Founder Feature: Veena Krishnan and Whitney McElwain of Daybird
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 10 August 2024
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this bonus episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Grace Kennedy and Patricia Menegoto are joined by Veena Krishnan and Whitney McElwain, co-founders of Daybird, an innovative "anti-beauty" brand. Daybird's flagship product is a 4-in-1 serum skin tint that blends skincare and makeup into one streamlined solution.
They delve into Daybird's unique approach, which rejects traditional beauty standards in favor of simplicity, efficacy, and personal choice. Veena and Whitney share insights on their marketing strategies, the challenge of standing out in a crowded market, and the importance of authentic partnerships with influencers and responsive customer feedback.
They highlight the difficulties of engaging with creators and retailers. They also discuss their retail strategy, including how they approach stores like Urban Outfitters and prepare for trade shows like Utopia Now.
Tune in now!
Listen in as they share about:
- Daybird’s Mission and Philosophy
- Messaging and Branding
- Consumer Education and Product Evaluation
- Marketing, Retail and Outreach Strategies
- Dealing with Non-Response from Creators
- Preparation for Trade Shows
- Product and Brand Promotion
- Advice for Founders
Episode Links:
Daybird’s Website
Whitney McElwain LinkedIn
Veena Krishnan LinkedIn
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Daniel's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are you paying a ton in shipping to send out products, samples, and whatever else? |
| 0:05.0 | The fees really add up, but lucky for you, we now have a partner that gets you access to the discounted shipping rates that are usually only available to those big companies. |
| 0:14.0 | I worked with them for my last beverage brand and I can tell you, they definitely got us savings. |
| 0:18.0 | Whether you're sending overnight samples, fulfilling e-commerce |
| 0:21.1 | orders, or even a 40-foot ocean container, our partner, Enterprise Purchasing Group, or EPG, has |
| 0:27.5 | got you covered. There are a bunch of free benefits you can get by signing up with them. You |
| 0:31.8 | can get up to an 86% discount on small parcel shipments from UPS, D-HL Express, UPS, and more. |
| 0:39.1 | You get really competitive L-TL and F-T-L rates through UPS. |
| 0:43.1 | You get discounted spot and fixed ocean rates through Flexport and MERSC. |
| 0:47.2 | You get exclusive air frets, and you also get preferential terms with supply chain financing. |
| 0:52.9 | All you need to do is reach out to |
| 0:54.3 | Francis Agass. His email is Francis, F-R-A-N-C-I-S, at enterprisepurchasing.com. |
| 1:02.0 | Mention the startup CPG discount and take advantage of those savings. Good luck, everybody, |
| 1:06.8 | and happy shipping. |
| 1:22.1 | Thank you. and happy shipping. When we say anti-pity, we're not saying, hey, you should be against it. |
| 1:27.4 | We're saying, define it on your own terms |
| 1:29.6 | what is your relationship that you want to have with beauty with skincare products with makeup products |
| 1:35.7 | it could be many things and so that is why we felt it was so important because no one else |
| 1:42.2 | was delivering that and so we wanted to make sure like the product was really sensitive, skin friendly, |
| 1:47.1 | in addition to various claims that we felt were table stakes for a great product and high quality product today. |
| 1:53.7 | So clean, vegan, dermatologist tested and approved, non-comitogenic, which is fancy word for meaning non-pork-logging, in addition to like |
| 2:01.9 | minerals PF50, fragrance-free, all of that. |
... |
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