
Ep 612: The Bootstrap Beauty Brand Going Up Against BlackRock in Target – Megababe
From DTC Podcast by DTC Newsletter and Podcast
May 18, 2026 · 37 min
About this episode
Katie Sturino discusses her journey in building Megababe, a beauty brand focused on chafe solutions, and shares insights on retail growth and marketing strategies.
Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Katie Sturino built Megababe with 60,000 followers, two co-founders who'd never had chafe, and an MOQ of 20,000 units stacked in her parents' garage. Eight years later it's profitable, in Target, Walmart, CVS, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and on Amazon. Never raised a dollar. Never grew less than 33% year over year. In this episode Katie walks through how she built a category that didn't exist. Manufacturers didn't know what chafe was. Press didn't know what chafe was. The Today Show hit on June 30, 2017 and they sold out every unit by July 1. Then the real work started. Inside: why retail is when the grind begins (not when you've made it), why she still ranks "people just dealing with it" as her biggest competitor, the husband-given marketing fix that solved deodorant aisle confusion in one sticker, the accidental Amazon Super Bowl ad placement, why their hemorrhoid product is a top seller on Amazon, and the moment her sister convinced her soap was worth doing. Plus the new "I'm Not Fine Index" campaign, why NYC taxi ads outperform every digital channel they run, and the one piece of advice Katie has for…
People in this episode
Guest: Katie Sturino
Topics covered
- entrepreneurship
- retail growth
- product marketing
- brand building
- chafe solutions
- advertising strategies
Keywords
- Megababe
- chafe
- retail
- Target
- Walmart
- advertising
- entrepreneurship
- Amazon
- The Today Show
- brand building
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Megababe, Target, Walmart, CVS, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Amazon, The Today Show, DTC Newsletter, Pilothouse
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