Sam's Club introduces Care/of, a personalized vitamin brand, into its product line.
Direct-to-Consumer Brands Expand into Wholesale Retail
The world of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands is undergoing a significant shift, with many pioneers venturing into wholesale retail to broaden their market reach and ensure sustainable growth. This strategic pivot comes as pure DTC models face profitability challenges.
One such brand is Care/of, a vitamin and supplement company founded in 2016 by Craig Elbert and Akash Shah. Care/of has recently announced partnerships with both Target and Sam's Club, marking its steady expansion into brick-and-mortar retailers.
In a recent development, Care/of's products are now available at 308 Sam's Club stores across the U.S., and on the Sam's Club website. The Care/of products available include a three-pack for women (multivitamin, energy blend, and probiotic blend) and a three-pack for men (multivitamin, focus blend, and probiotic blend), each selling for $35 per pack. These products are available to Sam's Club members in-store and to anyone online for an additional 10% fee for non-members.
Care/of's CEO, Craig Elbert, values the closeness with consumers and aims to maintain it in retail partnerships. To this end, Care/of's app allows for a two-way, personalized conversation with customers once they buy a product off the shelf.
Target, too, has added Care/of, along with personalized nutrition brand Gainful, to its assortment in recent years. Consumers shopping the product at Target are able to purchase single bottle SKUs. Care/of's partnership with Target follows its partnership with Sam's Club, which was announced in 2021.
The expansion of DTC brands into wholesale retail is not a new phenomenon. Oura, a health and wellness company, has partnered with Best Buy and Target, while Glossier has secured shelf space at Sephora. Warby Parker, the eyewear brand, has opened mini-stores inside Target locations. These moves illustrate a hybrid approach blending direct sales with wholesale partnerships to capitalize on both channels.
From a market growth perspective, the broader DTC ecommerce market is projected to grow 24% between 2023 and 2025, with an even more dramatic increase of 165% by 2034, driven by pandemic-driven consumer shifts, rising online spending (estimated at $4.3 trillion in 2025), and manufacturers adopting DTC plus wholesale models. The overall retail ecommerce is forecast to hit $6.42 trillion by the end of 2025, indicating a fertile landscape for DTC brands leveraging omnichannel strategies.
In the luxury sector, brands like Manolo Blahnik are recalibrating their DTC-wholesale mix, targeting 50% sales via direct channels by 2025 while still engaging wholesale and physical retail through immersive tech and regional joint ventures (e.g., in Asia). This reflects broader luxury ecommerce growth expectations of 32-34% by 2030, with omnichannel digital infrastructure providing resilience and scale.
In summary, DTC brands are increasingly integrating wholesale retail channels to balance margin control with scale, responding to rising acquisition costs and consumer preferences for omnichannel shopping experiences. This transition signals a mature phase for DTC where wholesale partnerships complement direct sales for sustained market growth.
- As direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands face profitability challenges, many are shifting towards wholesale retail to expand their market reach.
- Care/of, a vitamin and supplement company, has expanded into brick-and-mortar retailers, including Target and Sam's Club.
- With the expansion, Care/of's products are now available at 308 Sam's Club stores and on their website.
- In retail partnerships, Care/of's goal is to maintain closeness with consumers, using their app for personalized conversations with customers.
- Target has also added Care/of and personalized nutrition brand Gainful to its assortment in recent years, allowing single bottle SKUs for consumers.
- The overall retail ecommerce is projected to hit $6.42 trillion by the end of 2025, indicating a fertile landscape for DTC brands leveraging omnichannel strategies.
- In the luxury sector, brands like Manolo Blahnik aim to achieve 50% sales via direct channels by 2025, while engaging wholesale and physical retail through immersive tech and regional joint ventures, reflecting broader luxury ecommerce growth expectations of 32-34% by 2030.
