When Jordan Nathan launched his DTC nontoxic cookware company, Caraway, in 2019, he knew he was not the only founder trying to sell a new brand of pots and pans to millennials scrolling through Instagram.
When Caraway launched, it joined companies like Our Place, Great Jones and Made In Cookware in an increasingly crowded category of online cookware startups.
Caraway’s competitors also helped Caraway decide to start talking to retailers early in the process.
You can now find Caraway sets at Target and Costco, among others.
While being a later entrant helped Caraway in many ways, it did hurt them in one area, Nathan said.
Full Glass Wine, a brand acquisition management startup that specializes in acquiring wine marketplaces, has raised $14 million in a Series A round to continue acquiring DTC (direct-to-consumer) wine marketplaces, aiming to lead the DTC wine market.
The deal is Full Glass Wine’s third acquisition in a year and will enable the startup to expand its subscription-based model.
DTC wine brands sell wine directly to wine lovers, bypassing traditional distribution channels“By uniting Winc, Wine Insiders, and Bright Cellars, we offer a one-stop shop for all things wine, catering to a wider range of wine drinkers than most traditional retailers, grocers, or single-brand DTC companies,” Neha Kumar, co-founder and COO of Full Glass Wine, told TechCrunch.
“However, there are also some misconceptions consumers might have about DTC wine.
“We’re looking at a total of at least a few dozen employees now at Full Glass Wine,” Kumar said.
It’s no surprise that after ten years, Parachute, the home lifestyle brand, stands as the dust settles from the direct-to-consumer boom.
Founded by Ariel Kaye in 2012, Parachute has developed a loyal customer base because of its high-quality bedding, towels, and robes.
Naturally, TechCrunch wanted to see what it has been like managing the DTC boom these past few years and brought Kaye onto our podcast Found to chat about it.
“From the moment we launched, we just kept hearing, ‘I’ve been waiting for a brand like this,” she told us.
She learned to manage logistics, hire a team, and find a network of other entrepreneurs who could support her during the highs and lows of — wait for it — being a solo founder.
