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TWO NEW INTERESTING TWISTS ON THE NEW MEMBERSHIP ECONOMY

The New Membership Economy continues to innovate at a rapid and fun to be a part of pace.  Current subscription leaders like Birchbox are opening brick and mortar stores, Le Tote just launched a new private label line with a key influencer, Gap launched a Baby Outfit box while other new brands are entering the space. 

Two subscription brands recently caught my eye.  Both focus on “organics” and combine a mix of high impact branding, good looking and unique products and the power of subscriptions.  One is brand new and looking to disrupt a $55B market and the other is an over 25 year old brand who recently started to focus their direct to consumer sales on subscriptions. I look forward to seeing how they both enter the market and establish themselves.

Yumi: Organic Baby Food Subscriptions

Yumi is the brainchild of Goldman Sachs alumni Angela Sutherland and business journalist Evelyn Rusli.  They worked with pediatricians, chefs and nutritionists to create and now sell via subscriptions a new organic baby food that they quote is “finally good enough to eat”.  Yumi just launched on June 13th and is only available in California for now with first shipments looking like they will arrive in the first few weeks of July if ordered today. 

Yumi will deliver meals weekly to customers’ doors, making it more convenient and less time-consuming than putting together food at home and a potentially healthier but more expensive option than much of the other organic baby food in the market.

The Yumi website, content and product imagery are elegant and on brand.  The site follows a similar path and feel to other successful meal delivery subscription programs like Hello Fresh, Thistle and Blue Apron.

It will be interesting to see how Yumi and other subscription based baby food platforms like Thistle Baby compete or disrupt the $55 billion market.  The baby food market includes:  large established brands like Gerber and organic brands like Plum Organics; large online retailer like Amazon who offer most baby foods via Subscribe and Save; large omni-channel retail chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Whole Foods; and other meal delivery brands like Blue Apron who target=”_blank”will also be looking at the baby market as a way to expand.

Coyuchi: Organic Bedding You Can Recycle

Organix linen company Coyuchi has been around since 1991 but just recently started to focus its direct to consumer sales to a more subscription focused model called Coyuchi For Life.  Running at either $5 or $7 a month subscribers can get new organic sheets, duvets and/or towels delivered every six, 12 or 24 months.  Then to avoid waste all used linens can be returned and depending on their condition will be recycled or for fabrics that still have some life laundered in a process that uses carbon dioxide instead of dry cleaning solvents to sell secondhand.  

The idea according to Eileen Mockus, Coyuchi CEO is a sustainable circular subscription which allows “customers to engage in long-term way around sustainability”.  Very few people think about recycling their linens aside from maybe donating them to the Goodwill.   By building in recycling into the actual processes of subscription program from the start gives Coyuchi a different angle than other competitors like Brooklinen and Parachute who seemed to have followed the direct to consumer success of mattress brands like Casper and Purple.

We love seeing new and creative entrepreneurs who want to tackle a new challenge and see subscriptions as a way to accomplish their goals.   Connect with an OceanX membership expert to learn more tips on subscriptions and the powers of membership at www.oceanx.com/request-demo.