How Sunday is trying to shake up the yard and garden industry

Sunday wants to be the DTC brand that powers everyone's backyard. The company first launched in 2019 with lawn care products, but has since expanded to pest control and garden products. While it's available in major retailers like Costco, Walmart, Lowe's and Target, Sunday's business is still 75% direct-to-consumer. "To be the outdoor home platform that we want to be, we really need to be able to be across these categories," founder and CEO Coulter Lewis said on the Modern Retail Podcast. He joined and spoke about how the company has grown over the last five years -- as well as what its plans are for the future. One way Sunday is able to keep such a large DTC base is by tailoring its online experience. For example, it has people send in soil samples, which then creates a report on the types of products they need for their outdoor spaces. "We actually now have the largest soil database ever created," Lewis said. And that type of program can't be replicated in a store like Walmart. And even the store experience itself isn't ideal -- especially the garden sections filled with 15-pound sacks of dirt and fertilizer where Sunday is usually sold. "When you walk in that part of the store, you smell it from 20 feet away -- it is legacy brands, legacy branding and incredibly confusing and intimidating." With this, Sunday is trying to have its customers opt for a newer brand that looks different than the previous industry leaders. And, have them purchase differently than before. While the company has been growing every year, it still has ambitions to reach new heights. "We're still brand new," Lewis said. "Our category, there's been nothing new in half a century -- fifty years of the same. And so, we're growing every year, expanding quickly." Get more from Modern Retail with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit modernretail.co/newsletters to sign up.