The Insane Marketing Playbook Behind Manscaped
Executive Summary
A Shopify Masters interview, hosted by Adam Leventter (as spelled in the captions), with Paul Tran, founder and CEO of the men's grooming brand Manscaped. He says the idea began in 2016 when he spotted white space in below-the-belt grooming, that the brand grew from zero to 300 million dollars in revenue in 36 months and now serves over 15 million customers in 39 countries, and that the name now defines the category. He covers launching by testing a hypothesis, getting into retail starting with Dillard's and Target, spending close to 60 million dollars on awareness before Target, and a roughly even split between direct to consumer, Amazon and retail. Sponsor: Shopify, which presents the show and links a free trial in the description. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the origin story, a middle section on retail partners and channel mix, the closing and the description, and does not cover the AI and influencer sections in full across the roughly 33 minute conversation. All business claims and figures are the speakers' own and are not independently checked.
Key Takeaways
White space
He says in 2016 no brand occupied the mind share of men for below-the-belt grooming, so he tested whether men groomed there or were too ashamed to talk about it.
A name that defines the category
He says he collects domain names, picked Manscaped, and after spending over half a billion dollars on branding people say they are manscaping.
Giving men permission
He says openly talking about grooming gave men permission to say they groom, and the host cites a stat of about 6 percent of men manscaping in 2005 against about 70 percent now.
Beyond the trimmer
He says the brand expanded to skincare, face shaving, body wash and shampoo and has become a lifestyle brand.
The Dillard's order
He says a Dillard's buyer needed tens of thousands of units in about two months, so he chartered two 747s from Shanghai to Long Beach for about 150,000 dollars.
Awareness before retail
He says the brand spent close to 60 million dollars on marketing before Target so it could drive door swings.
Channel split
He says sales are about a third direct to consumer, a third Amazon and a third retail, in over 20,000 doors in 39 countries.
The Conversation Breakdown
White space
⏱ Untimed topicHe says in 2016 no brand occupied the mind share of men for below-the-belt grooming, so he tested whether men groomed there or were too ashamed to talk about it.
A name that defines the category
⏱ Untimed topicHe says he collects domain names, picked Manscaped, and after spending over half a billion dollars on branding people say they are manscaping.
Giving men permission
⏱ Untimed topicHe says openly talking about grooming gave men permission to say they groom, and the host cites a stat of about 6 percent of men manscaping in 2005 against about 70 percent now.
Beyond the trimmer
⏱ Untimed topicHe says the brand expanded to skincare, face shaving, body wash and shampoo and has become a lifestyle brand.
The Dillard's order
⏱ Untimed topicHe says a Dillard's buyer needed tens of thousands of units in about two months, so he chartered two 747s from Shanghai to Long Beach for about 150,000 dollars.
Awareness before retail
⏱ Untimed topicHe says the brand spent close to 60 million dollars on marketing before Target so it could drive door swings.
Channel split
⏱ Untimed topicHe says sales are about a third direct to consumer, a third Amazon and a third retail, in over 20,000 doors in 39 countries.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Name the category - Tran's branding
Choose a name that people use as the verb for the whole category.
Test the hypothesis - his launch
Check whether people do the behaviour and are just too shy to talk about it.
Earn the shelf - his retail rule
Build demand before entering retail so you drive sell-through for partners.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Check whether your category has a topic people avoid, and test one open conversation about it.
- ✓Secure the domain and brand name before spending on marketing.
- ✓Write the demand you would need to create before pitching a retailer.
- ✓Treat the revenue and customer figures as the speakers' own and verify them before repeating them.
Notable Quotes
“we want to redefine masculinity for the next generation.”
“chartered two 747s to fly our product from Shanghai to Long Beach”
“You cannot discount Amazon, right?”
The One Thing to Remember
Paul Tran says Manscaped grew by naming a category nobody talked about, then spending on awareness before entering retail, and now splits sales about evenly across three channels.