Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
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As the flowers start to bloom, so do new businesses. Many new startups and brands took a leap and sprung into action last month. Here are a few that stood out.
Drink up: Tres Tribus is a small-batch artisanal mezcal that debuted in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas, as well as international markets including the UK, Spain, Australia and Dubai.
- But Tres Tribus isn’t a fly-by-night celebrity liquor venture. It’s the brainchild of fifth-generation mezcalero Juan Antonio Coronel, who handcrafts the products in the remote mountains of Oaxaca.
- More and more beverage and liquor brands have been popping up since 2020 after the passage of the Craft Beverage and Modernization and Tax Reform Act, a federal excise tax relief program that has created opportunities for new, emerging, and established brands.
Glow up: Skintech brand Protea has unveiled its skin support consultation platform that virtually connects clients with licensed estheticians to provide personalized care and advice on the best skin care products and routines.
- Estheticians who use the platform keep 100% of the rates they set for their consultations, and the company has a number of products and kits on its site that are recommended after the consultation.
- The next-generation personalized beauty market was valued at $41.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $143.6 billion by 2030, according to an InsightAce Analytic report.
“Virtual meetings are the new norm, so there’s no reason why they can’t be used to help people get better results with their skin care,” Protea esthetician Shannon Jones said in a statement.
Pack up: Two Boxes is a new player making returns easier. The company integrates its platform into a brand’s website—just like Shopify or Happy Returns—to streamline the returns process while also capturing processing data that helps it connect with customers, suppliers, and partners.
- The company made its official launch with a $4.5 million seed funding round, which it said it will use to “grow its engineering team and expand its product offering and presence into new markets across North America.”.
Returns are often a pain point for retailers, who saw a total $761 billion in merchandise returned in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation.