Bobbie Baby Co achieved over $100M in revenue in just two years, but guest Cherene Aubert reveals they deliberately limited their growth to ensure product quality and customer safety in the highly regulated infant formula market. This episode highlights the critical importance of a controlled growth strategy, even at the cost of short-term revenue, to build a sustainable, trusted brand in a sensitive industry.
Key takeaways
Prioritize controlled growth over hyper-growth when product safety and compliance are paramount, as seen with Bobbie Baby Co's strategic decision to limit expansion to ensure product quality.
Navigate highly regulated markets by building strong internal compliance teams and deep expertise, rather than solely relying on external consultants, to maintain agility and control.
Leverage PR and earned media strategically to build brand trust and educate consumers, especially in sectors where direct-to-consumer marketing faces regulatory constraints.
Implement a rigorous supply chain and quality control system from day one, preparing for audits and scaling challenges in sensitive product categories like infant formula.
Understand that category creation in regulated markets requires significant investment in consumer education and trust-building, which can initially slow growth but foster long-term loyalty.
Everything was going great for Bobbie Baby Co: the venture-backed startup disrupted a duopoly in the super-highly regulated category of baby formula and exploded to over $100m in revenue in two years, due in part to the leadership of this episode's super talented guest, Bobbie's VP of Growth (and former Director of Strategy at Common Thread Collective), Cherene Aubert.
But then the baby formula shortage happened, and as she likes to joke, Cherene's job pivoted to being the VP of "Slowth." Customer acquisition had to cease. Existing subscribers were taken care of first. And everyone waited for the supply chain to recover.
On today episode, Andrew and Cherene talk about what makes Bobbie such a great business, how to think about LTV and intelligent cohort forecasting, and why Bobbie should consider influencer deals with Elon Musk and Nick Cannon.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:35] Infant formula industry pivot. [00:03:37] Supply chain challenges. [00:08:03] Prioritizing existing customers. [00:11:29] Marketing to communities with more babies. [00:14:23] DTC growth strategies. [00:19:02] European vs US formula regulations. [00:21:26] Authenticity and differentiation in branding. [00:24:36] Retention and product quality. [00:29:25] LTV to CAC metric. [00:30:39] Forecasting on a three-year timeline. [00:34:49] Growth tactics for success. [00:39:01] Customer journey and marketing. [00:41:00] SEO beyond article writing. [00:44:40] Testing pricing and shipping. [00:47:58] Four P's of growth. EPISODE SPONSOR
Visit Settle at www.settle.com/andrewfaris for a complete platform to manage Bill Pay/AP with fast access to extended payment terms a
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Prioritize controlled growth over hyper-growth when product safety and compliance are paramount, as seen with Bobbie Baby Co's strategic decision to limit expansion to ensure product quality.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Navigate highly regulated markets by building strong internal compliance teams and deep expertise, rather than solely relying on external consultants, to maintain agility and control.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Leverage PR and earned media strategically to build brand trust and educate consumers, especially in sectors where direct-to-consumer marketing faces regulatory constraints.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Implement a rigorous supply chain and quality control system from day one, preparing for audits and scaling challenges in sensitive product categories like infant formula.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Understand that category creation in regulated markets requires significant investment in consumer education and trust-building, which can initially slow growth but foster long-term loyalty.
