Dollar Shave Club 2.0

Once The Brand Of Bros, The Razor Company Eyes A New Competitive Edge.

- Ann-Marie Alcántara

Could Dollar Shave Club, the former disruptor known for its budget-friendly razors and renegade marketing tactics, be the next big men’s wellness brand? That’s the vision the company’s been pursuing since being acquired for $1 billion in 2016 by Unilever. The corporate behemoth wants consumers who relied on Dollar Shave Club to deliver high-quality, low-cost razors to now embrace the once-indie company as the ultimate destination for men, both as a resource and for the tools they need for their body and mind. The name for this next era of the brand? “Dollar Shave Club 2.0.”

Mixing products and content is not unprecedented for direct-to-consumer ecommerce companies. Brandless, a home-goods basics company that just raised $240 million in a Series C round, publishes an extensive blog filled with posts on everything from planning meals to volunteering through Brandless’ social-impact efforts. But the challenge for Dollar Shave Club is making the transition to lifestyle brand under a corporation while maintaining the edginess and innovation that made it beloved among its core fan base (namely, bros).