$37M To Disrupt Cooking Oil & How 10K Commerce Merchants Power CX

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- Blaine, Ramon, & the DTC POD team ✌️

This Week's DTC Pod Guests

$37M To Change The Way You Eat Forever

• Jeff Nobbs is the cofounder & CEO of Zero Acre Farms, a cultured oil that's replacing vegetable oil. Zero Acre just launched and in this episode of DTC Pod, Nobbs touches upon the issues in our current food system, why vegetable oil is actually bad for us, and how Zero Acre raised $37M to change the way we eat.

Lessons From Powering CX For 10K+ Commerce Merchants

• Alex Plugaru is the CTO & cofounder of Gorgias, the customer service platform that powers your favorite DTC brands. Alex joins us on the pod to discuss the current state of customer service, how Gorgias is changing the space with its innovative tech, and why it's been so difficult for customer service industry to gain the proper recognition and respect it deserves.

This Major Consulting Firms Acquires Commerce Agency: You probably have a LinkedIn connection, or friend, that works (or worked) in consulting at Accenture. Well, now Accenture may be expanding its offerings beyond consulting. It recently acquired The Stable, a Minneapolis-based agency that helps grow retail & DTCs brands (ex: NOBULL shoes). Accenture made the decision to acquire The Stable in order to "enhance its global commerce transformation expertise" and "rapidly build and operate data-driven digital commerce ecosystems that maximize sales performance and deliver innovative marketing and commerce experiences." For more information on the acquisition read here. 

Softbank's Ecommerce Deal Falls Through: British e-commerce group THG ended its agreement with Softbank to invest in it due to challenging "global macroeconomic conditions" reports The Guardian. Softbank previously invested $730M in THG, and this latest agreement stated that Softbank would invest $1.6B for ~ 20% stake in Ingenuity, THG’s online retail services division which offers packages from web hosting to delivery for brands such as Homebase, Unilever and Danone. Read the full story here. 

Glossier Says "Bye, Bye, Bye" to DTC: Glossier's CEO Kyle Leahy announced that they're entering into a partnership with Sephora, which marks a "new chapter" in Glossier's omnichannel strategy. According to Vogue Business, Glossier plans to enter into other retail partnerships and lean more into celebrity/ influencer marketing and pivot AWAY from its community-led marketing approach. Other channels Glossier is embracing include YouTube Shorts shoppable videos (see No.1 pencils short). Will other brands follow suit? For more info on Glossier's chages & new strategy, check out this Vogue Business article. 

***JOB ALERT*** 

The Role: Head of Sales & Partnerships at Central Entertainment Group (an influencer marketing & talent agency)

TLDR: Manage the entire sales cycle and pipeline of DTC, luxury, emerging and adjacent brands. Identify new band collaboration opportunities and partnerships. 5-8 years of experience. FULL JOB DESCRIPTION HERE. 

Interesting DTC Stuff: 

• Ace Hotel in Downtown LA is partnering with maude & Dakota Johnson to launch a limited number of curated screenings every Thursday in August. Ghia is the exclusive beverage sponsor for this event, and all attendees will receive a complimentary Ghia beverage. Full schedule of screenings are here.

• We also interviewed Ghia founder Mélanie Masarin! Listen here.