Hint Tackles Pits with Amazon

San Francisco-based Hint, a company that last year made the Path to Purchase Institute’s list of Standout Small Brands, has expanded further into the personal care category with Amazon as its exclusive retail partner.Known for its flagship unsweetened flavored water, the healthy lifestyle brand also encompasses unsweetened sparkling water, caffeinated water, and water in kid-friendly boxes. In 2017, Hint first entered the health and beauty market with non-toxic sunscreen, and has now added aluminum-free deodorant.In a post published to LinkedIn on Jan. 22, Hint founder and chief executive officer Kara Goldin introduced the new lemon- and eucalyptus-scented product as a healthier, natural deodorant that actually works. “Although research is inconclusive, there’s a possible connection between heavy aluminum use and developing Alzheimer’s disease,” Goldin wrote, differentiating her product from many other aluminum-free deodorants on the market that use coconut (Goldin is allergic) or baking soda (a possible irritant) as ingredients, and that she found were too thick and chalky when applied.While Goldin quoted a couple positive tester reviews of the deodorant in her post, pre-populating the item’s Amazon product page with reviews wasn’t part of the strategy. It also does not appear that the SKU gets any help from paid search, nor is it currently available for free Prime shipping. So just how will the new deodorant, even one with strong brand equity, stand out on Amazon among similar products from more established competitors – many of which show up in ads above the A+ content on Hint deodorant’s product page?In Hint’s case, perhaps the answer is the brand’s booming direct-to-consumer business, which represents 45% of the company’s overall sales. While a 2.5-ounce stick of Hint deodorant is priced $10.99 on Amazon (plus shipping), consumers can get the same SKU for a dollar less via Hint’s website if they sign up for an auto-delivery subscription. The company uses social media posts and ads to link people to its website, and it doesn’t hurt that Goldin puts herself out there to tell her entrepreneurship story.

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