Household CPG Brand Names Enter DTC Space

Now more than ever, consumers are shopping online for products they would normally purchase during their weekly grocery trips. The drastic shift in online consumer behavior presents an opportunity for CPG brands to make the switch to DTC—something PepsiCo and Ocean Spray recently took full advantage of.

Ocean Spray launched a new line of herbal plant-based beverages under the brand Atoka Wellness. This is Ocean Spray’s first DTC channel, incubated from the company’s innovation group called Lighthouse.

PepsiCo also made a move into the DTC space with their two sites PantryShop.com and Snacks.com. For PepsiCo, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. While the DTC channel provides added revenue, it also gives the legacy brand owned customer data. PepsiCo can now run experiments on the two websites and use the results to drive decisions across all of their channels.

Hugh Fletcher, head of thought leadership for EMEA and U.K. marketing at Wunderman Thompson Commerce, said in an interview with Adweek, “This is vital because if you own the interface, you own the customer. If you own the customer, you own the data, and if you own the data, you own the future.”

Launching a direct-to-consumer (DTC) site in a competitive market requires taking action quickly and choosing the right digital partner. If your brand is ready to “own the future” with a DTC channel, reach out to us today and get started. We’ve helped a number of brands build and optimize their DTC strategies, including Le Creuset, Tibi, and Delish Essentials.