Beauty Brands Don't Need Amazon

Why Dip choose not to be on Amazon, run ads, or be in big box retail.

Author

Aaron Alpeter
February 11, 2026

In partnership with

When the Default Playbook Breaks the Business

Most founders are taught to scale first and ask questions later. Kate Assaraf knew that playbook inside and out, and chose not to follow it. In this episode of Business Worth Buying, we unpack what happens when you optimize for trust, control, and durability instead of speed and extraction.

Key Takeaways

  1. Why Amazon creates fragility, not leverage

  2. How refill stores act as a trust filter, not just a channel

  3. The difference between revenue growth and sustainable profit

  4. Why friction can actually strengthen customer loyalty

  5. What peace looks like as a business metric

We’re hosting a panel discussion for European brands considering US expansion to talk through those questions from an operator’s perspective.

The conversation will cover:

  1. Signals that say “now” vs “not yet”

  2. Channel focus vs early distraction

  3. How US fulfillment models differ from Europe

  4. Structural and tax blind spots teams often miss

  5. When US expansion truly unlocks growth and when it becomes a distraction

If the US is on your roadmap, we’d be glad to have you join.

Live webinar, Tuesday, February 17th 1pm GMT / 8am ET
Sponsored by Linnworks

The Myth: Inventory Is a Fulfillment Problem

When inventory piles up, teams instinctively look to:

  • Warehouse efficiency

  • 3PL performance

  • Slotting, storage, or pick logic

Those things matter, but they’re rarely the root cause.

Warehouses don’t decide how much to buy.

They only hold what the business already committed to.

By the time inventory feels like a fulfillment issue, the risk has already been approved.

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