Brandless

Sharkey and Leffler met while both were living in Mill Valley, California. Sharkey, the founder of iVillage and the former CEO of BabyCenter, had a background in online communities, and Leffler, the founder of several companies, including Yes To, Inc. and Yoobi, had experience in consumer products.[4]

In mid-2016, Sharkey resigned from her position as CEO of Sherpa Foundry to become CEO of Brandless, with Leffler serving as its chairman.[7] The company raised $16 million in funding led by Redpoint Ventures in November 2016,[8] and at launch had received a total of $50 million in venture capital from New Enterprise Associates, Google Ventures, and others.[4]

In 2018, the company launched a pop-up store in Los Angeles in May.[9] Brandless launched a second, larger pop-up store in New York in October 2018.[10]

In May 2019, Brandless raised $240 million as a part of its series C funding round.[11] Soon after, Tina Sharkey stepped down as CEO after friction between her and lead investor SoftBank Vision.[12]

In February 2020, Brandless announced that it would cease operations,[13] citing fierce competition and business model inviability in the direct-to-consumer market. The business laid off 70 staff members (about 90% of the operation at the time), with the remaining employees managing open orders.[14]

In June 2020, the business relaunched in a more limited form, led by Ryan Treft and a small team. Treft bidded for the business with a "more pragmatic" vision.[1]

Brandless was based in San Francisco, California, and operated an additional facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It marketed its foods as GMO-free, its health and beauty items as cruelty-free, and paper products as adhering to sustainable forestry practices.[2] Products' labels consist of only a white box with the product's name and two to five descriptors, such as organic, kosher, or gluten-free.[15] Brandless is a brand of its own.[16]

The company operated a direct-to-consumer model[8] which it promoted as reducing markups compared to conventional brand-name items. Initially, Brandless priced single items at $3, or multiple items for $3 total.[4][17][18] That policy changed in January 2019 and higher-priced products were offered.[19]

In 2019, Brandless began to offer an optional subscription service to its customers.[20]

In February 2018, Brandless received the Best NewCo of the Year award from NewCo Honors for disrupting retail markets and donating 250,000 meals to Feeding America.[21] Additionally, it was awarded "StartUp of the Year" by AdAge,[22] one of "The World' Most Innovative Companies in Retail" by Fast Company.[23]

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