Publications
Publications
- November 2017 (Revised October 2018)
- HBS Case Collection
Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods
By: Jill Avery
Abstract
Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods, offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3 price point that promised an average savings of 40% versus national brands through the elimination of the BrandTax, the hidden costs the company claimed consumers paid for a national brand. As the venture-funded startup entered the fiercely competitive CPG industry, it was simultaneously taking on both the world's greatest brands and the world's most dominant retailers. Could Brandless change the way consumers bought the essential items that filled their pantries and medicine cabinets? Industry pundits had long predicted both the death of brands and the death of brick and mortar retailing in the contemporary marketplace. Would Brandless be the final nail in the coffin?
Keywords
Brand; Brand Management; Retailing; Retailing Industry; Private Label; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Ecommerce; Digital Marketing; Consumer Packaged Goods; Startup; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Disruption; Food; Product Marketing; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Brands and Branding; Venture Capital; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America
Citation
Avery, Jill. "Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods." Harvard Business School Case 518-044, November 2017. (Revised October 2018.)