Bullish

Collaborated with Klaviyo on their annual Consumer Spending Report ?? >8,000 consumers were surveyed globally to help brands better understand how certain demographics were planning to spend this holiday season. Here’s what the guide covers ? Inflation and its effects on holiday spending ? Insights on shopping timing ? Expert analysis on survey trends from e-comm leaders Download here: https://lnkd.in/ev_gK-fb Bullish

Bullish's Agency recently partnered with RADD Foods to refresh the non-dairy cheese brand's packaging and other visual elements. The results are featured in Dieline today. "Radd Foods’ new visual identity is very reminiscent of VHS boxes from their 80s and 1990s heydays, a brand trend that’s grown in popularity recently. The latest, colorful, vibrant, and high-energy branding starkly contrasts the company’s previous look, which had a folksier approach with a natural and health food aesthetic," writes Rudy Sanchez. Read the full article below. https://lnkd.in/eUh4AAs9

The Brief is our monthly newsletter covering trends and insights founders and investors should be aware of in the changing consumer landscape. Subscribe here to get our next issue: https://shorturl.at/kDFKM

???? PE firms are losing $$$ by overlooking marketing ???? It’s more than logos and slogans – strategic marketing can unlock real, tangible value in private equity. Here's how: 1?? Great brands = More lucrative exits ?? Strong brands command premium valuations, leading to more profitable exits. Consider Crocs, Inc.. In 2013, Blackstone acquired a 13% stake when Crocs had a $1.2B market cap. Through strategic marketing, including celebrity collaborations and comfort-focused messaging, Crocs transformed its image. By 2021, Crocs' market cap had soared to $8.7B (a 625% increase), and Blackstone exited with an estimated 400% return. 2?? Marketing-led innovation drives growth beyond cost-cutting ?? While cost-cutting improves margins in the short term, sustainable growth often comes from marketing-led innovation. This approach opens new markets and revenue streams that operational efficiency alone can't achieve. Look at Dunkin'. Under Inspire Brands’ ownership, marketing insights led to innovations beyond donuts, launching hyped LTOs and digital-first retail. By Q3 2020, Dunkin' reported a 7.6% increase in same-store sales compared to the same period in 2019, outpacing the industry average. Digital sales grew from 2% to 18% of total sales in just 2 years, driven by marketing, not cost-cutting. 3?? Roll-ups + Marketing = Magic ? 60% of PE-backed IPOs in 2022 involved roll-ups. Effective marketing, in tandem with this strategy, ensures the creation of a cohesive brand that encompasses diverse acquisitions. Bullish rebranded franchisee-facing Dwyer Group to consumer-facing Neighborly?. Between its time in 2018 under Harvest Partners, LP to today with KKR, Neighborly has grown from 20 brands and 3,600 franchises to over 30 brands and 5,500 franchises. This growth was largely driven by a unified marketing approach that merged these disparate acquisitions under one distinct brand. The result? A reported $4B in systemwide sales in 2023. The future of PE lies in a holistic approach to value creation – balancing financial engineering with strong, strategic marketing. Firms that embrace this shift will outperform in an increasingly competitive market. For those in PE, how do you view marketing's role in value creation? Leave your thoughts below.?? (Also, if you’re a skeptic, I’d love to change your mind). #PrivateEquity #Marketing #ValueCreation #BrandBuilding #PEStrategy

I'm heading to TechCrunch Disrupt for the first time later this month. ?? And I'm looking forward to speaking on a panel called the "Don’t Be a Lemming: the Anti-hype Panel" which I love because is there a better place to talk about consumer investing?? If you're a consumer founder or investor at Disrupt or in SF October 28-30 and want to connect, hit me with a comment or DM. Bullish will very much be in town and we look forward to seeing what's happening in consumer in the Bay Area.

In case you missed it, catch our brand refresh of RADD Foods, the winner of Bullish's first-ever $24K for 2024 initiative. Our Creative Director Jake Tieman shared a bit about the process: "To revitalize the sleepy dairy-free category, we drew inspiration from the energetic visual era of the late 80s and early 90s," he said. "We created a bold, impactful wordmark and paired it with elements that tell a story and build a unique world around the brand. Just as RADD's dairy-free cheese offers bold, unexpected flavor, our visual system aims to evoke that same sense of surprise and excitement." Read more here. https://lnkd.in/eva5RrVj

This is one way we are thinking about the role of AI at Bullish We work to blend a diversity of talents, disciplines and capabilities in our endless (and a little insane) mission to "design the most remarkable businesses in the world" at our company. And, while we are VERY certain that AI will NOT "handle 95% of Marketing work done by Agencies and Creatives" (because 1. there is a lot more to it than performance creative and media and 2. we actually do work in the marketing industry), we do believe it is going create new ways to do new things. We have seen first-hand how it has the power to eliminate the first draft in our Capital, Consulting and Creation practices already (see AI Good in image). We have also seen how much it cannot do for us, yet (see AI Bad in image). But, we are an inherently #bebullish kind of crew here. Brett Andersen and I have been heading up a "just try it" exploration that has been both humbling and exciting. The team here has dove in which has been especially inspiring. Tomorrow, EVERYONE at Bullish is going to be building a custom GPT with the help of our longtime friend Noah Brier. No doubt it will be another humbling, exciting and inspiring day. One more step forward in what will be many more we need take... Happy to hear any thoughts / questions / criticisms along the way... Are there better ways to dive in? Brent #ai #capital #consulting #creation #marketing #advertising #production #media #design #brand #growth #talent #itsonlyscaryifyoudonttryit

Calling all entrepreneurs in Seattle, WA ?? ? Bullish General Partner Brent Vartan and Associate Amanda Zhao are coming to Seattle (virtually) as our next Office Hours destination on October 23rd, 2024. Whether you’re working on your go-to-market strategy, refining your pitch, or gathering product feedback on your consumer business, we’re here to hear you out. Learn more and sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eJC_Muni #ConsumerVC #SeattleInnovation #Startups #OfficeHours

The Work is our newsletter sharing creative outputs from the Bullish team. The latest issue includes: - Inside RADD Foods' brand refresh - Cutting against culture with Gainbridge - Crispy chicken from True Food Kitchen - Work from the archives Read here: https://lnkd.in/erFRR7dK

RADD Foods is a non-dairy cheese brand based in Michigan. As the winner of Bullish's inaugural $24K for 2024 initiative, RADD was able to tap into our design services to help achieve a creative business priority for 2024. The scrappy team sought help to redesign RADD's packaging to get buyers excited about their sliced cheese product as they pushed further into retail. We designed RADD’s new packaging to make it eye-catching on shelves and evoke the same excitement you get from RADD's bold flavors. We also created an impactful wordmark paired with elements that tell a story and build a world around the brand. With the brand refresh, we helped give RADD a clear personality, a language to speak in, and a sense of time rooted in the 80s and 90s. Read more about the work we did with RADD Foods in the comments. ?