dpengster/dpengster
@October 24, 2023
New/updated proposal:
- The requested spending plan could not be approved considering the venture’s in-store and ecommerce potential is largely unproven. Early traction with friend and family is crucial and a great sign, but approving a proposal of this scale would require a working engine to go to market, acquire customers and achieve repeatability prior to increasing production.
- Production is appropriate for an experiment to sell (e.g.) 1,000 candles in a given timeline.
- We’re excited at the thought of your candles selling this holiday season. We recommend a small-scale direct to consumer user acquisition experiment to discover unit economics from at least one channel that can be scaled with further spend
- We recommend scoping the experiment to one or two campaigns designed to prove out the full lifecycle, whether in-store, online D2C or wholesale. This sets up for a substantial increase in budgeting for future proposals and Inkubation. An experiment of this nature can be accomplished with $5k or less.
- We strongly recommend running a presale inside and/or outside the community to give you a general idea of your ideal customer profile to hone against in your experiment.
Looking forward to seeing the next iteration of this proposal. We’re excited to work together in pursuit of its launch! Thank you!
- Information on existing sales and channels. It seems the business already exists and sell candles — we’re excited to see you double-down on your expertise — and we’d like to see any evidence of profitable user acquisition over time since launching your existing products. Their general performance from launch onwards would be important as a means of descoping the need for an experiment in favour of more aggressively going after something that already works.
- Information on unit economics and TOFU acquisition performance, especially current sales velocity per SKU and paid acquisition results. Information such as ARPU, LTV, CAC, CPA, repeat rate, inventory lifecycle and turn around, flow through of inventory and anything else you think relevant to help substantiate the opportunity as it is today
- Have you considered driving preorders from either the community or otherwise for this new SKU?
- The Council agrees a successful experiment would produce strong results from both online and in-store locations. We’re investigating how we might be able to support this proposal‘s in-store objectives and whether securing shelf space is a possibility.
- How do you currently handle production?
- Your spending plan doesn’t include any paid ad spend. What is the distribution plan assuming it isn’t possible to secure ShopDoodles or CAMP placement?
- What is the compensation plan for involved community artists?
- You can upload any relevant files to be reviewed by the Council using this direct link. Make sure to use INK-42 as your proposal ID
Thanks! You can chat with us in the Discord channel assigned to this proposal (INK-42).
Description
At LitDood, we aim to help bring Doodles to life through the power of scent. In collaboration with an established fragrance house, we have formulated a signature scent inspired by the joyful, creative and whimsical world of Doodles. The fragrance has been incorporated into our hand-poured eco-friendly signature candles that will serve to transport consumers into the colorful world of Doodles. The proprietary fragrance also has the potential to be diffused throughout any Doodles activation and the ambient scent can help create a full sensory and immersive experience.
Link to the LitDood pitch deck as follows: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFshHeR5wI/Qt0J67JfMomQJYUfpepuUg/view?utm_content=DAFshHeR5wI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink
Team Space:** On approval Days until launch: 60 Requested Budget (USD): 93000
Team:
@dpengster, MD – Founder of LitDood, Founder of Havyn LLC – Candle and Fragrance Companies
@christinapeng, MBA, CFA – Chief Marketing Officer at COOLA, ex-JNJ Marketing Executive, ex-Goldman, Advisor for Litdood, Proposed Operations and Marketing Consultant for LitDood
Artist for initial designs: @Artdood
Additional Community Artists interested in collaborating on designs and content: @ARB8i, @JJpencils, @NFT_Sushi, @ju1ced_
Questionnaire
What’s the key hypothesis your proposal tests that could bring value to the brand and holders? The colorful and joyful brand of Doodles has the immense potential to connect with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Doodles is currently recognized within the smaller Web3 community, the majority of which is millennial men. Doodles has an explicit goal of expanding their reach, of which one way is through in-real-life activations and partnerships like CAMP that opens up opportunities to connect with more men, women and children. There is an untapped opportunity to connect with guests and holders at a deeper level through scent branding.
A signature Doodles scent that embodies the colorful world of Doodles creates a unique brand signature that will help set Doodles apart and create deeper emotional connections with guests.
The global candle market itself is valued at $12.8 billion with millennial women driving most of the growth in the market. Candles are known to be one of the most giftable items for both men and women alike and has also benefited from the growing interest in self-care and home décor. A Doodles-inspired candle that elicits joy with the consumer connects with current and new audiences and keeps Doodles top of mind.
What’s the distinct value proposition of your proposal? Doodles embodies whimsical, carefree joy expressed through ventures in art, music, culture, entertainment, and is at the forefront of engaging experiences and content. The Doodles community is made up of loyal fans who are proud to associate themselves with Doodles and are looking for ways to express that both digitally and in real life.
Doodles fans seek to immerse themselves in the Doodles world and connecting with this audience through the power of scent remains an untapped opportunity. While guests are able to immerse themselves during live activations, these activations are momentary and short-lived. A LitDood candle offers the opportunity to extend the experience beyond the moment while allowing fans to experience the joy of Doodles at home and proudly display a unique piece of branded merchandise that embodies Doodles in their home.
Can your proposal be scaled and replicated if successful? Yes, the signature fragrance has already been developed and can be produced at significant quantities and incorporated into multiple product offerings, the first being candles.
Does your proposal introduce a new benefit for OG Doodles? Yes, our goal is to engage and draw more customers down the marketing funnel and ultimately the most loyal of fans, the OG Doodles. Through scent branding, we hope to create deeper connections between Doodles and guests.
How will your proposal broaden the appeal of Doodles to new audiences? There is a significant opportunity for scent branding and incorporating fragrance as a part of the Doodles brand. We can help build a deeper connection between guests and the brand. This proposal was created in line with Doodles’ aim to reach a larger target audience that includes families.
Does your proposal have the potential to increase revenue for our holders or the Inkubator? Anticipated Inkubator Revenue: $84,000
Suggested Retail Price (8oz candle): $42.00 Wholesale Price: $21.00
Anticipated Inkubator Revenue (assuming 4000 units purchased at Wholesale $21.00 and SRP $42.00): $84,000 Doodles x CAMP (assuming 1000 candles/month x 3 months): $63,000 ShopDoodles (assuming ~334 candles/month x 3 months): $21,000
Litdood Revenue: $ 100,800 Wholesale (Doodles x CAMP + ShopDoodles): $84,000 Direct to Consumer: $16,800
The above estimates assume only a product offering of candles. If the experiment is successful, LitDood plans to expand to other product offerings as well including air fresheners, diffusers, and personal care products. We can create new designs and scents of the aforementioned products as well.
For the commercial experiment grant, we are seeking to cover operating costs for the proposed 5-month test period (2 months initial production, 3 month in-market test period). As such, we are seeking $93,193 for the grant based on the Months 1-5 budget proposal.
Proposed Budget: $93,193
One-time costs: Supplies & Equipment (industrial wax melter, label applicator, industrial worktables, packout station): $15,252 Product Development (Label and Box Design, 1 per month): $1,200 Initial order quantity costs (4000 units): $17,541 Marketing & Operations (Site design, Operations and Marketing Consultant - 15 hrs/wk): $48,000 Commissioned Social Media Content (1 animation every 2 wks, 2 graphics a week for 12 weeks): $11,200 Total Costs: $93,193
Is your proposal structured to self-sustain its expenses? Yes, see previous regarding anticipated revenue.
If successful, do you plan to move your project to the Inkubation stage? Yes, scented candles are the initial use case for the scent, but the signature scent has been formulated for potential applications in diffusers, air fresheners, hand sanitizers, soaps, and personal care products. As the Doodles world and lore continues to develop, there will also be new opportunities to formulate additional scents that can be incorporated into multiple products.
Project Lead Additional Remarks
Scent Brief
The Doodles-inspired scent begins with sweet notes of cotton candy and rainbow sherbet combined with a lively zest of grapefruit. As the fragrance develops, it opens up to notes of pink berries, the crisp and juicy quality of apples and a floral meadow to bring forth a sense of blooming flowers to create an ethereal ambiance. Finally, it is anchored by the comforting base notes of vanilla musk as well as touches of meadow grass that add a green earthy element, evoking a sense of serenity of the outdoors. Together these notes blend beautifully to evoke joy, playfulness, and a whimsical carefree spirit that embodies Doodles.
This scent is a proprietary IFRA-certified scent that is gluten-free, vegan, cruelty-free, non-GMO, phthalate-free, IFRA certified that is safe for application in multiple consumer products.
The candle vessels are iridescent glass and as colorful as the brand. The wax is an in-house natural soy and coconut wax blend that is sustainable, eco-friendly, burns cleanly and provides a superior scent.
Empowering and Collaborating with Community Artists
The future label designs will be commissioned out to well-regarded community artists in the Doodles community, the first being @ArtDood to help support their work and concurrently elevate Doodles as a web3 native brand that empowers their community.