Exclusive: Tote brand Hulken is now available at Target as it eyes omnichannel growth
Hulken, a rolling tote bag brand known for shiny colors and durable wheels, is launching in Target as it looks to grow beyond its direct-to-consumer base.
The company launched in 2020 with its signature large rolling tote bag, featuring five wheels and three straps. Thanks to strong word of mouth and significant media buzz — including a thumbs-up from home guru Joanna Gaines and an appearance on “And Just Like That” — it has grown into an eight-figure brand known for its durability and versatile use cases.
Co-founder Alex Schinasi told Modern Retail that it was time for a wholesale launch to drive acquisition. “We know that the business, at this point, needs to diversify its channels,” she said. “And we want to make it more omnichannel and make sure we have a healthy balance.”
The launch will start with a small selection of products compared to what’s available online: Hulken will sell its large rolling tote in black for $125, as well as a medium size in black, rose gold and silver for $110, in stores and on Target.com. The products will be found in the storage and organization aisle.
Beyond spurring its own growth, Hulken is the latest DTC home brand to make the leap to Target this year. Target’s incoming CEO, Michael Fiddelke, has said one of his top priorities is to help Target “reclaim its merchandising authority.” Nori, an iron press, hit shelves in June, linens brand Parachute debuted an exclusive Target collection in April, and baby gear company Lalo began selling in Target in January.
Miguel Garcia Castillo, principal and founder at venture platform Co/Studios, said making the leap to offline sales is a critical juncture for DTC brands, and those who aren’t ready for it may be quickly overwhelmed. Brands have to be ready to enter “the Target ecosystem” and scale their manufacturing without sacrificing margins. Sometimes that means making only select SKUs available.
“It’s a signature moment, not only in terms of scaling operations. You also have to be able to look at the business and say, ‘What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow,'” he said. “When your brand isn’t really ready for it, it can be overwhelming.”
Hulken, he said, may be in a better spot than most, given that it owns its manufacturing. “You can scale better if you own your ability to control what you need to sell,” he said.
But he also said going wholesale is one of the only ways for brands to gain real traction in a crowded environment. “We live in a discovery-driven world, and that’s happening in stores as much or more than it is on social,” he said.
Schinasi said the product already has a longer consideration phase for customers, who see it multiple times online before committing. At Target, the hope is to introduce Hulken to people for day-to-day uses like closet organization or parents trucking around their kids’ sports equipment.
“Target very much fits into that picture, kind of opening it up to the moms and the dads and those who will use it more in a home capacity,” she said.
Schinasi, who founded Hulken with her husband, Yoni Sheleg, without any outside funding, said the move to retail is part of the company’s overall goal to get “a Hulken in every household.” So far, its growth trajectory has relied on word of mouth and earned media. Paid advertising on Instagram has also helped tap niche communities, like professional organizers, interior designers, and other business owners who use Hulkens to transport items related to their business. The visual nature of Hulken works well on the platform, Schinasi said, with videos showing people loading up the bags and rolling them around.
Behind the scenes, Schinasi said, Hulken felt ready to go wholesale with Target after selling on QVC and in The Container Store. Hulken owns its manufacturing facilities in Hungary and India, which helped it meet a Q4 launch for Target after meeting with merchandisers earlier this year.
The company also added four full-time employees this year who focus on marketing and operations, which has helped prep the company for the Target launch. “Going omnichannel requires a different set of experiences that we didn’t need up until this point,” she said.
She also said the company felt ready because it’s been bootstrapped since “day one” and has remained profitable.
“You do need that solid foundation to be able to very solidly grow in a way that doesn’t require endless capital raises, and allows you to expand to retail from a place of power and not from a place of weakness,” she said.