How Harry's Owner Is Taking On Procter & Gamble
Mammoth Brands, founded by the creators of Harry's razor company, is challenging legacy CPG giants like Procter & Gamble by using a direct-to-consumer first strategy before scaling to retail. The company has grown through acquisitions and new brand launches, including Flamingo, Lume, Mando, and Coterie Diapers. Mammoth's playbook centers on speed, deep customer knowledge, and premium product quality rather than traditional CPG scale.
Summary
The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is undergoing a significant shift as wellness trends rise and consumers become more label-conscious. Legacy brands face growing pressure from newer, more agile companies that prioritize quality, transparency, and direct relationships with end consumers. Mammoth Brands has emerged as a key challenger in this space, built on a unique playbook that starts with direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels to deeply understand customers before transitioning into major retail partnerships.
Mammoth was co-founded by Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield, who first built Harry's, an online shaving brand launched in 2012 that expanded into Target stores in 2016. Harry's succeeded by tapping into consumer frustration over expensive razor blades and delivering a sharp value message through digital channels. This DTC-first model allowed the company to iterate quickly, build community, and achieve cultural relevance at a lower cost than traditional CPG marketing.
Building on Harry's success, the founders expanded their portfolio. They launched Flamingo, a women's shave care brand, in 2018. In 2021, they acquired Lume deodorant, which later launched the Mando brand. Coterie, a premium diaper brand, was acquired in 2022. In 2025, the company officially rebranded as Mammoth Brands, signaling its ambitions as a broader personal care and hygiene conglomerate. Coterie's CEO noted that Mammoth's retail relationships and commitment to quality were major draws for joining the company.
Mammoth's financial details remain private, and the company has not confirmed IPO plans, though a Bloomberg report from January suggested it may go public this year. Looking ahead, Mammoth is actively seeking new brand acquisitions — specifically those with the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in value, not just small niche brands.
Meanwhile, legacy CPG conglomerates are also restructuring. Unilever, for example, sold most of its food business to McCormick for nearly $16 billion and is doubling down on health and beauty brands. Experts acknowledge that large CPG companies still hold advantages in R&D, science, and engineering, but Mammoth argues that its speed, consumer-first mindset, and ability to reach product-market fit faster give it a meaningful competitive edge.
Key Insights
- Jeff Raider argues that legacy CPG companies mistakenly treat retailers as their customers, whereas Mammoth treats the end consumer — 'the person on the street buying our products' — as the true customer, enabling deeper relationships and faster iteration.
- Raider claims that starting with DTC channels allows brands to reach product-market fit much faster than traditional CPG companies, because lower digital costs enable rapid testing, learning, and culturally relevant messaging.
- Harry's succeeded, according to the narrator and analysts, by tapping into a consumer zeitgeist — specifically frustration over the high cost of razor blades — and delivering a sharply focused value message through digital channels before entering retail.
- Coterie's CEO argues that legacy CPG companies are misaligned with modern discerning parents, who are prioritizing better, safer, and more efficacious products over cost-cutting, representing a values shift the incumbents have failed to address.
- An industry analyst concedes that large CPG companies likely retain a structural advantage in R&D, science, product efficacy, and engineering — meaning they have the capability to make the objectively best products if they choose to compete in premium categories.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Competition is mounting in the consumer packaged goods space. As a wellness industry booms and consumers become more discerning. Legacy companies have faced a wave of newcomer brands aimed at stealing their customers. In the past, consumers didn't really look at labels. Now, 60% of consumers are looking at labels as consumers are looking for a single product doing more, and these feel like upgrades to everyday routines without consumers having to change their behaviors. Mammoth Brands is one of these companies. Its portfolio includes five personal care and hygiene [0:30] brands, but what's unique about this company is its playbook. It has either acquired or built DTC, or direct to consumer brands from the ground up and gradually…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from CNBC
Why Europe is betting big on drones
Europe is dramatically increasing investment in military drone technology and AI-powered autonomous systems, driven by lessons learned from the Ukraine war. Recent developments include NATO's drone initiative, UK funding pledges, German orders for Ukraine, and major defense tech valuations, signaling that drones and their supporting technologies are now central to modern military strategy.
This new Medicare program offers obesity drugs for $50 a month. Here's what you need to know
Medicare has launched a new pilot program called Bridge that allows eligible seniors to access GLP-1 obesity drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly for $50 per month copays, starting this week. This represents a major policy shift as Medicare has historically excluded obesity medications from coverage, and could potentially reach millions of beneficiaries and expand access to drugs that normally cost hundreds of dollars monthly.
Inside the rise and fall of Kohl's
Kohl's, once a beloved department store chain, experienced a dramatic decline from its 2018 peak of $82 per share to under $20, losing 70% of its value over five years. New CEO Michael Bender attributes the decline to the company losing its identity and core customer focus, and is now implementing a turnaround strategy centered on returning to the company's original value-oriented approach.
How an ICE contract could boost a stock Trump purchased
President Trump purchased up to $5 million in shares of Axon Enterprise, a Taser manufacturer, in early 2026. Exactly two weeks later, ICE announced a $220 million contract request to quadruple its Taser inventory, prompting questions about potential conflicts of interest, though the White House maintains Trump's trades are managed independently and no contract has yet been awarded.
Why Toyota, Honda And Hyundai Dominate The U.S. Hybrid Car Market
Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai dominate the U.S. hybrid market as hybrid vehicles surge to 15.4% of total sales in 2026, outpacing EV adoption. Toyota's 30-year commitment to hybrid technology has made it the market leader with over 1 million sales, while competitors like GM and Ford are slow to develop robust hybrid lineups, relying on suppliers or pivoting strategy.