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Before launching a viral campaign that would jolt corporate boardrooms, E.l.f. Beauty faced a familiar problem: a lack of dataand an even bigger lack of direction on how to turn that data into action. To tackle both, the beauty brand enlisted help from Oberland, a New York-based creative agency. After sifting through more than 35,000 data points on board diversity, the Oberland team started asking a different kind of questionnot just what the numbers said, but how to make them matter. They found inspiration in an infamous 2015 New York Times analysis known as the John study, which revealed that more Fortune 500 CEOs were named John than were women. We said, What if we modernize this? What if we think about this in terms of boardrooms? recalled Kate Charles, Oberlands chief strategy officer, speaking at Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies Summit in New York last week. The result was both irreverent and revealing: a campaign called So Many Dicks that exposed a striking imbalancethere are more men named Dick on corporate boards than there are entire underrepresented groups. We had to break the malaise, Charles said. We wanted to do it in a way that had a shocking statistic like the John study, but also carried a clear call to action. And thats exactly what happened, added Laurie Lam, E.l.f.s chief brand officer. We had to do something sticky, something memorable, something disruptiveand it caught fire. CEO Buy-In While the so many Dicks campaign was what really caught fire, its not even the first piece of a larger initiative the company has dubbed Change the Board Game, Lam told the audience during the panel discussion. The Oakland, California-based company recently celebrated 25 consecutive quarters of net sales growth, she said, which is why the campaign also connects how embracing diversity in a company and boardroom is the profitable thing to do. Lam credited E.l.f.s CEO, Tarang Amin, with leading the cause by fundamentally understanding why its so important to champion diversity and ensure its not a check-the-box sort of thing, but rather the ethos and core purpose a company is built upon. And, in that way, its not difficult to achieve diversity if theres intentionality, she said. Every single day, we walk that talk, Lam said. It’s rooted in the culture of who we arethat diversity matters, that we are rooted in positivity, inclusivity, accessibility, that makes it easy. Messaging Matters Of course, theres been pushbackboth long-standing and more recentlyto diversity-focused efforts, which Charles said is weird, given the results. Theres so much proof to show that when you have a diverse board, diverse leadership, diverse base, that you’re all succeeding, you’re more profitable, including Dicks, she added. It’s really good for everybody. But the messaging also mattered. The campaign could have been called too many Dicks or dont be a Dick, Charles shared, and opting for so many Dicks was very intentional, along with a subhead that reads: So few of everyone else. The goal was to be inclusive. We wanted to make sure that men felt okay to stand up for this and that they didn’t feel like they were being called out, that they were being called in, Charles said. And we wanted other organizations to say, I want to be a part of that. Future of DEI For a duo who has put so much energy behind supporting diversity, it might come as a surprise that neither Lam nor Charles think the DEI acronymshort for diversity, equity, and inclusionis necessary to advance efforts. I dont think it needs to be an acronym, Lam told the audience. I think it just becomes a way of modeling a culture that is inclusive of everyone and it stops creating these sort-of lines in the sand of who it is. Part of the problem, Charles added, is the acronym has been weaponized as a term thats attacking meritocracy and it might be good to decouple the words from it. People, and certainly leaders and brands, do believe in diversitythey do believe in equity, and they do believe in inclusion. And by showcasing the impact diversity can have on a companys performance, the more it can become a status quoand something other companies want to emulate, the women said. We don’t even have a DEI department, it doesn’t exist at E.l.f. because it exists in every single employee, Lam said. It is the job of every single employee to live the truth of the company.
Category:
E-Commerce
Since Brian Niccol took over as Starbucks CEO last September, hes been promising to counter slow sales by revitalizing the company’s commitment to being a “third place”a space where customers sit and stay a while. But in the short term, his bigger win may come in the form of foam. At the Starbucks Leadership Experience event in Las Vegas this weeka gathering of some 14,000 Starbucks managers and employeesthe company unveiled a more appealing food menu. The new additions include a flakier fresh-baked croissant (which tasted better than the company’s current option, but not Parisian level) and a double chocolate cookie (rich, though quite salty). But even more interesting and important than the changes to the food menu is Starbuckss new trick that can turn any coffee into a protein-packed meal. Protein Cold Foam could be Starbucks’s most important innovation since the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Experientially, its indistinguishable from the cold foam you know, but it’s loaded with somewhere between 15 and 18 grams of protein. Starbucks’s new Banana Protein Cold Foam, at the Starbucks Leadership Experience 2025 in Las Vegas. [Photo: courtesy of the author] Cold foamin flavors like vanilla and salted caramelis already one of Starbucks’s most popular coffee add-ons. The company is now using that topping to tap into our insatiable appetite for protein. In 2024, 61% of consumers increased their protein intake, up from 48% in 2019, according to a recent study from food giant Cargill. Today, everything from candy bars and snack chips to sparkling beverages are jumping on the “proteinization” trend, promising a boost for a populace convinced that the more protein in ones diet, the better. Starbucks observed consumer behavior, too: Customers have been bringing their own protein mixes through their morning drive-through, and stirring or shaking them into Starbucks drinks. So Starbucks developed a proprietary unsweetened protein blend. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the company’s now discontinued Vivanno smoothie, a frozen blended coffee drink loaded with whey protein that I adored but a representative admits was ahead of its time. But this time, instead of mixing the protein into a smoothie, Starbucks wanted to put it into a larger swath of menu items. The problem? Starbucks originally imagined this new protein blend would simply mix into drinks, and it kept getting clumpy (a problem that will be familiar to any protein powder fan). The Starbucks development team set up in a test store two weeks ago to work the problem out. As it turned out, blending the powder into foam got rid of the clumps. (I imagine its technically an emulsification, in which dairy fats wrap their way around any gritty particles.) While that makes for a nice story, I was skeptical as Starbucks reps brought out the companys new Banana Protein Cold Foam for a taste test. Only when I took a sip did I believe: It was silky, sweet, and not at all chalky. I never would have known it had a meals worth of protein inside. The banana flavor smacked me on the lipsstrong, sweet, but mellow once I stirred it in. Starbucks is tight-lipped about when the Banana Protein Cold Foam will begin appearing on menus, but says it will also be available in flavors like chocolate (and even unflavored) down the line. I can imagine any cold foam getting a protein version, transforming an indulgence into a semiresponsible snack. Reframing the $8 morning coffee into a more nourishing meal is a smart way to keep people coming back at a time when many Americans are feeling their wallets pinched. Starbuckss North American same-store sales fell 1% for the quarter than ended on March 30, and by 4% during the last four months of 2024. The average ticket size, however, has been growingby 4% and 3% for the past two quarters. The new cold foam could help drive people into stores, as well as boost the cost of their drinks, depending on how its priced. This thing is going to be a rocket, Niccol said on stage in Las Vegas, introducing the new menu item to his employees. It’s on trend. It’s delicious. And I have to say, Im inclined to agree.
Category:
E-Commerce
Less than a week in, Nintendos hot new Switch 2 handheld video game console is already breaking sales recordsincluding ones set by its iconic predecessor. Nintendo announced Wednesday that the Switch 2 has sold more than 3.5 million units around the globe, crowning it the fastest-selling Nintendo console of all time. Considering the massive success of the first Nintendo Switch and the longtime success of the Nintendo DSthe second-best-selling console of all time, just behind the PlayStation 2thats an impressive distinction. Fans around the world are showing their enthusiasm for Nintendo Switch 2 as an upgraded way to play at home and on the go, Nintendo chief operating officer Doug Bowser said. We are thankful for their response and happy to see the fun they are already having with Nintendo Switch 2, as they explore new features and games that bring friends and family together in new ways, he added. Beating its own record For comparison, Nintendo moved 2.74 million units of the original Nintendo Switch the first time around, in 2017. Those were already impressive numbers at the time, with a month of Nintendo Switch sales passing 20% of the Wii Us sales across the odd hybrid consoles entire lifespan. The first Nintendo Switch has sold more than 152 million units as of March of this year, putting it on track to eclipse the record of the Nintendo DS, which sits at 154 million units. The Switch 2 launched on June 5, following a preorder period that saw the consoles sell out online in a flash. Prior to the midnight release, gamers around the globe lined up outside Nintendo flagship stores and chain retailers, fittingly killing time playing games on their soon-to-be last-generation handhelds during the original Switchs waning hours. Improving on greatness Nintendos Switch 2 doesnt reinvent the wheelbut with the wheel still rolling so well, why would they? The Switch 2, which retails for $450, boasts a larger 1080-pixel screen, a beefier processor that can run more complex games, enhanced social features, and an improved software shop. (Switch fans know that the eShop update alone could justify an upgrade.) The new console launches with Mario Kart World, an open-world version of the cartoonish racing game thats defined Nintendo consoles since the Super Nintendo. While the Switch 2 might be a little tough to track down for a while, inventory woes wont hold a candle to Sonys rocky next-gen console launch in late 2020. Gamers hoping to snag a PlayStation 5 upon its debut often came up empty-handed as the global chip shortage and sky-high pandemic demand squeezed the consoles supply. Sony only declared its supply chain woes officially over three years later. Nintendo is facing intense demand with the Switch 2, but these days Trumps tariffs were the companys main launch concern. The Japanese company pushed back preorder plans in April as it navigated challenges the trade war might pose to its global sales.
Category:
E-Commerce
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