In this Q&A DTC Daily talks with Eunice Byun, co-founder of Material, a DTC kitchen essentials brand. Having just partnered with retailer West Elm, Eunice discusses why she chose West Elm for Material's first retail partnership, and how the brand has evolved since it was founded in 2018. 

Why did you choose West Elm for your first ever retail partnership? What did they offer that made them stand out? 

We love that West Elm is as design-obsessed as we are, particularly our collective focus on accessible design. We're also like-minded in our vision to bring greater awareness and focus on sustainability within the home, and for us, specifically the kitchen. 

Why do you consider having a retail presence as well as an e-commerce presence important? 

We want to be where our customers are - and that could be in a number of spots online and offline. In this increasingly crowded world of new brands all clamouring over Facebook advertising, we thought it was even more important to connect with our customers in other places of discovery. Being partnered with West Elm allows for brand discovery and new customers might perhaps even try out Material through West Elm. We can continue the relationship with them vis a vis other touchpoints. It's all about a more holistic approach than what DTC companies had been touting for so long.

Would you ever consider opening your own brick-and-mortar location (either permanent or as a pop-up)?

We are always exploring how to create the best experience for Material and our customers. We already will pop-in to locations where we know our community is strong and host events where we can interact directly. It's always worth it as we have gotten new product ideas, met new collaborators and crafted partnerships that may not have materialised otherwise!

You started Material in 2018 - how has the brand grown since then? What has been the key to this growth? 

It's hard to believe that we launched back in the Spring of 2018 as we've developed and grown so much since then! We started off with one collection, The Fundamentals (which is still one of our top sellers!), and have since expanded our assortment to cookware, recycled cutting boards and other tools. Our vision to help home cooks find joy across the whole of their kitchen has become more and more realised with each launch that we've had. What we're most proud of is that these have not been developed in a vacuum. We have a group of early adopters that we lean on for recommendations, insights and product testing. We reply and engage with every single message that comes into any platform because we're still learning and growing thanks to our customers and their advocacy. 

What's next for Material?

We keep building and innovating. One of the most amazing things about our team is that we are collectively most satisfied when we do something unexpected. Our most recent launch, The Good Shears, is a good example. No one was specifically asking for kitchen shears to be reimagined, but we were inspired by the number of restaurants that were incorporating kitchen shears into their own kitchens and dining rooms. We didn't come out with another knife or another pot or pan. We decided to expand our Material design philosophy to a pretty straightforward item, and we ended up with our best-selling launch of the year. So in 2020, we'll continue to pave our own way and provide those moments of joy for home cooks in their kitchen.