To address the staggering issue of one billion toothbrushes ending up in landfills each year, Gyve Safavi and Mark Rushmore created an electric toothbrush with a plant-based recyclable head. Little did they know their innovation would revolutionize the industry. Within just two years of launching on Shopify, their sustainable, sleek toothbrush generated more than $30 million in sales, disrupting a market long dominated by just two major brands. How did Gyve and Mark, two Procter & Gamble alumnus, carve out a space for SURI in such a competitive landscape? Their story offers valuable lessons for any entrepreneur looking to bring a new product to market. Ahead, dive into the strategies that ensured SURI would have a successful launch and grow into a multimillion-dollar brand.
How to set your brand up for a lucrative launch
1. Conduct market research and surveys
Gyve and Mark researched the wants and needs of the market before launching their toothbrush. They cast a wide net, using surveys, tests, and interviews to gather consumer insights.
“We ran a lot of surveys,” Gyve says. “We started with cheap surveys, any survey we could get that were not friends and family. We used SurveyMonkey, Attest, and then we did in-person interviews.”
This approach revealed insights that shaped SURI’s product development and branding strategy. The market was dominated by two big consumer brands. Many consumers couldn’t even name the brand of toothbrush they used. And lastly, there was little brand loyalty. These findings highlighted an opportunity for a new player to capture market share by creating a product people would actually love and remember.
2. AB test your website and marketing
SURI’s approach to the brand development process was far from linear. Instead of waiting until they had a finished product or concept, the team began testing and refining their website and email marketing content.
“Before we launched, we had multiple landing pages that we were testing,” Gyve says. “We were doing fake ads to emails to just see what worked and how to refine the concept further.” Through this iterative process, SURI was able to pinpoint what types of advertising messages converted its audience to email subscribers.
This prelaunch testing on SURI’s Shopify store allowed it to refine its messaging and product features before investing heavily in inventory or marketing. “Even though the product was getting pretty close to final, it helped us refine a lot of the ways we communicated,” Gyve says.
3. Set up customer service infrastructure early on
“Gyve had the foresight to have our customer service software set up prior to launch. So we use Gorgias for that,” Mark recounts. Setting up the messaging in the Gorgias customer service system proved crucial when SURI faced shipping delays with its initial 5,000 preorders on Shopify. Since it had systems in place, it was able to proactively communicate with affected customers and maintain goodwill, despite the setback.
“We didn’t have a single refund as a result of that,” Mark says. “I think a combination of thinking about your infrastructure to help you address customers [and] being proactive in your communication [were key].”
For SURI, a successful launch was just the beginning. The co-founders emphasize the importance of continuous improvement. “We’re still constantly refining everything,” Gyve says. “Really looking into the details. How long do people look at our ads for the first three seconds. And then which landing page converted better.”
By treating its product and marketing as works in progress, SURI continually optimizes for better results, contributing to its rapid growth.
SURI’s journey demonstrates the power of thorough research, testing, and preparation. By applying these principles to your own product launch, you can increase your chances of success in even the most competitive markets.
Listen to the full Shopify Masters podcast episode, whether you’re disrupting an established industry or creating a new category altogether. The lessons from SURI’s pre-launch steps offer a valuable roadmap for bringing any innovation in the market.
