17 Fast-Growing B2C Startups In 2023
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It’s never been a better time for startups ranging from apps to baby clothing to sell to consumers with a wide variety of internet-based marketing channels available, and the rise of social media and influencers to help nascent brands grow quickly.
Business to consumer (B2C) companies are thriving in the internet age with an estimated total market size of $4.01T as of 2021.
Read below for our list of exciting startups that are shaking up the status quo in traditional industries like flower delivery, beauty, and consumer products that have long relied on middlemen to sell and distribute their wares.
1. Shein
5-year search growth: 740%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2008
Location: Nanjing, China
Funding: $2.1B (Series F)
What they do: Shein beat out Amazon as one of the world’s top 3 globally downloaded apps in 2021. How’d they do it? By connecting rabid American fashion shoppers directly with China’s efficient garment factories pumping out the latest clothing trends. As of June 2021, Shein accounted for a staggering 28% of all American fast fashion sales.
2. Speechify
5-year search growth: 99X+
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: Miami, Florida
Funding: Undisclosed (Seed)
What they do: Estimates say that between 5-12% of students in America have dyslexia, but very few effective solutions have existed to help students stay on track with their peers. Speechify has over 2M users and is one of the top Google Chrome extensions in existence.
The application allows students or readers to listen to any PDF with their innovative text-to-speech reader.
3. Swappie
5-year search growth: 6000%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2016
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Funding: $169.4M (Series C)
What they do: Swappie’s business model is dead simple. Offer quality refurbished iPhones with a 12-month warranty at a fraction of the price of new iPhones.
Available in many of the EU countries, Swappie’s secret sauce is their in-house technician team that runs through a 52 step technical testing process in combination with top-tier customer support.
4. Glossier
5-year search growth: 13%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2010
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $266.4M (Series E)
What they do: Glossier has exploded in fame since its founding in 2010. Product features for their beauty products in publications like the New York Times dramatically grew their organic fanbase. The DTC powerhouse based in NYC recently opened its first international flagship brick and mortar location in London.
Today, Glosser generates around $130M in revenue and has scaled to 300 employees.
5. Rappi
5-year search growth: 258%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Bogota, Columbia
Funding: $2.3B (Secondary Market)
What they do: Rappi, the South American startup that’s taken the continent by storm, gives users the ability to order a wide range of products for delivery including groceries, medication, restaurant delivery, or even couriers to walk your dog.
The app has also expanded into payment services. Softbank has pledged up to $1B in funding for the Bogota-based startup.
6. Soylent
5-year search growth: -50%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Los Angeles, California
Funding: $133.3M (Series B)
What they do: Soylent started out as an experiment by 4 software engineering roommates out in Silicon Valley who were tired of eating a repetitive diet of ramen and frozen foods day after day. Soylent is essentially a complete meal converted into a drink, powder, or bar.
7. Theragun
5-year search growth: 4400%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2008
Location: Dallas, Texas
Funding: $165M (Private Equity)
What they do: Therabody, the parent company behind the worldwide sensation Theragun, has managed to create an entirely new segment in health and wellness with their line of at-home massage and recovery products.
Before Theragun massages were typically only enjoyed by wealthy consumers but Theragun gives everyone the ability to be their own masseuse at home. Therabody was founded by an MD who was recovering from a nasty motorcycle accident.
8. Daily Harvest
5-year search growth: 37%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2015
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $120M (Series D)
What they do: There have been a plethora of direct-to-consumer food delivery services over the last few years, and many aren’t able to carve out a niche in the market. Daily Harvest made a conscious decision to target the organic health crowd with offerings like smoothies, flatbreads, and chia bowls.
The NYC startup just launched Harvest Bakes, ready-to-eat dishes made from veggies that are completely free from synthetic additives. Celebrity investors like Serena Williams, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Bobby Flay have helped Daily Harvest generate $125M in revenue.
9. Taylor & Hart
5-year search growth: 28%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2010
Location: London, U.K.
Funding: $5.9M (Debt Financing)
What they do: After being featured in publications ranging from Forbes to GQ, Taylor & Hart has taken off with their accessible take on picking out that perfect engagement ring. A DTC shakeup on what’s typically been a very old-fashioned process, Taylor & Hart has numerous customization options and payment plans like buy now, pay later.
T&H has racked up an impressive list of awards including Professional Jewelers Digital Innovator of the Year and Young Jeweler of the Year finalist nods.
10. Quip
5-year search growth: -44%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Funding: $162.2M (Series B)
What they do: Brooklyn-based Quip, the trendy oral care startup with over 25K five star reviews and glowing reviews like “best electric toothbrush” by GQ, has taken the electric toothbrush market by storm.
The affordable toothbrushes start at $25 and pair with the Quip app, letting users have complete visibility into their brushing habits and statistics. Over 5M people have purchased Quip products so far and their toothbrush has been named a Top 25 Invention by Time Magazine.
11. Mori
5-year search growth: 17%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: London, U.K.
Funding: $8.2M (Series A)
What they do: Parents love pampering their babies and what better way to pamper than organic, sustainably crafted pajamas and clothes. Baby Mori offers a wide range of soft baby clothing that is produced in two renowned garment factories on the Turkish coast.
Since 2016, Mori has been growing around 30% month over month, with roughly half their revenue coming from repeat buyers. Mori claims many mothers have purchased between 15-20 pieces.
12. Geologie
5-year search growth: 2700%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2018
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $5M (Debt Financing)
What they do: Men’s skincare startup Geologie is making noise for their no-nonsense take on providing men with effective, clinically-proven ingredients across their skincare line. Geologie offers a 30 day trial period where users can send back products if they’re not impressed.
13. Calm
5-year search growth: 57%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2012
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $218M (Series C)
What they do: Partnerships with elite athletes like Lebron James and storied actors like Cillian Murphy have put SF-based meditation Calm firmly on the map for American consumers. In 2021, Calm brought in 120 million cumulative downloads across all devices.
Calm has the distinct honor of being named the 2017 iPhone App of the Year and editor’s choice on Google Play in 2018.
14. Yooji
5-year search growth: 375%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2012
Location: Bordeaux, France
Funding: $19.3M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Yooji offers parents a new choice when it comes to baby food. Fresh, organic ingredients in pre-portioned packaging make it easy for parents to dole out the daily dose of nutrients and vitamins to their little ones.
15. Huel
5-year search growth: 196%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2014
Location: Hertford, U.K.
Funding: $48.1M (Series B)
What they do: Founder Julian Hearn started Huel after selling his last media startup to Interbrands in 2011. Huel, his healthy meal DTC, recently hit 200M meals sold. The brand has mixed up its product line with an apparel launch and aims to be the premier DTC nutrition brand. Over 100 countries and 1M paying members use Huel.
16. CodeSpark
5-year search growth: 1011%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2014
Location: Pasadena, California
Funding: $4.2M (Convertible Note)
What they do: CodeSpark is a B2C startup that provides a fun and educational coding platform for children aged 5 to 9. The company's mission is to empower kids to become future innovators and problem-solvers through coding, while also fostering creativity and critical thinking skills. With games, puzzles, and interactive coding challenges, CodeSpark makes learning to code engaging and accessible for young learners.
17. FirstCry
5-year search growth: 50%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2010
Location: Pune, India
Funding: $741.4M (Secondary Market)
What they do: FirstCry is the dominant player in India’s baby and children clothing industry. Over 25M babies are born each year in the world’s second-largest country, which would explain why FirstCry has reached unicorn status with over 380 stores across India as of the end of 2020.
Conclusion
The internet has revolutionized the ability of startups to reach their ideal customer, and we’re just getting started. By knocking down the walls of startup costs, removing rent-seeking middlemen, and allowing brands to tell their own story, it’s no surprise that many business to consumer brands have thrived in the internet age.
Be sure to keep track of these high-flying names as they continue to scale and innovate.