Direct-to-Consumer's Second Act
How established CPG brands are reinventing D2C beyond the startup playbook
Direct-to-consumer models are gaining traction as shown by brands such as Everlane and Glossier, allowing businesses to have a tighter grasp over their brand management, helping them build closer relationships with consumers directly. But the first wave of D2C was dominated by digitally native startups. The second wave belongs to established CPG giants who are applying their scale advantages to the D2C model.
DTC strategies let brands control pricing, customer experience, and messaging from their own site. That also means owning your customer data. Large CPG companies are now using D2C not as a complete business model replacement, but as a laboratory for innovation and customer intelligence.
The smart play isn't abandoning retail partnerships for pure D2C. Instead, leading brands are using their direct channels to test new products, gather unfiltered consumer feedback, and build premium sub-brands that can command higher margins. They're then using insights from D2C customers to optimize their retail strategies.
Offering products on a subscription basis is one of the fastest ways to build consistent revenue. So it's no surprise that many CPG brands are embracing this business model. But the real innovation is in using subscription data to predict broader market trends and inform mass-market product development.
The future of CPG D2C isn't about choosing between channels—it's about using direct relationships to become better retail partners. The brands that master this balance will have both the intimacy of D2C and the scale of traditional retail.
Sources:
Shopify CPG Trends Report 2025
Infosys CPG Industry Outlook 2024
McKinsey CPG Industry Insights 2024