brand Jungalow, you ve seen Procter & Gamble s influence on the upstart personal care brand.
Working with P&G fragrance team, which creates scents used in a variety of the company s products, has been a highlight of Native s time at the company so far, said Meng Li, the brand s vice president of marketing. It s one area, along with supply chain management and expansion into brick-and-mortar stores, where P&G has been particularly useful to the brand over the past few years, Li said.
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With the shift to online accelerated, the last few months have seen renewed interest and success in the DTC model, whether it be digitally native players like Allbirds or traditional retailers like Nike shifting more of their business in that direction.
An unexpected entrant looking to capitalize on that wave, 70-year-old intimates manufacturer Gelmart International on Tuesday launched a brand incubation and venture arm, FullStride Ventures, as an alternative to traditional VC funding. The move comes after Gelmart worked to incubate DTC brand Lively as a co-founding investor and manufacturing partner.
From here on out, FullStride Ventures will incubate its own brands, and provide investment and turnkey supply chain solutions and product development to startups, according to an emailed press release. Gelmart defines itself as the leading intimates manufacturer in the U.S. and the largest private label player in the industry, with work that includes creating products