Welcome back to the Platter Newsletter, where we cover the latest news, tactics, and trends shaping Shopify and beyond.

In this issue

🧼 Unilever buys Dr. Squatch
📦 Sidio’s modular store
🥯 Rooftop sauna + coffee meetup in NYC
🇺🇸 TikTok gets another extension
💳 FICO watches your Klarna tab
💰 Zuck makes $100M job offers

STORY OF THE WEEK

Unilever acquires Dr. Squatch

Unilever just scooped up Dr. Squatch. You know, the DTC soap brand known for Pine Tar bars, subscription boxes, and a marketing that, well… kicks ass.

If you’ve seen the Sydney Sweeney campaign that went stratospheric (👀), you get it.

Dr. Squatch turned natural smelling soap into a content machine:

• Launched 2013 in San Diego

• Raised $100k through crowdfunding in 2016

• Collabs with Marvel, SpongeBob, Mike Tyson and Star Wars

• Rugged, gritty soap bars offering men a product designed specifically for them

• Marketed as natural, in cardboard packaging (low/no plastic)

• 9M+ customers

• A playbook every CPG brand wishes they had

And most importantly, they seemed to crack the code on getting Gen Z men to actually buy things.

This is a classic “if you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em” move from Unilever and a reminder that personality + product is a hard combination to beat.

The takeaway: Build an authentic brand that people laugh with, make a big enough dent in the market and the big dogs might just show up with a check.

STORE OF THE WEEK

Sidio: Modular storage that actually looks good

We’re not usually ones to brag, but we’re heckin proud of this one. Check out the brand-new store we helped build for the team at Sidio (sidiocrate.com).

Sidio is a brand built around stackable, customizable crates that somehow make organizing your life... cool?

Here are three of our favorite things:

• We love the kit builder. Customers can customize step by step with simple controls to change colors, add dividers, and preview updates in real time.

• Their mega menu is a thing of beauty. Clear categories with big product images so shoppers know exactly what they’re clicking.

• The homepage organizes products by real-world use cases or applications to make choosing the right create stupid easy.

Go on, give it a look. We’ll wait.

EVENT OF THE WEEK

Rooftop + Sauna + Bagels

Are you in NYC this week? Do you like coffee, bagels, and hanging out on a rooftop... with a sauna? This one might be for you.

Platter is hosting another social gathering this Wednesday at 8 AM. Come connect with fellow founders, marketers, and ecommerce peeps with a view of the city.

Details:

• What: Coffee, bagels, sauna, and networking for ecommerce folk.

• When: Wednesday, 8:00 AM

• Where: A rooftop in NYC (because of course it is).

• RSVP Here: https://lu.ma/pm7iy6vw

Spaces are limited, so grab your spot before it's too late.

OTHER INTERESTING STUFF THIS WEEK

TikTok's ban is delayed... again.

Just when you thought the TikTok saga couldn't get more dramatic, the White House has punted on the ban enforcement for a third time, pushing the deadline to September. This marks the third delay since the original January 19 deadline. While the app remains accessible, the future of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance. Read the full story.

FICO is officially watching your Klarna tab.

For the first time, FICO will include Buy Now, Pay Later behavior in credit scores. Great for responsible Gen Z shoppers. Less great for the ones who forgot to pay for that $600 Shein haul. Either way, BNPL just got more interesting. Read the full story.

Zuck is handing out $100M job offers like candy.

Meta’s in full AI arms race mode, with Zuckerberg personally trying to poach top OpenAI talent. Offers reportedly hit $100M+ to join his new “GPU cluster” dream team. OpenAI’s countering with raises and promotions. Read the full story.

We went live to talk PDPs.

Last week we hosted a LinkedIn Live breaking down what makes a high-converting product detail page. Real examples, design tips, and some spicy takes on what brands are still getting wrong. Watch the replay.

Barbie's getting an AI upgrade.

Mattel’s working with OpenAI to bring generative AI to its toys. Your kid’s next playmate might come with a built-in language model. Welcome to the weird (pink) future. Read the story.