DTC Briefing: How 3 startups designed their holiday collections

Many of the brands I spoke with said that while they have launched holiday exclusives in the past, this is the first time they have launched dedicated holiday shops on their website. They are doing so to get out more storytelling and marketing around their holiday products. The idea is to train customers who discovered the brand in the past to consider it as a place to buy holiday gifts. These holiday collections are seeded with a mix of low to high-price point products, which brands are marketing as items designed for self-gifting, stocking stuffers or party favors. 

Take Little Words Project, a jewelry brand known for friendship bracelets and charms that spread positive messages. Little Words Project has significantly grown its retail presence over the past couple of years — it now has 14 retail locations, including one in the Disney Springs Marketplace at Walt Disney World. Little Words Project has also grown its following through collaborations or exclusive collections, like a Wicked-themed one tied to the upcoming movie, and high-profile media moments, like the time Taylor Swift was gifted a stack of Little Words Project bracelets on stage at the VMAs. 

“We’re really trying to kind of build awareness for what is going on at Little Words Project,” said the company’s president and chief operating officer, Bill Carrig. That means making sure the brand’s storytelling is consistent.

Like other brands, this is the first year that Little Words Project has launched a dedicated holiday shop. As part of that, Little Words Project is also doing themed weekly drops, which started at the end of October and will lead into Black Friday and Cyber Monday. One drop consisted of themed merchandise, including sweatshirts and stickers specific to some of the cities in which Little Words Project has retail locations. Another drop consisted of exclusives from Little Words Project’s higher-end “Little Layers” collection made of 14K gold vermeil.

The goal is to drum up excitement among shoppers and build awareness of all the different products the brand now offers. Little Words Project is also trying to figure out how to cater to shoppers who may want to wait until Black Friday to get the best deal while also encouraging customers to buy early. 

If customers sign up for SMS or email notifications from Little Words Project’s holiday shop, they will get a discount code they can use anytime throughout the holiday season. The hope, Carrig said, is that people “pull the trigger when they see something that they love.” Little Words Project will also be pushing discounted gifting bundles — say, a set of five or six bracelets that someone can gift to all of their family members.

At hair care brand Crown Affair, the theme of its holiday collection — and its fourth-quarter marketing strategy more generally — is “effortless indulgences,” according to Elise Valentine, the company’s vp of sales and marketing. “We wanted the customer to feel like they could treat themselves to something or feel great about treating a loved one to something,” she said.

The challenge was crafting a collection that could encompass unique products for first-time customers discovering the brand at its biggest retail partner, Sephora, as well as exclusives that would excite its long-time DTC customers. 

The holiday collection includes items like pre-bundled kits that can be found both on Crown Affair’s website and at Sephora. The hair refresh set, for example, includes mini versions of its dry shampoo, leave-in conditioner and some of its other hero products.

On its DTC website, Crown Affair will be offering exclusives like a bag designed to carry mini versions of its hair care products to a party or while on a trip. It is a version of a product the company’s founder, Dianna Cohen, created for herself and has been “a beloved bag internally,” according to Valentine. The company just didn’t have the resources to bring it to life at a large scale until now. Crown Affair is also selling a candle, which customers have been asking for for years, according to Valentine. 

Crown Affair will promote this collection on social media and through marketing that will shift slightly throughout the holiday season. At the end of October, a lot of Crown Affair’s messaging centered around self-care. In the lead-up to Thanksgiving, Crown Affair will be pushing more messaging around travel and how customers can bring their hair care ritual with them as they visit family. Then, in December, Valentine said the company’s communication strategy will shift again to focus on gift-giving.

“We’re trying to meet our woman where she’s at this holiday season,” Valentine said. 

Many of these companies are also trying to be flexible at a time when it’s still very unclear exactly what consumer sentiment will be like this holiday season. Some people are still reeling from the recent presidential election results, while others are still keeping their budgets tight as inflation hasn’t abated as much as they would have hoped.

“We’re certainly being conscious of the fact that people’s dollars are definitely more stretched,” said Little Words Project’s Carrig.

Over at Weezie, the company is betting that while shoppers are going back to basics, they are also looking for ways to celebrate and make memories with their families. 

Weezie’s holiday collection consists of items designed for the shopper who wants themed items for their whole family, like matching aprons and bath robes for moms and kids. It also includes smaller items, like hand towels or tissue boxes that come pre-adorned with Christmas trees. 

This is designed for the customer who might suffer from “analysis paralysis,” said CEO and co-founder Lindsey Johnson. Weezie is known for its custom embroidery but some people don’t know exactly what type of embroidery they want and would prefer an item they can easily click and add to their cart. The collection is also designed for the customer who might want to purchase many smaller items and gift them to people throughout the holiday season.

Johnson said that this year, in particular, has been a “really explosive growth year” for Weezie. “We’re trying to attract both new customers but also repeat customers and give them a reason to come to us for the holidays.” 

What I’m reading

• The Wall Street Journal looked into why some shoe brands like Birkenstock and Hoka are doing so well right now. The answer? They’re using the luxury brand playbook.
• Vuori announced a new $825 million investment led by General Atlantic and Stripes. The athleisure brand said it will use the infusion to open 100 new stories by 2026.
• At its latest earnings, Warby Parker reported that is revenue grew by over 13% year over year. It raised its full-year guidance.

What we’ve covered

• Eco-friendly brands like Dropps are focusing on efficacy in their marketing as a way to fend off ‘green fatigue.’
• With the incoming Trump administration, retail lobbies are readying for a fight over tariffs.
• Brands like Dame and Holidaily are running crowdfunding campaigns to help fund new product launches.