Issue #20: Fishwife's NYC Popup

Before we dive into this week’s issue, I wanted to share an exciting update. I am joining the instant delivery app, Gopuff, as a Supplier Relations Manager! Excited to be joining a startup at the forefront of the future of commerce and retail. Don’t worry, this newsletter is not going anywhere! Keep your eyes peeled weekly for new issues and as always please share with others.

Tinned fish, aka fancy canned fish with better flavors, quality, and smokiness, has been having a moment. The brand at the forefront of it, Fishwife, is a startup founded in 2020, with over 10 flavors of smoked fish. From Shark Tank to Vogue to the New York Times, it has been featured in many places. Originally starting in eCommerce, the brand has evolved to be featured in many retailers and just launched nationwide expansion with Whole Foods choosing to add more of their products. One promising anecdote from the CEO’s press release announcement, the conventional tinned fish category grew 1% from 2022 to 2023, but Fishwife grew nearly 180% in that same time period (unfortunately, we do not know the $ amount that changed). A big part of this growth has been due to their strong marketing strategy. An example of their marketing strengths has been these past two weekends Fishwife launched a popup in NYC featuring exciting collaborations and activations.

In partnership with Klaviyo, a technology provider I presume Fishwife utilizes, they took over a small shop in Nolita and built out the space. However, the popup wasn’t just selling their product. There were activations and partnerships across different styles to draw people in. Here is how I would break down the different types of activations.

• Emerging CPG Brands (Graza, Via Carota Craft Cocktails, Ghia) - these are similar CPG brands that are new and exciting, but sell different products to similar audiences

• NYC Retail Institutions (Rubirosa) - A popular restaurant that has mass appeal, CPG brand, and was founded by the son of Staten Island’s Joe and Pats

• Emerging NYC Retailers (Caffe Panna, Apollo Bagels) - Popular NYC restaurants that are new to the city but have gravitas

• Food Influencers (Chuck & Hailee) - Local New Jersey based food influencers who frequently utilize tinned fish

By diversifying the marketing partnerships, it helps get the event out to a broader audience. However, they are still focusing on a similar customer profile, that may not have tried their brand before. I believe this is a playbook more CPG brands can follow. Launch a temporary retail location via partnership and utilize a diversity of marketing strategies to drive people in. What are some of your favorite pop ups?

Bonside Closes $15M Multi-Unit Fund

All the way back in Issue #3, I featured Bonside, a retail fintech company working to help make retail as an asset class more accessible. Similar to other startups in the art, prediction, collectibles, and car world, these fintech companies try to turn things that were previously only assets for the very wealthy into fractionalized assets for the masses. Bonside realized that while many people like to shop in retail and want to support it, there are not many ways to invest in retail. Bonside created a Repeatable Revenue Agreement where investors receive monthly payouts until a fixed return is satisfied. This non-dilutive capital is particularly for companies trying to expand the number of locations they have. This fund is particularly exciting because it is a newer, innovative way to finance brick-and-mortar businesses. In order for retail businesses to succeed and grow, it is clear additional capital strategies are needed. I will be following along to see what businesses end up receiving loans.

Setting Yourself Up For Success: Separate Delivery and In-Person Ops

As a resident of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, I am fortunate to have a plethora of options when craving a chocolate chip cookie. These include the original Levain location, a backup Levain location, Crumbl, Insomnia, and Chip City to name a few. While Crumbl is not my go-to, with the changing flavors weekly, sometimes it is worth a trip. This week was one of those weeks when the flavors warranted a trip. Saturday night my girlfriend and I decided to make the brief walk over. The cookies ended up being delicious, but the operations were underwhelming, to say the least. Here is a picture to give some further context.

As you can see from the image, there were a lot of drivers waiting for their orders. What is not shown, is the long line of customers waiting to get their product. Being a retail ops nerd, I decided to jot down some of the issues I saw.

• Delivery and in-store orders go to the same place → need to add a separate window to pick up delivery orders

• No assembly line to fill orders

• Lack of management → need a clear system and process of who is responsible for what leadership, a la the brigade in a French kitchen

• No printed tickets, only available on iPad

• No one calling out orders and one iPad for all orders → need an expediter calling out orders

• Confusion about products and new items

• Massive orders placed by customers and no separate flow to handle

Overall, the lack of process and leadership was what caused the issues. These issues can manifest when a company rapidly scales without proper procedures. Luckily, these issues are all very fixable and I will keep you posted next time I go there if anything changes.

Citywide Student Discounts

Back-to-school season is back and that includes college students too. I came across this article highlighting what Hartford, Connecticut is doing to stimulate retail business and provide the college students an incentive to explore the community. In partnership with over 30 businesses, the Hartford Chamber of Commerce has coordinated a discount for students. I think this is a great way to get retail going again. Similar discounts have been run for other people, like teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and EMTs. This initiative is great because it encourages college students to engage with local businesses, boosting both the economy and community interaction. By offering targeted discounts, the retailers are able to make money from net new customers who probably wouldn’t have shopped there before. A win-win for all.

Longshoreman Strike Resolved

Originally, when I wrote this section, the Longshoreman of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance had not yet agreed to a deal. This meant that all the goods coming in and out of the East Coast and Gulf Coast were in jeopardy. Longshoremen are the people who load and unload the big container ships at ports. They are a vital part of the supply chain and were looking for increased wages as well as protection against automation. Some goods that frequently move through these ports include fruits and cars. At the time of publishing, this strike is no longer ongoing and has been resolved. The strike lasted from Tuesday morning until Thursday night. However, this agreement only extends the current contract until January 15th, 2025, while a new contract is finished being negotiated. Additionally, it will take weeks to unload all the goods that were backed up. This strike will definitely impact the economy as the backlog is cleared, but it is great that an agreement was reached so quickly.

• Summary: Conversenow is an AI-powered voice that automates phone order and drive-through order taking for restaurants. It seamlessly and accurately takes orders, which allows employees to focus on making the in store experience and food as great as possible

• Founder(s): Vinay Shukla and Rahul Aggarwal

• Amount raised & investors: $28M from Enlightened Hospitality Investments, Moneta Ventures, Trajectory Ventures, Bridge Investments, Knoll Ventures, and more

• How this will shape the future of commerce: 42% of US Adults have ordered via phone but 50% of restaurant phone calls go unanswered. So much revenue is being left on the table by missing these calls

• Why should you use this technology?: This technology will allow your operation to be more efficient and prioritize what is most important to you

• Notable Clients: Dominos and Wingstop

• My take: Two things are true in my mind. Currently, it is hard to find and retain labor in the restaurant industry and the most important customer is the one who is in person. Tools like this allow you to focus on the two most important things: delighting your in-person customer and maximizing food/order quality.

• Interested? Book a demo here

Additional Links:

1. Pepsi agrees to purchase grain-free, better-for-you tortilla chip company, Siete Foods (read more here)

2. Sauz, the tomato sauce brand with fun flavors and bright packaging, raised funds from Coefficient Capital (read more here)

3. TikTok-famous Beachwaver, a hair care company, is going back to brick-and-mortar retail (read more here)

4. Schwan’s, a frozen food delivery service operating for over 70 years in the Midwest, is shutting down (read more here)

5. Nike, the apparel company, is focusing on building its brand via bold marketing rather than trying to get quick wins (read more here)

   • My take: I love that Nike is focusing on rebuilding its brand, which was a core pillar of its success. I just hope that retail is recognized as the other pillar.

6. 35% of cardholders will not go to a merchant again if their card is declined (read more here)

7. Amazon and Walmart are focusing on improving their customer search by adding features like visual search to boost sales (read more here)

8. Holiday shopping keeps moving earlier each year (read more here)

9. Simon Property Group, which owns lots of malls, is trying to get more Gen Z shoppers into the mall (read more here)

10. New Red Lobster CEO shares why he took over a struggling company (read more here)

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