User:JSFarman/sandbox/August 2017 scratchbox

Brandless is an American online grocer. It manufactures and sells unbranded food, personal care products and household supplies. Founded by Ido Leffler and Tina Sharkey, it launched in July 2017 with a selection of 115 items, many of them health and environmentally-conscious.

Brandless limits its offerings to simplify choice; there is only one choice for each item. Every product is sold for $3.00, a price which the company says reflects the elimination of a "brand tax," or the costs associated with marketing, advertising, distribution, and brand cachet.

History
Sharkey and Leffler met while both were living in Mill Valley, California. Sharkey, the founder of iVillage and the former CEO of BabyCenter, had an extensive background in online communities, and Leffler, the founder of several companies, including Yes To, Inc. and Yoobi, had expertise in consumer products. They founded Brandless in 2014 to "set a landing point for a consumers" who sought "quality and transparency, and eschewed brand loyalty and the resulting choice overload familiar to anyone who’s ever stepped into a grocery store aisle." Sharkey and Leffler built a one-for-one social mission into the core business model; through a partnership with Feeding America, for every order placed, Brandless provides a meal for people in need.

In mid-2016 Sharkey resigned from her position as CEO of Sherpa Foundry to become CEO of Brandless, with Leffler serving as its chairman. The company raised $16 million in funding led by Redpoint Ventures in November 2016, and at launch had received a total of $50 million in venture capital from New Enterprise Associates, Google Ventures and others.

Brandless is based in San Francisco, and operates an additional facility in Minneapolis. Foods are GMO-free, health and beauty items are cruelty free, and paper products adhere to sustainable forestry practices. Products labels consist of only a white box with the product's name and two to five descriptors, such as organic, kosher, or gluten-free.