From social to shelf without a pitch | Hannah Samano | Founder and CEO | Unfabled

From social to shelf without a pitchHannah Samano left Unilever at the height of the direct-to-consumer boom to build something from nothing. She's now founder and CEO of Unfabled, a women's health and supplements brand that has gone from a pure D2C launch to 730+ Boots stores, Holland & Barrett online and 61 Sainsbury's stores, without ever pitching for that first retail deal.In this episode Hannah tells Adam how Boots messaged them a month after their first supplement line went live, why she's grown revenue 10x in two years with six full-time people, and how a D2C-native brand ends up with an advantage on a supermarket shelf that bigger players don't have.It's a practical conversation for anyone in FMCG weighing up the crossover between digital and retail. What actually transfers, what doesn't, and why Hannah reckons retail "feels less rickety" than D2C.In this episodeWhy she walked away from Unilever's D2C push, and what from that playbook still earns its keepTaking a six-person team to 10x revenue, and the communication maths behind staying leanWhat Unfabled keeps in-house (growth, IP, product development) versus what it briefs out"Retail chose us": the Boots Ignite story and the jump from 50 to 737 storesUsing community data to win on shelf, and bringing personalisation to the shelf edgeRepositioning creatine for women, away from the gym-bro association it has carried for decadesSelling everyday health next to the bread and milk, and building trust in two secondsWhat has shifted in women's health, and the $1 trillion number that changed the funding conversationChapters01:36 . Hannah's path: Unilever, Nairobi and a focus on female health03:31 . Leaving Unilever at the peak of the D2C bubble06:37 . What transfers from a corporate playbook to a startup12:17 . The case for a deliberately lean team15:41 . Building the systems that let a small team move fast16:39 . What stays in-house and what gets briefed out18:54 . "Retail chose us": the Boots Ignite story23:17 . Unfabled Labs, community data and the shelf-edge advantage26:14 . Repositioning creatine for women29:17 . Winning trust in two seconds on a Sainsbury's shelf32:38 . D2C versus retail, and why retail feels less rickety35:29 . South by Southwest, and momentum as a startup's currency37:14 . What's changed in women's health, and the $1 trillion shift39:13 . Where to find Hannah and UnfabledAbout Hannah and UnfabledHannah Samano is the founder and CEO of Unfabled, a women's health and supplements brand she started in 2021 after struggling to find products that worked for her own hormonal health. Before that she spent several years at Unilever, including a spell at Unilever Ventures and on the team that built its first in-house D2C personal care brand.Unfabled: unfabled.co, and on Instagram and TikTokHannah: Hannah Samano on LinkedInListen and subscribeBeyond The Brand is a bi-weekly podcast and newsletter for marketers learning from the people shaping the future of brands. New episodes on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Substack and LinkedIn.