SkinnyTok, Russian Propaganda, and PepsiCo’s Poppi Proposal

Mar 21, 2025

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The brilliant Orchid Bertelsen is back with a huge announcement… PLUS: From Aritzia x Sperry's viral fashion to the surprising new role of Amazon in eCommerce, we explore how brands are winning (and losing) in today’s retail landscape.

“I Would Sugarcoat This, But You Would Eat That Too”

Key takeaways:

[00:04:30] The Sperry x Aritzia collaboration is a calculated and strategic flexing of the Aritzia brand to drive traffic by leveraging the resurgence of the boat shoe trend.
[00:19:30] The new metric of business health and the future of retail and private equity.
[00:44:00] Has SkinnyTok gone too far?
[01:02:00] Our heroes of the week: White Lotus and their brand collaborations—authorized and unauthorized—and whoever designed this shirt.
[01:05:00] Our villains of the week: Pepsi, for buying Poppi (for $1.7 billion), and the new economic policies and tariff policies that drove Forever 21 and Dollar General out of business.
“The average shelf life of a digital skill is roughly 18 months…but I would say it’s 3-6 months.” – Orchid
“We know the algorithm is shaping how we think. The crazy part? We’re okay with it.” – Phillip
“My TLDR for the next three years? It goes back to business fundamentals. You have to be so diligent about every dollar in and every dollar out and run your business to maximize EBITDA.” – Orchid
“Large companies are not in the business of turnaround.” – Orchid
“So, Temporarily 21?” – Orchid
“Luxury brands think they can raise prices forever. The secondhand market is proving them wrong.” – Phillip

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