rational group.  With the increasing financial power of this generation of shoppers, opportunities for newer, trendier brands to tap into this space have exponentially opened up over the past decade.  This is where Parachute comes into play.  Launched in 2014 by former digital strategist and account planner Ariel Kaye, Parachute is a minimalist brand designed with the millennial consumer in mind. Since entering the market, Parachute has raised over $47 million in venture capital. It generated about $150 million in revenue in 2021 and has become one of the most popular home goods brands in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) and physical retail space. How Parachute popped off Like many other successful DTC brands in the market, the concept for Parachute came from a personal place of need and interest from the founder. Having worked in the public relations and digital strategy space for several years, Kaye already had a well-developed understanding of how to connect with customers and build authentic relationships between the brand and the consumer.  However, it wasn’t until Kaye began working on a home design blog during her time in grad school and began in-depth research into this field that the idea for Parachute began to form. While helping her friends decorate their first apartments in New York back in 2012, Kaye began to explore the different home goods brands that were out there and saw that there was a much left to be desired design-wise.  At the time, there was also an ample amount of DTC brands such as Warby Parker, Glossier, Allbirds and Casper launching into the market, dramatically shifting American shopping behaviour towards online channels.  Kaye realised there weren’t many home goods in the online space and saw a white space that she knew she wanted to fill in. “I became obsessed and passionate about the [online home goods] opportunity and all that could happen under this umbrella of sleep, wellness and quality and with the idea of creating products that people would use every day,” Kaye recalled. Which is exactly what she did.  After having her “aha” moment, Kaye traveled to Europe, visited different factories, met with various manufacturers and raised over $50,000 before launching a small batch of high-quality bedding that sold out almost immediately upon release. With home bedding specifically, Kaye noted that traditionally 90 per cent of purchases are made offline, so it was a combination of the brand’s superior quality, trendy designs and marketing strategy that helped it truly connect with the millennial consumer base.  “I believed that if you told this compelling story around quality, brand and product that had a human sensibility to it, that it would attract consumers who, like myself, had had negative experiences with big-box retailers and were looking for something different,” she said. “We heard our customers saying that this was something that they had been looking for and that they were thrilled to have discovered us. It was very clear that there was an opportunity [in the market] beyond what I could even fathom at the time,” After starting out with bedding stock-keeping units (SKUs), Parachute expanded its merchandising repertoire to include items like mattresses and towels and, in keeping up with the needs of its largely millennial consumer base, the baby and kids goods market.  In addition to thriving DTC operations, there are now 26 physical Parachute stores located across the US.  Why has Parachute managed to survive the DTC boom Over the past decade, some DTC brands, like Glossier and Warby Parker, have successfully gone through ups and downs to stay on top of the retail ladder, whereas other brands, like Allbirds, have struggled to stay afloat.  When asked about how Parachute was able to last beyond the DTC boom, Kaye stated, “I think we do a very good job of being very consistent in terms of our messaging and with our product quality. Also, building customer trust and then maintaining that trust has been critical in building a lasting brand. Our North Star has always been centered on repeat customers.” While any brand can acquire a customer for a solo purchase, the founder mused, how a brand continues to engage with said customer and keep bringing them back is what sets it apart as a brand. “The [home goods] category has gotten way more competitive, but our customers really trust the fact that we are so laser-focused on being the best at what we do, versus getting distracted [with other focuses]. It’s been helpful for us internally and I think the customer feels that too,” Kaye concluded.  The brand has also been able to hold onto its relevancy in the market with several eye-catching, socially relevant collaborations with apparel brands like Kith and with celebrity partners like Tyler the Creator. This year, Parachute teamed up with the musician’s brand, Golf Le Fleur, to launch a limited-edition, pastel-hued homewares collection.  The brand founder promised that consumers can expect to see more unique brand partnerships and product drops in the next few years ahead.