When you don’t rely on third-party players like wholesalers and retailers to sell your products, you gain a tremendous amount of control over your customer experience. It’s liberating.
At the same time, the DTC space is a busy one, and it’s easy to be drowned out by countless products and brands competing for the same customers as you.
What are some key DTC strategies brands leverage to stand out? Which DTC brands should you learn from? Keep reading to learn more.
What is a direct-to-consumer brand?
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands sell directly to the end customer rather than relying on intermediaries like retailers and wholesalers. This approach gives brands more control and responsibility over product sourcing and manufacturing, stock levels, order fulfillment, and customer experience.
DTC paves the way to a more efficient buying journey for consumers. It’s no surprise that DTC ecommerce sales in the US are predicted to hit $161.22 billion by 2024.
A short history of DTC brands
Today’s DTC ecommerce model exists thanks to the internet, but direct-to-consumer selling has been around since long before the invention of the internet.
One of the earliest known instances of a business selling directly to consumers started in 1785, when milkmen began delivering bottles of milk to customers’ doors. Then in 1886, Avon started selling beauty products through a team of female sales representatives, a radical business model at the time.
Another historical DTC brand, Tupperware, launched in 1946 by selling to consumers directly in their homes. Also during the 20th century, we saw clothing manufacturers ditch wholesalers and open their own retail stores.
Finally, when the internet became more widely available during the early years of the 21st century, we saw the birth of digitally native brands like ModCloth, Bonobos, and Warby Parker.
In the past decade, some successful DTC brands have gone on to open pop-up shops and retail spaces, while others, like Nike, which historically relied heavily on retail partners, have only begun to explore the DTC trend.
📚 Learn: Wholesale vs. Direct-to-Consumer: Pros, Cons and How To Strike the Right Balance
Top DTC brands
1. Cuts Clothing
Cuts Clothing is known for work leisure apparel, a style of workwear that pairs style with comfort. The brand specifically addresses ambitious millennials, stating that their mission is to “inspire those who compete and win in the Sport of Business.”
Cuts’ founder and CEO, Steven Borrelli, hosts The Sport of Business podcast, in which he interviews entrepreneurs, investors, and elite athletes. The brand also has a habit of posting about pro athletes wearing their apparel, which aligns with their focus on ambition and success.
Cuts Clothing seems to have struck gold by merging seemingly opposing concepts: dressing for the occasion and feeling comfortable. Nik Sharma, a DTC consultant and investor behind Sharma Brands, wrote this about Cuts Clothing in a recent newsletter:
“I’m wearing the joggers right now, and they're some of the most comfortable pants I own. They feel like sweats, or something I’d sleep in, but they look good enough to wear out or to a meeting.”
2. Marc’s Magic Rub
Marc’s Magic Rub is a seasoning blend for foods ranging from ribs and chicken wings to salmon and even popcorn. The brand’s name, along with every online touchpoint with the store, honors the founders’ dad, Marc, who was passionate about barbecue and lost his life to cancer at age 59.
This is Marc’s family’s way of honoring and remembering him.
The blend is based on brown sugar and spices like garlic, cayenne, and marjoram. The company sells only two products: the original blend and the spicy blend, offered in different sizes and bundles.
The whole journey is minimalistic, streamlined, and focused on love for food and family.
3. Blume
Blume is a wellness brand of latte blends with ingredients like cardamom, turmeric, reishi mushrooms, and lavender. Their products target millennials and Gen Z consumers who love their daily coffee ritual and want to add a healthy kick to it—and avoid syrups and artificial flavorings.
Every interaction with Blume is delightful. The category pages don’t miss a beat in telling you which product does what (see GIF above). Product photos make you feel like you can almost taste the product you’re looking at. And to top it off, Blume’s copy is sharp and funny—like the “Here to help ya find yo’ blend!” product description line or the “All bloggity blogs” title for its blog.
4. Yellow Beauty
Yellow Beauty is a brand of skincare based on turmeric, founded and run by a Canadian couple. The wave of natural skincare brands only keeps getting bigger—the industry is expected to grow at a 6.6% compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2030—and Yellow Beauty has earned their space in it by focusing on this one key ingredient.
That focus is what makes the brand stand out, and their visuals are the perfect aid to make it memorable. Just look at the colorful photos, product videos, packaging, animations, and even buttons and icons in the online storefront.
Yellow Beauty is anything but a bland and generic skincare brand.
5. Halfdays
Halfdays is a women's ski apparel brand that brings function, fit, and style together. Their homepage reads, “We’re here to shake things up.” Ski wear can be bulky and not quite fashionable, and Halfdays aims to solve that issue.
Halfdays is about more than just functional ski wear that looks good: They also run a Slack community for skiing enthusiasts who want to talk about ski plans, arrange in-person hangouts, and get early access to new apparel launches.
The brand’s tone is also a tad cheeky—a “halfday excuse generator” right in the middle of the homepage is a great example of this.
6. Pulp Pantry
Pulp Pantry is a brand of crunchy chips that stands out from other snack brands due to its climate-friendliness: The company turns pulp leftovers from juicing into chips.
This helps reduce food waste (in the US, almost 40% of all food is wasted) and gives customers an easy way to add more fiber to their diet.
Pulp Pantry’s mission is front and center across all of their channels, from the website and pages like Impact to Instagram and Twitter. Earthy tones and straight-to-the-point copy ensure there are no distractions.
The brand started as a farmer’s market stand in LA and ended up on Shark Tank. This helped them gain traction for their online DTC operation, as well as earn a spot in stores like Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme across the United States.
7. Joggy
Joggy is a brand of plant-based energy supplements containing full-spectrum CBD. Their high-quality products are made to support daily activity, individual performance, and recovery.
And while CBD brands are on the rise—CBD skincare and CBD oil are expected to reach $3.4 billion and $1.1 billion in market value by 2026, respectively—Joggy is carving out their spot in the market in three distinct ways.
One way is an unusual visual identity: neon-colored products on a black background. The second one is Joggy’s focus on supporting an active lifestyle, including running metaphors in educational content, having a product called Runner’s High, and a huge focus on runners in its social media content (including user-generated content).
The third way is with their Web3 community, with coins and collectibles that give community members the chance to shape the future of Joggy products.
8. DEUX
DEUX is a brand of vegan, gluten-free cookie dough products. These cookie doughs are made from simple ingredients—with no refined sugar or preservatives—and have additional components that support health, like zinc, vitamin C, elderberry, and maca.
This puts DEUX in a unique overlap between the dessert and health product category. The company has carved out their position in the market with loud colors, witty copy, and fiery takes on the food and dessert industry.
9. The Ridge
The Ridge is a brand of slim wallets. They have a minimalistic online store with only two product categories—wallets and key cases—and a couple dozen products total.
The Ridge’s Twitter is what makes the company unlike any other in its space. It’s full of sass, jokes, and regular digs at owners of leather, velcro, and otherwise bulky wallets.
The Ridge uses digital marketing and an unapologetically bold brand identity to grow their customer base, and there’s no shortage of memes and pop culture references on their social media profiles. The Ridge’s Twitter positions their products as the ultimate solutions for people looking for a simplistic and durable wallet—and entertains thousands of people along the way.
10. Three Ships
Three Ships is a natural skincare brand. Their goal? To be the most effective and transparent beauty brand in the market. Effectiveness means less ingredients and products for better results—and transparency is about letting customers know which ingredients are in their skincare products, what they do, and how they were sourced.
Three Ships’ customers are their biggest ambassadors and the main source for new customer acquisition. The brand’s community is called The Fleet, and customers can give a discount code to friends and family.
“We’ve found that customers who come to us from a Fleet reference have a lifetime value that’s 150% higher than customers acquired through other sources. It just goes to show that the best marketing strategy is to have a great product that people can’t help but talk about and rave about to others,” Three Ships’ cofounder Laura Burget told Happi magazine.
11. MUD\WTR
MUD\WTR is a mushroom coffee alternative brand with two core types of drinks (or “muds,” as the brand calls them): morning and evening. MUD\WTR’s key selling point is providing the same focus and energy coffee does, but with added immunity benefits and no jitters.
The company’s mission is to help customers abandon caffeine dependency. They stand out by infusing this goal into product pages, FAQ, a blog, and resources like a coffee detox program. MUD\WTR even donates a percentage of earnings to psychedelic research and takes a bold stance on an often controversial topic.
12. Feastables
Feastables is a brand of snacks by MrBeast, one of the most popular YouTubers of all time (with more than 100 million subscribers).
The first thing that makes Feastables jump out from other snack companies is their unbelievably loud presentation. That includes the entire homepage, from colors and playful copy—“You ate all the almonds” to say a product is sold out, for example—to callouts and animations.
The second thing is the premise of only five ingredients—ones you can pronounce, no less—in a chocolate bar.
And the third factor is, of course, MrBeast’s ability to bring millions of views to anything he does, including new product launches. For example, in one of his videos he recreated Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, held a competition inside, and mentioned Feastables’ latest chocolate bars. The video reached more than 90 million views in about two months.
13. Blueland
Blueland is a brand of eco-friendly products for home and body care. The appeal of their product range is based on only purchasing containers like cleaning bottles or soap dispensers once, and buying plastic-free refills thereafter.
For example, Blueland’s multisurface cleaner refill is a tablet that makes a full 24-ounce bottle of cleaner when dissolved in water. A similar approach goes for facial cleansers and body washes—and laundry and dishwasher tablets are wrapper-free.
Blueland’s commitment to a cleaner planet is embedded in every product it offers, but the brand took it a step further: In summer of 2022, Blueland launched a social media service that lets anyone tweet at the company for tips on recycling a beauty product by listing the brand (any brand!) and the location. Blueland will then respond with details on what to do.
14. G FUEL
G FUEL is an energy drink brand that carved out their place in the gaming and esports niche. They aim to give energy and focus to customers like “a casual gamer, a content creator, an everyday Joe, or an esports pro.”
G FUEL creates unique products and flavors by partnering with and sponsoring gaming creators like Matthew Beem, Alex Zedra, and PewDiePie. The brand named their partnerships program Team Gamma.
Another source of inspiration for product collections are games like Sonic and Crash Bandicoot, and comic book characters like Spider-Man and Thor.
With a social media footprint of over one billion followers and more than 300,000 five-star customer ratings, G FUEL is definitely doing something right.
15. Pepper
Pepper is a bra company aimed at small-chested women—meaning AA, A, and B cup sizes.
“Bras for small boobs” is Pepper’s tagline, and it represents exactly what Pepper does well: speak to their ideal customer through website copy.
Pepper nails every line of text: “No more cup gaps,” the hero section claims. There are also lines like, “Not all small boobs are the same,” “Doesn’t make you feel like less,” and “We didn’t just shrink the underwire.”
Pepper infuses their message with the focus on confidence and challenging body standards, not just bra features and details.
The brand’s brilliant copy is further uplifted with rich visuals and comparisons to the regular bras that weren’t made for small-chested bodies.
16. Liquid Death
Liquid Death is a canned water brand. Water is arguably the most generic product a brand could sell, but Liquid Death is as opposite of generic as you can imagine.
With a tagline “Murder your thirst,” Liquid Death regularly doubles down on creative, scroll-stopping campaigns.
For example, the brand hired comedian Bert Kreischer to act as a fitness instructor in a workout video that emphasizes the importance of hydration. The workout in question? It consists of opening a bag of chips, dipping chicken wings in ranch, and eating jalapeño peppers.
Other campaigns include a taste test that compares Liquid Death to “the most expensive beverages on Earth,” like Spanish squid ink and lobster sauce, as well as the option to “sell your soul” in exchange for joining the brand’s membership.
On a more serious note, Liquid Death is committed to helping reduce plastic pollution by donating profits to nonprofit organizations that focus on that issue.
17. Knix
Knix is an underwear brand focused on “making you feel more comfortable in your skin.” Their products include everyday bras, sports bras, shapewear, activewear, maternity underwear, and leak-proof underwear.
There are two things Knix does a fantastic job with. First, they represent diverse ages, skin colors, and body shapes throughout all product categories. While they’re certainly not the only underwear company to do so, it’s still not a common practice in the ecommerce world.
Secondly, Knix nails their social media strategy, particularly on TikTok and Instagram. The brand uses humor and memes to show the benefits of their products, as well as talking head videos to educate and inspire.
A good portion of their TikTok videos are from product photoshoots—a fantastic way to let customers see the behind-the-scenes of how product visuals come to life.
18. Diaspora
Diaspora is a spice brand focused on the history and source of spices, sourcing them sustainably, and growing the company at the rate of agriculture (meaning when a harvest sells out, that’s it until next season).
Diaspora’s founder and CEO is Sana Javeri Kadri, a member of the Indian diaspora in the US. She describes learning about living in a post-colonial world and realizing that direct-trade, single-origin spices from sustainable farms are the path to decolonization.
That’s why each product Diaspora sells has a detailed description of its origin and harvest year. On each product page, you’ll find Diaspora’s equity pledge section, which shows the product’s commodity price, its fair trade price, and what Diaspora pays for it.
Diaspora’s goal is to bring taste into customers’ lives, and do so equitably. The bold visuals—yellow and pink everywhere—is how Diaspora makes sure they don’t go unnoticed.
19. Braxley Bands
Braxley Bands is a brand of the “comfiest Apple Watch band ever”—washable, stretchy, and available in dozens of colors and patterns. The brand started as a marketing class project in 2017 and reached $100,000 in monthly revenue by 2019.
The brand does a fantastic job building buzz around the product. For example, customers can get VIP access to a product launch through a specific SMS signup, or order a mystery box with three surprise bands.
And a fantastic campaign that rewards customer loyalty, creativity, and engagement is Braxley Bands’ Halloween contest. Customers dress up as a Braxley band and get a gift card for a free band. The winner gets a new Apple Watch—a genius way to create product hype.
20. Cometeer
Cometeer is a brand of frozen coffee capsules. Once these capsules reach customers’ freezers, they can stay there until customers are ready for a hot coffee, ice coffee, cocktail, and beyond.
Cometeer is about making high-quality coffee practical in any situation, like work and travel, and seems to be the first brand to take the frozen capsule approach.
It’s easy to confuse Cometeer capsules for regular coffee machine capsules at first because they’re similar in appearance—but they’re nothing like them. The How to Melt guide for different types of drinks makes it easy to quickly grasp the process.
The company relies on word of mouth to reach new buyers. Customers can join a “give $25, get $25” referral program, as well as use the option to easily buy Cometeer as a gift for someone else.
21. Casper
Casper is a mattress brand that revolutionized the sleep industry. They sell mattresses, bedding, and sleep accessories online, cutting out intermediaries to offer competitive pricing. Casper's innovative "bed-in-a-box" concept allows for easy shipping and setup. The brand gained attention for their clever DTC marketing, focus on sleep science, and risk-free trial period. Casper's success sparked numerous competitors in the DTC mattress space.
22. Glossier
Glossier is a cosmetics brand that sells primarily through its website and select stores. It offers skincare, makeup, and beauty products that enhance natural beauty.
Glossier is known for its minimalist aesthetic, Instagram-friendly packaging, and community-driven approach. The brand's success stems from its strong social media presence, user-generated content, and emphasis on creating products based on customer feedback and preferences.
23. Away
Away revolutionized luggage with sleek, durable suitcases featuring built-in USB chargers. Selling directly to consumers online, they offer a range of travel accessories. Away's minimalist design, lifetime warranty, and savvy marketing resonate with modern travelers. Their approach to creating a lifestyle brand around travel, rather than just selling products, sets them apart in the industry.
24. Everlane
Everlane revolutionized fashion with their radical transparency approach. This direct-to-consumer brand offers premium essentials, from luxe tees to sleek outerwear.
Everlane stands out by revealing their production costs and factory partners, empowering consumers to make informed choices. Their minimalist aesthetic and commitment to ethical DTC manufacturing resonate with conscious shoppers seeking quality and sustainability.
25. Stitch Fix
Stitch Fix takes online personal styling to new levels through data-driven algorithms and human expertise. They offer personalized clothing and accessories directly to consumers, bypassing traditional retail.
Customers receive curated boxes of items based on their preferences, size, and budget. What makes Stitch Fix intriguing is their blend of technology and fashion, using AI to predict trends and customer tastes while maintaining a personal touch with stylist input.
26. Warby Parker
Warby Parker sells prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses online and in stores. The iconic eyewear brand offers affordable, stylish options directly to consumers, cutting out intermediaries.
The brand features a home try-on program, a "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" initiative, and combines ecommerce with physical retail locations. Warby Parker's appeal comes from their customer-focused approach, fashionable designs, and competitive pricing.
27. Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club disrupted the razor market by offering affordable, quality razors delivered directly to customers' doors. The brand expanded into grooming products, including shampoo and skincare.
Their success stems from a subscription model, cutting out intermediaries, and funny marketing that resonates with modern men. The brand's witty ads and focus on convenience have made Dollar Shave Club a standout in the personal care industry, challenging established giants.
28. Biossance
Biossance is a clean, vegan skincare brand with a tremendous focus on educating consumers about ingredients, how they impact the skin, and how they’re sourced.
Lab Notes, Biossance’s blog, hosts more than 100 articles on topics like squalane, sunscreen, exfoliation, vitamin C, skincare in different seasons, and more.
The brand’s ingredients library lists dozens of common skincare ingredients and their Environmental Working Group (EWG) ratings, which show suspected levels of hazards known for each ingredient.
In fact, education is such a big part of Biossance that the brand employs roles like Director of Global Education—a crucial one for creating an epic library of insightful videos, courses, webinars, and articles customers can rely on to make the best decisions for their skin.
29. Ten Little
Ten Little is a brand of clothing, play, feeding products and resources for children.
Their goal is to make shopping for kids easy. “The current kids’ shopping options lack expert curation and testing and do not provide personalized guidance around a child’s own developmental patterns, when in reality, each child is unique and ever-evolving,” Ten Little founders Fatma and Julie state on the company’s About page.
Parents can take a quiz to determine the correct footwear size and development stage of their child to help them shop easier. On top of that, Ten Little’s Learn & Connect platform helps parents find expert-vetted answers on topics like potty training, movement, and sleep.
30. August
August is a biodegradable period care brand selling pads, tampons, and liners. Beyond buying individual products, customers can subscribe for monthly or quarterly deliveries of either a specific product or a custom-built bundle.
August’s mission is three-fold: giving back, sustainability, and culture.
By giving back, August tackles period poverty issues. Sustainability includes being carbon-neutral, sharing how products are made, hiring ethical labor, and using natural materials.
And through culture, August focuses on talking about periods to remove the stigma around them, welcoming all menstruating people into period conversations and products, and talking to customers to create the best products possible for them.
31. Appointed
Appointed is a brand of planners, notebooks, calendars, and stationery. They serve customers through their online shop, as well as a flagship store in Washington, D.C., adjacent to their production studio.
The brand focuses on the details: showing intricate features of pages inside the planner, giving customers the option to add a monogram to the covers, and displaying beautiful lifestyle imagery of their products.
Appointed’s clean, minimalistic aesthetic shows up everywhere—not just in the online store and in every email, but also in their physical shop. On their website, Appointed says their brick-and-mortar store is about “not only showcasing our full suite of products but providing an immersive experience built on creativity and discovery.” 32. Glamnetic
Glamnetic is a beauty brand known for press-on nails and magnetic lashes. Their strongest suit is social commerce, the strategy of selling products through social media.
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok now let customers make purchases directly within the platform. Glamnetic makes the most of this with live shopping: Ann McFerran, Glamnetic’s founder, goes live on Facebook, demonstrates different products, and offers limited-time discounts for those watching live.
Glamnetic grew from $1 million to $50 million in revenue within a year and is supported by a large, engaged community of customers and fans. That’s the power of social media, social commerce, live videos, and genuine relationships with influencers.
33. Caraway
Caraway is a modern take on nontoxic, nonstick cookware. Their products include pots, pans, bakeware, and linens.
The brand is on a mission to provide consumers with safe cookware options that aren’t made of Teflon or other potentially toxic materials. Jordan Nathan, Caraway’s founder, launched Caraway after his own experience with Teflon poisoning.
One look at Caraway tells you that this mission is not just about safety and ease, but also aesthetics. Caraway products are beautiful, with details and colors made to fit into any home.
Caraway’s bestselling options are precurated sets for cooking and baking with two key benefits: they’re a better deal compared to buying individual products included in the bundles, and they come with storage organizers.
34. JuneShine
JuneShine is a brand of hard kombucha and canned cocktails. “Why do we know so much about the food we eat, but not the alcohol we drink?” That’s the question that led JuneShine’s founders to try brewing their own hard kombucha.
While JuneShine ships products to their customers’ doors and has earned a place on shelves countrywide, they also foster in-person connections in their California-based tasting rooms. There are launch parties for new product releases, and JuneShine Ranch hosts weekly trivia nights.
35. Hint
Hint is nailing the strategy of bundling their products to drive sales. For example, Hint’s bundle for new customers contains 36 bottles for a 45% lower price than usual, and suggests preselected flavors to remove decision fatigue.
There are also new launch bundles. Nik Sharma, CEO of Sharma Brands, worked with Hint and noted the brand was ahead of the curve when it came to bundling new products.
The reason why is four-fold: These bundles include new flavors, keep the average order value high, remind the customer of the product variety, and hit the free-shipping threshold—a win for Hint and a win for the customer.
36. Lovevery
Parents want the best for their kids, and knowing what “the best” means can be challenging at the best of times.
Lovevery, a brand of toys and subscription boxes, takes this burden off parents’ shoulders. “We did all the research so you don’t have to,” their homepage promises.
Lovevery’s play kits work as a subscription service that delivers a set of toys every two or three months based on the age and developmental stage of the child, up to four years of age. This is a long time to serve a customer (in this case, both the parents and the child) and convince them the subscription is worth it. Lovevery seems to hit the mark.
The brand also offers paid courses on topics like tummy time and weaning, as well as a free newsletter with activity ideas and child development insights based on the child’s age.
37. Impact Dog Crates
Impact Dog Crates has gained attention for creating nearly indestructible dog crates made from high-quality aluminum.
Specializing in heavy-duty, escape-proof designs, the brand caters to owners of powerful or anxious dogs. The crates continuously receive positive reviews for durability and innovative features like collapsible models for easy transport. By selling directly to consumers online, they offer customization options and maintain competitive pricing.
38. Rest
Rest is a modern bedding company that sells directly to consumers. They offer premium mattresses, pillows, and bedding essentials designed for optimal sleep comfort.
Rest stands out with their innovative sleep technology, eco-friendly materials, and personalized recommendations based on individual sleep preferences. The streamlined online shopping experience and generous trial periods reflect the DTC model, while their focus on sleep education and customer support adds value beyond just products.
39. Hismile
Hismile offers innovative teeth-whitening products, including LED devices and whitening pens, targeting a young, social media-savvy audience.
Founded in Australia, the company leverages influencer marketing and user-generated content to build brand awareness. Hismile's appeal lies in their affordable, at-home teeth-whitening solutions and sleek packaging.
40. Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest offers convenient, healthy frozen meals and organic fruit and vegetable snacks. They sell smoothies, harvest bowls, flatbreads, and other plant-based options directly to consumers via their website and app. What sets Daily Harvest apart is their focus on nutrition-packed, chef-crafted recipes that are easy to prepare. Their subscription model and eye-catching packaging have helped them carve out a niche in the health food market.
What makes DTC brands stand out
Some estimates say there are over 110,000 DTC businesses in the United States. So while DTC-first companies don’t compete with products sitting next to them on the retail shelves, they compete with thousands of products people can purchase online from the comfort of their own home.
The question that naturally comes up is: What makes some brands grow and stand out from the crowd?
The answer will vary for each brand, but there are some common threads you’ll see with successful DTC ecommerce strategies:
- Strong mission. Some DTC brands are driven by a clear mission and a goal, like MUD\WTR with tackling caffeine dependence or Pulp Pantry with reducing food waste.
- An innovative product. Brands like DEUX and Cometeer are successful because they created products their target audiences want in areas where they don’t have significant competition—at least not yet.
- Backstory. Products with a backstory appeal to consumers—like the spice blends from Marc’s Magic Rub that carry the story of the founders’ dad in every touchpoint. A good story makes a product memorable and meaningful.
- Creative marketing. Some brands go so far outside the box with their marketing that it’s impossible not to notice them. Case in point: Liquid Death, a canned water brand.
- Educational hubs. By doubling down on educational content, companies like Biossance and Ten Little become the go-to brands for customers with questions and issues.
- Positioning. You can sell a product that customers have seen a thousand times in their life, but position it in a specific way to make it more desirable to specific types of customers. G FUEL nails this with their esports and gaming focus.
- Tone. When done right, a bold tone of voice is memorable and attractive. Look at The Ridge, a DTC brand that sells slim wallets. Their entire social media presence is focused on ridiculing bulky wallets—and it works.
When you see a DTC brand that stands out, you’ll find one of these approaches as the pillar to their success—and sometimes an additional one or two strategies to complement it.
For example, Diaspora has a mission to make spices delicious and their supply chain transparent, but they’re also supported by the founder’s origin story.
How Shopify can help your DTC brand grow
Selling directly to consumers gives you unlimited potential to reach new customers, full control of the purchase journey, and a chance to personalize every interaction.
Shopify makes it easy to run your DTC brand from a single enterprise ecommerce platform.You can sell recurring subscriptions, ensure a seamless shopping experience on every channel (including social commerce and retail), create a loyalty program, and offer flexible delivery and payment options.
Want to see how companies like Lindt, Heinz, and Rebecca Minkoff are making this happen with Shopify, and how you can, too? Grab our direct-to-consumer guide to get started.
Direct to Consumer (DTC) brand FAQ
What is a DTC brand?
A DTC brand manages the entire supply chain process, from manufacturing to marketing and selling to consumers. Startups and ecommerce brands in this space often benefit from better control over first-party customer data and brand identity. They can also offer affordable prices by cutting out any intermediaries. An example of a DTC brand is Allbirds.
Are DTC brands a fad?
DTC brands aren't a passing trend, they're reshaping retail by cutting out intermediaries and forging direct customer relationships. This model's staying power lies in its ability to offer personalized experiences and gather valuable consumer data.
Is Nike a DTC brand?
Nike is not exclusively a DTC brand, as they maintain a significant wholesale business through retailers. However, Nike has been increasingly focusing on their DTC strategy in recent years, expanding their own retail stores and ecommerce platforms to sell directly to consumers.
