In this Q&A for FastGrowthBrands, we speak to Stephanie Biscomb, head of brand, Shapermint. Stephanie explains that while the likes of Spanx and Skims may steal the limelight, Shapermint has been quietly building one of the world's fastest-growing shaperwear brands.

Can you explain how your audience differs from the likes of Spanx and Skims?

Forty-eight percent of our customers had never worn shapewear before giving us a try. This not only means we’re generating demand and carving out our own audience; it also means our audience is finding in us something that they were missing from other industry players--or at least, that we’re speaking to them in a way that resonates. 

Our audience ranges from ages 28 to 57 with the majority falling into the 30-40 age range. We understand that our products will accompany women from 28 years old for the rest of their lives, adapting to the different needs and situations each year brings. We know that our customers need assurance at a very uncertain time of their lives. We cater to moms, career professionals, women getting married, starting a new job, new moms trying to look their best post-pregnancy, people attending school reunions, and everyday women looking for a boost of confidence on their off days.

Stephanie Biscomb, head of brand, Shapermint

For years, shapewear has been a source of shame for women who dared wear it. Based on our own research, experiences and direct conversations with our audience, we took it upon ourselves to change the conversation around shapewear, so that women could feel another type of comfort: not being ashamed of wanting to feel more confident in their own skin. We strongly prioritise comfort and confidence, both in our messaging and the brands we carry. For instance, we only showcase brands that focus on comfort before compression. And rather than promising the “perfect” body. We work really hard to understand WHY women wear shapewear - and talk to them in terms they can relate to. While other brands might offer similar benefits, they might not necessarily emphasise these benefits the way we do, so that attracts a very specific audience.

Finally, unlike Spanx and Skims, which are product lines, we’re a marketplace, so by our very nature we’re able to offer women more choice than a single line could. Not every woman’s body is the same,and finding the perfect piece for them can be a strenuous task. Fit and comfort can vary from size to size, style to style and even brand to brand. We offer different styles, brands and sizes. This means that customers can find a perfect fit in a much easier way, helped out by our expert customer care team (yes, we’ve even trained them as fit experts!).  

Why do you think the shapewear industry has been so transformed by the direct-to-consumer business model?

DTC businesses sell directly to customers, of course, but they also communicate directly with them. Which is the biggest advantage of DTC companies in transforming entire industries. And when you link that personal, one-to-one communication with a strong, collective purpose, the sky is really the limit. Shapermint was created by millennials, and it shows. Millennials are head-strong on creating impact in the world, on working behind a purpose, Shapermint was born to that. DTC allows us to actually have a platform where we can talk to almost 3 million women. This, from a Brand Marketing point of view is a great responsibility. But, also, from an Acquisition and Retention Marketing point of view, is a goldmine. 

Taking control over the entire supply chain also allows us to have better control over the entire shopping experience. We strive to design the perfect shopping experience for our customers which in turn makes us sole responsibles for that glowing review a customer just left. Even though the shapewear industry has been running on the same - old model for decades now, and even newcomers feel they need to be in retail in order to have an established brand. With our success we’ve proven it’s not necessary. Understand your customer, empathise, provide the best shopping experience, allow them to exchange their product until finding the perfect one and they’ll happily shop with you again. 

You guys now have 2.8 million customers, and over USD$150m revenue, yet you haven't taken on external funding. What has been the key to this success?

Acquisition, for sure. We have a great Acquisition Team and, at first, our entire company was very acquisition-minded. Which is understandable because we first need to acquire customers in order to retain them. We rely heavily on data to drive all our decisions, and our in-house creative and production teams allow us to ideate, iterate and test with amazing speed. We are constantly using data, combined with social listening and brilliant creative minds, to know when to change creatives, when to change angles, when to change structures, when to optimise and when to scale. 

This, combined with a shift in focus to 'brandformance' content and funnel strategies with a stronger brand message has also proven how quickly we can adapt to changing customer behaviours in order to keep our footing at the top of the wave. This mindset synergy can be found in every single team, from IT to Production to Product to Operations to BI to Customer Care.

We grew very fast - we’ve only been around for under two years! But we work quickly, with one eye set on data and the other one set on our customer. We know the marketing rule book like the back of our hands but aren’t afraid to innovate and think outside the box to create our own marketing narratives. This is what ultimately sets the entire Shapermint team apart, from CEO to customer care agents. Anyone who’s worked here can attest to that. 

What role has social played in helping you build your audience, and your brand?

Social has played a huge role. 80% of our ad spend goes to Facebook and Instagram right now, we are one of the Facebook Disruptors. Our brand message is strongest among influencer networks on social media. We’ve branched out into YouTube and Pinterest with promising results. Our DTC conversational tones have most dominated where the conversations are mainly at - and that, today, is social media. 

What's next for Shapermint? 

Our numbers have grown exponentially year over year, and we expect this year to be no different. Next natural step for Shapermint is to continue working on brand awareness and expanding our own market share, mostly diversifying our promotional strategy and traffic sources. We’re still pretty much focusing on online marketing, but are slowly considering and testing more traditional, offline mediums (TV, podcasts). In-site, this year will see us expanding our conversational approach to customer retention, as well as growing our content marketing initiatives. This is also the year in which we plan to secure stage 1 of our global expansion, as well as start working on brick & mortar alternatives for both Shapermint and our private labels (Empetua, Truekind). Our private labels are actually designed using customer feedback and data, and this year we’re also planning on leveraging from this tech to actually implement predictive models for both our acquisition and retention initiatives.

We’ve also been testing a pilot subscription service, Shapermint Club, which we’ll expand availability on during this year.