Why Brandless Failed When Aldi Succeeded

Brandless was primarily felled by a thesis that never panned out — that there were young consumers who craved a digital middle ground between dollar stores and malls. People who were price-sensitive, cared somewhat about quality, but not about brands. Walmart for hipsters. Trader Joe's for millennials.

From the beginning, Brandless painted itself into a corner: At $3 per item, it’s hard to make a profit selling high quality consumer and food products unless you’re driving huge volume. For customers, ordering enough $3 items to hit a free-shipping minimum can be exhausting.

Brandless launched in 2017 with hundreds of products and immediately received a lot of attention — good and bad.