The 2% Club by Wellness Growth Ventures #33

👀 Everyone’s Talking About Daphne—Paige DeSorbo’s New Brand…
But not for the reasons they hoped. The launch came with all the ingredients of a hit: a massive audience, sharp branding, and the kind of personal style people want to buy into. But within days, the shine faded—confusing packaging, delayed shipping, and customer complaints made headlines instead of hero products.

And I say this as someone who is lowkey obsessed with Paige. She’s smart, has the confidence I only aspire to, and I want her to win. But I think this is a teachable moment—for anyone building in consumer right now. It shows us that:

1. Audience can spark momentum—but it’s operations that sustain it.

2. Brand isn’t just how it looks—it’s how it works. Consumers notice more than your color palette. They remember how easy it was to order, how long it took to ship, how your customer service made them feel. That’s the real brand equity.

3. Early-stage execution matters more than big-name experience. Having someone from J.Crew or a known incubator sounds impressive—but launching today takes people who’ve built from scratch, not just worked inside machines already running.

This takes me back to the fact that Rhode is the gold standard here—not just because of Hailey Bieber’s influence, but because she built a team with legit CPG chops. Product development took years. Packaging was retooled before launch. They didn’t rush—they built to last. The best creator-led brands are backed by real operators.

Similarly, hot take…Start narrow. Go deep. Glossier started with four SKUs. Summer Fridays with one mask. Starface with just pimple patches. Daphne came out of the gate with a full collection. More isn’t always more. Launching tight lets you get the product—and the customer experience—exactly right.

So the real opportunity now? Showing customers that their trust isn’t taken for granted.

→ Lead with transparency. Don’t ignore the missteps—own them, and bring your audience into the learning.
→ Strengthen the backend. Bring in people who’ve done this at the build stage, not just at scale.
→ Refocus the narrative. What is Daphne really about? Strip it back. Tighten the story. Let the product speak.
→ Turn your community into collaborators. People want to feel like they’re part of the process—invite them in.

The creator x consumer economy is still just getting started. But this is the reminder: it’s not about how loud your launch is. It’s about what happens next.

Let’s not cancel Daphne. Let’s take notes. And build better.

Is “Clinically Proven” Just a Marketing Scam? 🧪
On this week’s The 2% Club Hot Takes, we’re pulling back the curtain on what “clinical” really means in wellness—from skincare and supplements to food and fitness. We’re talking shady science, unregulated claims, and yes… my hot take on the FDA.

Is medicine actually black and white—or is the gray area where marketing thrives?

Oh, and we also get into rucking (which I still think desperately needs a rebrand).

🎧 Stream the Hot Take episode now. Then maybe double-check your beauty shelf...

Victoria’s Secret Didn’t Need Wings—It Needed a Wellness POV
This week’s business drama reads like a case study in what not to do when your brand loses cultural relevance. Victoria’s Secret—once the crown jewel of mall culture—is now the subject of an activist investor battle, with shareholders demanding answers and direction. But if you zoom out, this isn’t just about board seats or declining sales. It’s about a brand that was perfectly positioned to evolve—and somehow still missed the moment.

Let’s talk about why.

For years, Victoria’s Secret sold a very specific fantasy. Lace. Legs. Push-up bras. A performance of femininity designed for men, sold to women. But then the world changed. Feminism became intersectional. Wellness went mainstream. And the most culturally influential women no longer looked like angels on a catwalk—they looked like business owners, community builders, content creators, and caretakers of their own health.

Here’s what’s wild: VS had everything going for it: retail footprint, household name status, global distribution. It was already a brand about the body. The pivot to wellness should’ve been obvious. Self-care, recovery, intimacy, confidence—these are wellness pillars. And instead of leaning in, they clung to a playbook that was already collecting dust.

And when they did try to pivot, it was surface-level—adding a few new spokespeople, changing the lighting, dropping a podcast. But culture doesn’t reward timid tweaks. It rewards transformation.

Meanwhile, fashion houses like Gucci are building wellness into their long-term strategy. And Victoria’s Secret? Still stuck trying to decide if it’s aspirational or approachable. Sexy or soft. For women or for men.

Here’s the bigger issue: Victoria’s Secret didn’t just miss the wellness wave. They misunderstood it. Wellness isn’t a product category—it’s a value system. It’s the lens through which the modern woman makes decisions: what she wears, how she rests, who she trusts. And brands who don’t speak that language are getting tuned out.

So what can we learn?

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