Building a Health & Wellness Commerce Community | LinkedIn Top Voice, eCommerce
The #1 reason CPG startups fail? It’s not the product. It’s the wrong founder combo. I've torn down 40+ challenger brand stories. (in my Conscious Commerce Newsletter) ↳ link in comments The winning duo is clear. 1️⃣ One founder: ↳ Obsessed with product ideation & dev. 2️⃣ Other founder: ↳ Master at building a loyal community. This creates true product-market fit. Examples: REFY → £50M in sales, 2024 Product co-founder: Jenna Meek Community co-founder: Jess Hunt Nutrafol → Exited to Unilever Product co-founder: Roland Peralta Community co-founder: Giorgos Tsetis OLIPOP PBC → $500M valuation Product co-founder: Ben Goodwin (Food Scientist) Community co-founder: David Lester (Marketer) TULA Skincare → $150mm in sales at exit Product co-founder: Dr. Roshini Raj MD Community co-founders: Dan Reich (Tech Entrepreneur), Ken Landis (Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Co-founder) Eight Sleep → $500M valuation Product co-founder: Matteo Franceschetti Community co-founder: Alexandra Zatarain Who else nailed this formula? ___________________________________________ 🔰 If you care about the future of better-for-you CPG brands, and want to see them scale in a way that actually makes a difference. 👉 Follow me, Kunle Campbell.
This makes a lot of sense, but I’d argue some of the best founders are those who can wear both hats at different stages.
The brands that win are the ones that connect with their customers beyond just selling a product.
It’s rare to see a truly successful brand where one founder handled both product and community at scale.
This model works well, but execution is everything. If the community play feels forced, it won’t land.
This explains why so many celebrity-backed brands struggle—the product isn’t always there, even if the community is.
Love this insight, Kunle. The best consumer brands feel like movements, and that only happens when community is a priority.
I wonder if this model applies outside of CPG as well—seems like a playbook that could work across industries.
Nice point of view Kunle!
What a cool post Kunle!
I deliver marketing strategy & leadership to rapidly scale SaaS revenue | Founder of The CMO Plus | Author | Speaker | Artificial Intelligence & Technology Futurist
4dI’d argue that early-stage startups should focus on product first and worry about community once there’s traction.