Caraway's Growth Playbook Revealed

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Welcome back for another bite to chew on. We hope you are enjoying the long weekend with loved ones (and that your BFCM campaigns are killing it.) 

We know you’re either in the trenches or hanging with the fam today so we’re going to keep this short and sweet. 

Rather than talk about Obvi we’re going to share some insights from one of the best operators in the space… 

We were lucky enough to sit down with Jordan Nathan from Caraway recently. Jordan built Caraway into one of the fastest-growing cookware brands by thinking differently about everything from channel strategy to team building.

Here are three of the biggest learnings we took from the discussion. 

On the Menu:

• First - The hidden power of methodical channel expansion

• Second - Why Amazon might be worth the risk (even if you hate it)

• Third - Building remote teams that actually work

Let's dig in 🍽️

The Ultimate Marketer’s Newsletter

Ready to master marketing like the pros?

Subscribe to Masters in Marketing by HubSpot and get:

• 🏀 Exclusive stories from brands like the NBA and Oatly.

• 📚 Easy-to-digest tips you can act on today.

• 💡 Fresh ideas to elevate your next campaign.

Why wait? Join thousands of marketers getting smarter every week. Click to subscribe and start growing your impact now!

Subscribe Today

Smart channel expansion beats spray and pray

When it comes to marketing channels, many brands launch everything at once and then struggle to figure out what's actually driving results.

Caraway took a different path. Before launch, they built a 150k-person waitlist through strategic brand partnerships. How? By running giveaways with 5+ complementary brands, sharing email lists, and bringing subscribers along their R&D journey.

"We took a really methodical approach of launching basically one channel every three to six months, scaling it, making sure we saw the impact before adding on a new channel," Jordan explained.

The rollout looked like this:

• Started with Facebook retargeting

• Added Google for demand capture

• Expanded to influencer marketing (avoiding food influencers!)

• Tested retail through dropship first

• Added TV after proving other channels

• Now testing trucks in data-driven markets

Pro tip from Jordan: "We focused more on home design and lifestyle influencers who were really into materials and clean living. We found our niche by focusing on audiences other brands were ignoring."

Insight → Be purposeful and methodical with your marketing channel expansion. 

The Amazon equation: when it makes sense  

"When I came into Caraway, I was like, we're absolutely not doing Amazon ever. I hate the platform," Jordan told us. But then they discovered something wild → 40,000 people were searching for "Caraway" on Amazon every month.

That kind of forced their hand. When they finally moved to Amazon, their sales initially doubled month over month. 

Now the channel drives 30% of their revenue, virtually on autopilot:

• Started 10% above DTC pricing (people still bought!)

• Let an agency handle operations

• Higher overall profit margin given low operations overhead 

The hidden benefits Jordan discovered:

• Prime Day = "Our July holiday" with huge sales

• Captures late December shoppers past DTC shipping cutoffs

• Gets 10% back when driving external traffic to Amazon listings

• Perfect for testing new influencer and affiliate partnerships

Notably, Amazon also became a discovery engine for Caraway. They found that people were finding the brand on Amazon and actually coming back to their website to buy. 

"One initiative we just launched is running our Meta ads directly to Amazon," Jordan shared. "When you're driving outside traffic to Amazon, you get 10% of the sale price back. So it helps actually subsidize your ad spend."

Insight → Amazon isn’t for everyone, but if your customers are there searching for your brand, you should find a way to make it work. 

Remote teams that actually work

Building an 80-person remote team wasn't the plan. COVID forced their hand. But Caraway turned this challenge into a competitive advantage.

Jordan's Remote Framework:

Hire Differently

• Screen specifically for remote work capabilities

• Look for self-starters who thrive independently

• Value written communication skills

• Target talent that prefers flexibility

Set Crystal Clear Goals 

"One thing we've put a big emphasis on internally is setting really clear objectives and goals," Jordan shared. Their system:

• Yearly company theme

• Quarterly team OKRs

• Individual targets tied to company vision

• Regular goal tracking via Slack/Zoom

• Focus on async communication methods

Build Connection Points

• Use Slack huddles for quick problem-solving

• Schedule regular team offsites (95% attendance!)

• Mix work and play during meetups

• Ship products to team members for hands-on experience

As they grow, Jordan keeps uncovering the benefits of a distributed team over the traditional office.

Being remote opened doors to global talent they couldn't have accessed otherwise. Team members also were happier and found better balance, especially those who wanted to travel while working. He notes that their pace of execution meets or exceeds office-bound teams. 

On top of that, Caraway now saves on office costs while gaining diverse perspectives from team members across different regions.

"We have employees who travel around the world and work... I think we're able to capture talent that maybe others aren't because we're virtual," Jordan explained. 

Insight → Remote isn’t about trying to recreate the office. It’s about building new processes that improve clarity and increase worker productivity and satisfaction. 

Sum it up

Caraway launched in 2019 but has already become a household name thanks to Jordan’s stellar execution and leadership. 

They are blazing a path to 9 figures by:

• Launching channels one at a time to truly understand what works

• Embracing Amazon and finding the best ways to leverage it

• Building a foundation for high velocity, high impact remote work 

This is just a sample of our recent chat with Jordan. Check out the full episode to learn the inspiration behind Caraway and all the ways Jordan is driving profitable growth: 

That's it for today.

Back to crushing those BFCM sales! 💪

All the best,

Ron & Ash