#334 - The Fabric of a Brand: Hedley & Bennett’s Founder on Community, Finance, and Growth

Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and chief brand officer of Hedley & Bennett, a culinary lifestyle brand that started as a B2B company, offering high-quality aprons to professional chefs, and later expanded both its product line (to include other kitchen items) and customer base (now largely DTC).In this episode of DTC Pod, Ellen shares her journey of starting the company while working as a line cook. She emphasizes the importance of a slow and steady approach to building a business, focusing on financial responsibility and gathering feedback from core customers to improve products. Ellen discusses her strategic approach to marketing, building an engaged community, and expanding the brand through collaborations with chefs, influencers, and creators. The conversation also touches on Hedley & Bennett’s expansion into DTC, their plans to go omnichannel, and how they’re investing sustainably for long-term success.Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. Grassroots Marketing2. Strategic Financial Management3. Customer Feedback in Product Development4. Building a Brand Community5. Product Seeding and Influencer Marketing6. Expanding from B2B to DTC7. Business Growth and SustainabilityTimestamps00:00 How Hedley & Bennett came about05:05 Why Ellen Marie Bennett started an apron brand07:28 Financial lessons from the first years of Hedley & Bennett15:03 Building a brand community16:03 How Hedley & Bennett expanded from B2B to DTC21:05 The importance of strong customer partnerships24:13 Product seeding and influencer marketing29:04 How customer feedback factors in the product iteration cycle33:09 Prioritizing long-term brand vision and investmentsShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok  Ellen Marie Bennett - CEO and Founder of Hedley & BennettBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic