<p><strong>This episode is brought to you by The Hidden Gems.</strong>Hiring agencies is risky — most overpromise and underdeliver. The Hidden Gems connects founders with highly vetted, brand-beloved boutique agencies across media, creative, dev/design, events, social, and more — at preferred rates.</p><p>They’ve supported brands like Dr. Squatch, Monster Energy, Gorilla Mind, FIGS, and Saatva.</p><p>David Drexler is offering his service free forever to anyone in the Consumer VC community who mentions the show.Learn more: <a href="https://thehiddengems.com/" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://thehiddengems.com/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Most consumer brands don’t fail because of product.<br>They fail because they forget how to connect.</p><p>In this episode, Mike sits down with <strong>Craig Dubitsky</strong>, founder of <strong>EOS</strong>, <strong>hello products</strong>, and now <strong>Happy Coffee</strong>. Craig has built multiple category-defining brands by turning everyday commodities into emotional, playful, design-forward experiences.</p><p>From reinventing lip balm to reimagining toothpaste — and now taking on coffee — Craig shares how he thinks about brand personality, retail, packaging, and creating products people genuinely love.</p><p>This conversation goes deep into creativity, mass retail strategy, pricing, storytelling, and why joy is actually a serious competitive advantage.</p><p><br></p><p>You’ll learn:<br>✅ How Craig turned EOS into a cultural phenomenon<br>✅ Why branding is about emotion, not features<br>✅ The real secret behind hello’s success in oral care<br>✅ How to win in “boring” categories<br>✅ Why mass doesn’t have to mean generic<br>✅ The role of design in driving retail velocity<br>✅ What most founders misunderstand about differentiation<br>✅ Why Craig is building Happy Coffee differently<br>✅ How to build brands people feel something for</p><p><br></p><p>👉 If you&#39;re building in consumer and want to understand how emotional connection drives scale, this episode is a masterclass. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro<br>02:00 Craig’s early career &amp; first entrepreneurial instincts<br>05:00 The idea behind EOS<br>10:00 Making lip balm emotional &amp; design-led<br>15:00 Scaling EOS into mass retail<br>20:00 The power of playfulness in branding<br>25:00 Founding hello products<br>30:00 Reinventing toothpaste &amp; oral care<br>35:00 Competing in commoditized categories<br>40:00 Packaging as a strategic weapon<br>45:00 How to win shelf space in mass retail<br>50:00 Why most brands overcomplicate messaging<br>55:00 Emotional connection vs functional benefits<br>01:00:00 Retail relationships &amp; long-term brand building<br>01:05:00 Mistakes founders make scaling too fast<br>01:10:00 How Craig evaluates new ideas<br>01:15:00 The origin of Happy Coffee<br>01:20:00 Rethinking coffee positioning<br>01:25:00 What Craig is doing differently this time<br>01:30:00 Lessons from building multiple brands<br>01:34:00 Advice for consumer founders01:37:00 Final thoughts</p><p><br></p><p>📬 Subscribe for more founder stories &amp; scaling insights:<br>👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter – <a href="https://www.theconsumervc.com/" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://www.theconsumervc.com/</a></p><p>Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc</p>