10 Lifestyle Product Brand Success Stories [2024]
A lifestyle brand is a company that makes products that are designed to reflect a certain way of life or attitude.
Lifestyle brands sell various products, including clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and home goods.
These companies often focus on their customers' lifestyles, and they don't just sell products—they sell an experience.
Lifestyle brand businesses are a relatively recent trend. They are changing the way that small businesses compete in the marketplace by offering personal and relevant products and services to consumers.
In this list, you'll find real-world lifestyle product brand success stories and very profitable examples of starting a lifestyle product brand that makes money.
1. Stone ($1.2M/year)
Stefan Johnson, co-founder of STONE, came up with the idea for their business while photographing a two-Michelin-star chef using a regular notebook that kept sliding on the kitchen surface. Together with his client Eliot, they brainstormed and came up with the concept for a chefs notebook with unique features, including stone paper, which led to the launch of their successful Kickstarter campaign and the creation of STONE.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 5
Cookbook designers, Stefan Johnson and Eliot Dudik launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 hitting its funding target in 24 hours, thus kickstarting the business that has 6 new products, a monthly revenue of around $40,000, and over 45,000 products sold with plans to double its turnover by 2020 by expanding product line and corporate offering.
2. Blvck Paris ($1.2M/year)
Julian O'hayon, the co-founder of Blvck Paris, came up with the idea for his business through his passion for minimalistic design and his success on Instagram showcasing black-themed images. After his photos of everyday items edited to be completely black went viral, Julian knew he wanted to create an all-black lifestyle brand, and thus Blvck Paris was born.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $80K
How many people on the team: 2
How a co-founder started an all-black lifestyle brand that grew to over 640k followers on Instagram and reached $100k/month revenue within 2 years.
3. American Blossom Linens ($600K/year)
Janet Wischnia, founder of American Blossom Linens, came up with the idea for her business as a way to take her family's bedding manufacturing company back to its retail roots. With the growing demand for sustainable and American-made products, Janet saw an opportunity to create high-quality bedding made completely in the USA from USA-grown cotton. Despite launching right before the COVID-19 pandemic, American Blossom Linens experienced a 400% sales growth in 2020 and continues to grow in 2021.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 3
American Blossom Linens grew sales by 400% during the pandemic to become a profitable business, offering direct-to-consumer high-quality bedding made entirely in the US from 100% domestically grown cotton. Founder Janet Wischnia switched from her role as the company's president to create this eco-friendly brand, which offers personalized support and attention to detail to customers.
4. Grip Spritz ($420K/year)
taken over the years. Our customer base grew exponentially, with athletes and teams from all over the country using Grip Spritz to enhance their performance on the court. We now have a solid presence in the basketball community and continue to innovate and expand our product line. The future looks bright as we aim to establish Grip Spritz as the go-to solution for athletes seeking optimal grip on dusty courts.
How much money it makes: $420K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 3
Grip Spritz, a traction product for basketball and volleyball shoes, was founded by a golfer, lawyer, and recent graduate-turned-tour-manager, and after years of hard work and grassroots marketing, the company has seen explosive growth, quadrupling its success in 2022 by expanding into Amazon and sports magazines and partnering with nationwide basketball camps.
5. Waxing Kara ($396K/year)
Kara Brook Brown, the founder of Waxing Kara, came up with the idea for her business while working as an artist painting with encaustic, a paint made with beeswax. Through her beekeeping hobby, she became fascinated by honey production and the importance of bees to our food supply. This led her to start Waxing Kara, creating natural Bee Inspired food products and skin-loving bath and beauty goods that include ingredients made possible by honeybees.
How much money it makes: $396K/year
How many people on the team: 3
This case study follows the journey of Waxing Kara, a Bee Inspired® food products and bath and beauty goods business which generates $33K per month, and highlights the importance of inventory management, education, and relationships with customers and bee colonies.
6. Big Bee, Little Bee ($240K/year)
Founder Amy Leinbach came up with the idea for Big Bee, Little Bee when her 2.5-year-old daughter wanted to wash herself but couldn't find a suitable tool. She decided to create the ScrubBEE silicone scrubber, which quickly gained popularity and became her top-selling product. Despite the challenges of 2020, Leinbach managed to grow her business significantly, gaining features on Good Morning America and expanding her retail partnerships.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 1
"Founder of Big Bee, Little Bee discusses how her daughter inspired her innovative products, including the top-selling Easy-Grip Silicone Scrubber, and how they managed to grow their business after being featured on national TV shows, despite challenges in 2020."
7. Black Luxe Candle Co. ($240K/year)
Brittany was enthusiastic about gifting within her family, so instead of buying physical presents, she started making candles. After posting a picture of one of her creations online, she received inquiries from people curious about how they could purchase one of her candles. After giving it some thought, she decided to turn her hobby into a business.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 0
Learn how a candle designer increased her sales from $4,800 in 2019 to $40,000 in 2020, with a net profit of $12,000 in November alone, by focusing on creating a luxury experience with her candles and showing them in a non-traditional way.
8. Sustainably Chic ($204K/year)
Natalia's business idea for Sustainably Chic stemmed from her passion for sustainable fashion, which she developed after becoming fatigued with the industry’s wastefulness and unethical practices.
At the time, sustainable fashion was not a popular topic and she felt like no one talked about it.
Motivated by a desire to create an impactful platform and realizing the lack of resources in sustainable fashion, she started her online community to showcase ethical brands, which quickly gained a significant following.
How much money it makes: $204K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 1
This case study follows the founder of Sustainably Chic, a sustainable fashion blog with 60k monthly visitors and $6k monthly revenue, providing insights on building a successful blog, effective branding, and the importance of value and sustainability.
9. Katie Did What ($180K/year)
Katie started her blog, Katie Did What, almost ten years ago as a personal outlet, growing it into a full-time business with 75,000 unique monthly visitors and $100,000+ annual net profits through sponsored posts and affiliate marketing.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 2
Katie, the creator of 'Katie Did What' lifestyle blog and personal brand, makes over 6-figures annually through offering sponsored advertisements and affiliate programs, using SEO and producing quality, genuine content.
10. Ohrna ($12K/year)
Jhumkee Iyengar, a seasoned product design consultant, was inspired by her interactions with rural women in India to launch Ohrna, a sustainable and fair-trade lifestyle products brand. Drawing upon her expertise in design, Iyengar chose jute as the primary material and taught rural women artisanal skills to create handcrafted backpacks, totes, and more. Ohrna combines traditional techniques with contemporary designs and has trained and employed around 15 women, generating $12,000 in revenue in its second year.
How much money it makes: $12K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 2
Ohrna is a sustainable lifestyle products brand that empowers rural women in India by providing them with training and resources to create embroidered jute products, with current revenues of around $12,000 and 15 women employed.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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