Cotopaxi adopts a drop strategy to build buzz ahead of BFCM
Cotopaxi is ringing in November with a new drop strategy.
The travel bag and backpack brand is releasing new products every other day, from Nov. 1-11, through a campaign it’s calling “Cotodays.” Items for sale include a Del Día Tasra Shoulder Bag, a Funky Fuego Down Hooded Jacket, a Light Mode Contiguo Encima Fleece Pullover and an instant camera from Fujifilm Instax. Consumers can nab the products, all of which are limited editions, on Cotopaxi’s website and at its 20 U.S. retail stores.
This is the first time Cotopaxi is taking the drop model traditionally used by fashion brands and applying it to the outdoors space. The approach, Cotopaxi CEO Lindsay Shumlas told Modern Retail, is meant to “keep that sustained consumer interest, product discovery and engagement around newness earlier in the month, [versus] this holiday time period where you are competing in the promotional window.”
“Cotodays” products will launch Nov. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, with free shipping being offered on Nov. 11. Some of the products will be net new, while others will be existing products in new colorways. Many of the products offered — including a Viaje 9L Shoulder Bag and an Allpa 50L Adventure Travel Pack — are part of Cotopaxi’s Del Día line, which uses deadstock as fabric strips. Each product is one-of-a-kind and treated as a collectible.
Cotopaxi will use the drops to drive revenue, grow its customer count, make room for new products and build anticipation for its Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale in November. “There’s this opportunity to have consumer engagement during the first part of the month, with limited inventory, before we move into the second half of the month,” Shumlas said.
Shumlas, who joined Cotopaxi in 2024, said she is especially excited about the brand’s partnership with Fujifilm Instax. On Nov. 1, shoppers can pay $175 for a bundle that includes a Del Día Todo 1L Shoulder Bag, a Del Día Accessory Bag, a Del Día Camera Strap, an Instax Mini 13 camera in Frost Blue, Instax mini film and stickers.
Shumlas said Cotopaxi wanted to develop a giftable kit with Instax in time for the holidays. “But not only that — it ties to who we are authentically as a brand,” she said. “This is about getting outside. We’ve got so much [happening] right now across technology. You’ve got midterms this year. You’ve got AI. The opportunity to step away and create memories with a camera that’s not on your phone is something unique and different.”
Cotopaxi also emphasizes “travel and creativity and adventure,” Shumlas said.
Cotopaxi’s collaboration with Instax plays into the rising trend around the resurgence of hands-on activities like crocheting, solving crossword puzzles or collecting vinyl records. At a time in which many consumers are overwhelmed by technology, screen-free experiences and activities are coming back in style. On Pinterest, searches for analog activities and “dumb phones” have more than doubled. Anthropologie, meanwhile, is adding more tabletop games to meet demand.
In line with this trend, Cotopaxi is debuting a physical catalog and gift guide at the same time as its “Cotodays” campaign. It will also tease “Cotodays” on social media and via email and SMS. Some of the marketing materials around “Cotodays” will include photos taken with the Instax camera. Instax and Cotopaxi are collaborating on creator content for social media using micro-influencers.
Cotopaxi will hold in-store events around “Cotodays,” too. The brand has been focusing more on its physical footprint, with plans to double its U.S. store count by 2029. Less than 20% of the brand’s sales come from stores, although Cotopaxi hopes to grow this number. Cotopaxi also sells merchandise on its website and through retail partners like REI and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
With “Cotodays,” Cotopaxi joins other brands in adopting drops, long a playbook of streetwear brands like Supreme. PopSockets, for instance, offers limited-edition drops via its print-on-demand capabilities. Its latest drop, called “Bejeweled Heirlooms,” launches on Nov. 5. Meanwhile, Harry’s has used a drop model for its body wash to acquire new customers. Independent artists have used drops to sell everything from pottery to paint.
Brands tend to use drops to build awareness, hype and “fear of missing out.” “We’re seeing drops expand well beyond fashion, because every category is competing for attention, not just sales,” said Mary Ann O’Brien, CEO of advertising agency OBI Creative. “Brands are realizing that a limited release creates a reason for people to pay attention today, instead of ‘someday.'”
As Cotopaxi’s Shumlas sees it, buzzy drops make sense for Cotopaxi, because the brand is “rarely promotional.”
“We try to think about balancing the holiday time period with a mix of newness we can bring to our customers,” she said. “[We’re] also offering them a good deal, but we think it’s all about striking that balance.”