15 Ambitious Upstarts That Are Disrupting The Status Quo
ADWEEK|October 22, 2018

There must be a better waya solution thats more cost efficient, less stress inducing, more socially beneficial and less environmentally destructive. | The founders of the feisty, status quo-defying brands in Adweeks first-ever Challenger Brands issue started with precepts like these, identifying pain points in industries as varied as home insurance, group exercise, dentalhealth and womens cosmetics and finding completely new answers to everyday consumer problems. Now that they havesome with nine-figure revenue to show for their effortsall eyes are on them. | You get pressure from the top because the big guys wake up, says Courtney Nichols Gould, co-founder of Smarty Pants Vitamins, and theres pressure from below because youve cleared the decks. | See from these 15 examples how all that compaction created some fairly fabulous diamonds.

T.L. Stanley
15 Ambitious Upstarts That Are Disrupting The Status Quo

Allbirds

The footwear industry doesn’t use sugarcane, eucalyptus pulp and Merino wool—yet—and that’s where the disruption begins for Allbirds, a Silicon Valley startup with more than $100 million in sales in two years. “Our mission is to make better things in a better way,” says Julie Channing, vp, marketing. “There’s an opportunity to forget the old rules and just create things people can feel good in and good about.” Allbirds, which Time dubbed “the world’s most comfortable shoes,” hawks its minimalist sneakers direct to consumer and in two boutiques (New York and San Francisco), with plans to open eight more retail spots in 2019, the U.K. included. Partnerships with Air New Zealand, Nordstrom, Outdoor Voices and Shake Shack widened its reach, and celeb sightings (Gayle King gave Oprah a pair; Leonardo DiCaprio is an investor) have pushed it beyond its tech community roots. Copycats are welcome, Channing says, via its open-source sugarcane flip-flop ingredient that replaces petrochemicals because “we don’t win until more businesses adopt this kind of manufacturing.”

Brandless

This story is from the October 22, 2018 edition of ADWEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 22, 2018 edition of ADWEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ADWEEKView All
News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly
ADWEEK

News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly

From Trump to ailes, the fox news personality fearlessly faces off with the powers that be—and ends up crushing the cable ratings race.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 28, 2016
The Big Bang
ADWEEK

The Big Bang

Global consultancies are rocking the agency world, creating a new universe of offerings that meld marketing and technology.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 13, 2017
DROGA5
ADWEEK

DROGA5

Using the fingers on just one hand, David Droga argues, you can count the number of agencies that possess a “strong soul.”

time-read
6 mins  |
December 05, 2016
Ogily
ADWEEK

Ogily

When it comes to leadership changes, 2016 will be remembered as a time of disruption.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 05, 2016
The Myth of White Space
ADWEEK

The Myth of White Space

'Brands have to stand out in an obvious crowd—not stand alone in an unusual spot that no one cares about.'

time-read
4 mins  |
December 12, 2016
Brand Phelps
ADWEEK

Brand Phelps

Can the greatest olympian in history be as dominant out of the pool as he was in it?

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 12, 2016
Masters Of Their Domain
ADWEEK

Masters Of Their Domain

WHY DIGITAL BRANDS ARE KILLING IT IN ECOMMERCE. BY LAUREN JOHNSON

time-read
3 mins  |
April 16, 2018
Winners' Playbook
ADWEEK

Winners' Playbook

BRANDS OFTEN FIND THAT WHEN THEY AIM TO DO GOOD, THEY ALSO END UP DOING WELL. HERE ARE FOUR RULES TO KEEP IN MIND. BY DAN TYNAN

time-read
2 mins  |
April 16, 2018
Flipping The Disruption Script
ADWEEK

Flipping The Disruption Script

THE FORTUNE 500 SHOULDN’T REST ON THEIR LAURELS OF HAVING A FIRST-TO- MARKET ADVANTAGE.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 4, 2017
MCCann
ADWEEK

MCCann

All things old were new again in 2017 as McCann dominated the U.S. agency landscape with a string of wins and created the most-discussed campaign of the year in Fearless Girl. 

time-read
7 mins  |
December 4, 2017