The Emotional Secret Behind Billion-Dollar Brands ft. Craig Dubitsky

The Emotional Secret Behind Billion-Dollar Brands ft. Craig Dubitsky

From Consumer VC by Mike Gelb

February 25, 2026 · 1h 38m

About this episode

Mike Gelb interviews Craig Dubitsky about the emotional aspects of branding and creating beloved consumer products.

This episode is brought to you by The Hidden Gems. 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. They’ve supported brands like Dr. Squatch, Monster Energy, Gorilla Mind, FIGS, and Saatva. David Drexler is offering his service free forever to anyone in the Consumer VC community who mentions the show.Learn more: https://thehiddengems.com/ Most consumer brands don’t fail because of product. They fail because they forget how to connect. In this episode, Mike sits down with Craig Dubitsky , founder of EOS , hello products , and now Happy Coffee . Craig has built multiple category-defining brands by turning everyday commodities into emotional, playful, design-forward experiences. 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. This conversation goes deep into creativity, mass retail strategy, pricing, storytelling, and why joy is actually a serious…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Gelb

Guest: Craig Dubitsky

Topics covered

  • branding
  • consumer products
  • emotional connection
  • retail strategy
  • design
  • storytelling

Keywords

  • billion-dollar brands
  • emotional branding
  • retail velocity
  • product design
  • consumer experience

Sponsors

The Hidden Gems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EOS, hello products, Happy Coffee, Dr. Squatch, Monster Energy, Gorilla Mind, FIGS, Saatva

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