The Hot Retail Startups in 2021

Prose’s initial 25-question consultation analyzes over 85 data points to determine an individual's unique formula and custom hair routine, taking into account such factors as scalp condition, weekly workout habits, stress levels and diet.

Its proprietary algorithms then develop a formula for each customer, with more than 79 trillion possible combinations available. Prose has developed a backend system to house each formula, while its Review & Refine feedback loop technology optimizes a customer’s custom formula and improves them as they relate to others with similar results.

This year, Prose, which was founded in 2017 in Brooklyn, NY, also implemented a new proprietary machine in its manufacturing facility that enables it scale up to 30,000 units a day.

Not only does Prose’s tech-focused approach ensure consumers receive the product that’s right for them, but it also cuts down on waste. Unlike with less precise insight into their customers, Prose’s model eliminates the need to mass produce millions of product units on a multi-year cycle.

Primary uses mock shopping surveys for customer feedback on assortment, which in addition to clothing for ages 0-12, includes family matching PJs for baby, kids, grownups, and now even pets. The retailer also harnesses social media for community building by highlighting user-generated content, including spotlights of diverse children, and costume collaborations with crafters and influencers. In addition, Primary practices acute social listening and implements customer feedback, for example, it added color coded sock toe/heels by size for easier sorting in the wash.

In another spin on Primary’s appeal, the retailer uses inclusive photography shot by real families at home.

When COVID-19 hit Primary was tasked with reconfiguring how they captured upcoming brand content. The retailer has an engaged fan base and has cultivated organic partnerships with families across the country. It enlisted creative and photography-focused families to capture their families in new clothing styles, in their own homes. Primary actually sent all the tools necessary for these families to capture themselves in upcoming products.

Looking ahead, while Primary is currently a U.S. e-commerce retailer, Bernard and Carbonell say they have intentions to open brick-and-mortar in the future.  

This isn’t the first go-round in the subscription game for Italic. It first tried charging consumers $10 per month in exchange for the ability to purchase two lower-priced luxury items. It scrapped the idea after determining the assortment was too small for a valuable experience, founder and chief executive Jeremy Cai told the Wall Street Journal.   

Cai notes on the Italic website that the company is “working against everything that our customers have been trained to believe about how retail works, from who they buy from to how much they have to pay for top quality. We’ve heard a lot that Italic seems too good to be true, so we have a long road of brand education ahead of us.”

While there was at one point a wait list to join the service, it was accepting new members as of this writing.

“Our incentives have become aligned with our members, as we do not make money on product sales but instead on focusing on customer happiness and reducing churn,” states Cai. “Our manufacturers still make much more than their traditional wholesale orders with Italic. It’s a win-win for both.”

Since launching in 2015, Imperfect Foods has remained hyper focused on eliminating food waste and supporting farmers and producers when it comes to excess and imperfect products. The company now rescues and redistributes food across multiple grocery categories, including produce, shelf-stable goods, dairy, meat and seafood.

Over the past year, the startup has seen impressive growth across key areas of the business. Average order sizes have doubled year-over-year and weekly order volumes have doubled since January 2020. The company closed a Series C funding round of $72 million, led by Insight Partners, in May 2020, bringing its total raised to $119 million. The funds will fuel continued expansion of the grocery delivery service across the country, increase capacity in new and existing fulfillment centers, expand assortment and enhance technology to better connect producers, farmers and customers to the brand's mission to eliminate food waste and build a better food system. Tying back to its mission, Imperfect Foods was on track to save more than 200 million pounds of food from going to waste in 2020.

"We're energized by the continued support from investors as we eliminate food waste and build a better food system for everyone," said CEO Philip Behn. "We're illuminating vast vulnerabilities within our food supply chain and increasing access to fresh and affordable groceries.”

Now, Vuori has six retail stores in its home state of California, in addition to its e-commerce business, and offers products for men and women designed to seamlessly transition from physical activity to leisure. The brand is also sold at retail partners including REI, Nordstrom, Equinox, and Core Power Yoga.

For all its customers, Vuori upholds an "Investment in Happiness" policy which guarantees full refunds for any product buyers are not fully satisfied with. The retailer’s approach to sustainability is fivefold, focused on: materials, reduction of waste, offsetting 100% of its carbon footprint, social responsibility and community leadership.

Looking ahead, Vuori expects to double its retail footprint by the end of next year. 

"Since launching Vuori, we've added so many incredible team members to our community, all of them completely aligned with our mission to deliver the best activewear in the market," said Kudla. "From our employees, to our retail partners, to the folks who drop by our stores just to say hello, starting this business has been a team effort since day one.

This customization is made possible through a zero-inventory supply chain powered by made-on-demand manufacturing, state-of-the-art 3D rendering, and digital fabric printing. The Inside is able to offer an unprecedented range of colors, textures, and patterns, all while minimizing their impact on the planet.

With its proprietary visualization technology, all of The Inside’s imagery is created using 3D rendering techniques and the company only works with partners who manufacture on-demand within weeks, not months. This allows the retailer to carry no inventory, move fast, and take unconventional design risks.

"We have two jobs. The first is to inspire you with a dynamic digital experience, compelling visuals, collaborations with heritage design houses, peer engagement, and so on,” Bunn tells RIS. "The second is to empower you to bring that vision to life, by offering access to more design for more value. We still have a long way to go. But in celebrating personal style -- and by spreading the joy of decorating -- we believe we're building the future home furnishings experience."

Since everything is made-to-order, shoppers can choose any fabric style on shapes including sofas, chairs, headboards, beds, ottomans and removable wallpaper. And the retailer stays fresh with new product collaborations, including heritage design brands like Scalamandré and Old World Weavers, as well as their most recent partnership with design icon Sheila Bridges.

Selling everything from Sugarpova confectionaries to The Well hand sanitizer to Bala Bangles wearable weights (see photo), Naked Retail curates and then continuously rotates its assortment in order to reflect its values of being “well designed and well intentioned.” Products are hand selected and frequently swapped so consumers receive ongoing new experiences.

While certainly not the first such platform, the company gets points for its ready-made selling model, which charges brands between $600-$900 a month rent and/or collects a revenue share of anywhere from 8% to 35%, according to Forbes. Brands are activated for a minimum of three months and up to one year, and in turn they receive a turnkey selling environment from Naked Retail (and a more affordable approach than, say, a pop-up).  

The company runs a 7,000-square-foot flagship store in New York City that continues to operate during the pandemic using a variety of social distancing safety measures, including sanitizing stations and temperature checks. An e-commerce website is said to be in the works.