When online grocery subscription service Misfits Market was founded in 2018, it took a page right out of the DTC advertiser’s playbook.
The majority of its early ad dollars went straight to Instagram and Facebook.
But, although the company still spends a lot on paid social, it’s been branching out to new channels, including TV, influencers, physical mailers and experiential.
“We have a full-funnel strategy,” says Holly Eagleson, VP of marketing at Misfits, which differentiates itself in the crowded food subscription box world by focusing on reducing food waste.
The idea behind Misfits Market is to keep so-called “ugly” organic produce out of landfills. Think scarred avocados that are totally fine on the inside, weirdly shaped carrots or bruised-but-still-good-to-eat fruit. Despite being perfectly fresh and edible, produce that isn’t considered attractive enough often never makes it onto the grocery store shelf.
“Almost one-third of food that’s grown in America is never harvested because it doesn’t meet the superficial standards of traditional grocery stores,” Eagleson says. “Our mission is to work at the farm level and with producers and suppliers to provide everyone with access to this quality food.”
But Misfits has found that sustainability isn’t the only message that resonates with current and potential subscribers.
The brand recently completed a segmentation study to get a better understanding of its core customer base and its total addressable market. Misfits has been using what it’s learned to inform a new TV spot for Q1 as well as creative for other channels, including TikTok.
Although some customers are super into being green, for example, Misfits has uncovered pockets of opportunity among busy moms, picky eaters and “all-day snackers” looking for healthier options.
Misfits has also had to diversify since the rollout of Apple’s ATT, Eagleson says, which “cascaded into a more challenging environment for anyone in the DTC space.”
It’s been an opportunity, too, though, says Eagleson.
“Now, everyone has to get more creative, which we think is actually a great challenge,” she says. “You can’t rely on your old playbook.”
Also in this episode: Flirting with retail media, measurement across channels and the ugliest (best and most NSFW) pepper of all time.
