Success Case: Pela

Pela Case is a brand that specializes in sustainable consumer electronic accessories. Its main product is a mobile phone case made of recycled materials. Its peripheral products include mobile phone holders, earphone cases, watch straps, charging cables, card holders, and even sunglasses. Pela Case’s official website shows that Pela Case claims to make the most sustainable mobile phone cases on the planet.

You should know that “sustainable” is a concept higher than “environmental protection”. It is not only about using degradable materials that do not damage the earth’s environment, but also about taking into account social and economic factors, such as using degradable materials and factories that use clean electricity at a price that ordinary people can afford, taking into account the environment, production process, and people.

How Does Pela Biodegradable Phone Case Make Money?

1. DTC model: cut out the middlemen and reduce the official website price by 30%

• Traditional pain point: the profits of the mobile phone case industry are mostly eaten up by dealers, and the brand side makes no money.
• Pela’s ruthless move: the official website directly operates an independent website, and gives $15 of the $40 price to users (compared to Amazon’s same quality case selling for $55);
• Use the “environmental bill” function to visualize the benefits: buy 1 case = reduce 35 grams of plastic and donate $0.5 to ocean protection.
• In 2020, the official website contributed 85% of sales, and repeat users placed an average of 2.7 orders.

2. Subscription system: “Monthly disposable” mobile phone cases

Recycle old cases to grow flowers! Users complain: Eco-friendly cases are not broken after a year, but they want to change to new styles.

• Pela’s tough trick: Launch “Seasonal Disposal Plan”: $12 per month, users send back old cases when they receive new ones, and Pela composts them for free;
• Old case processing: Recycled cases are crushed and mixed with seeds to make “eco-friendly bricks” and donate them to community gardens.
• 62% of subscribers admit that “the case is not broken, but they want to change to new styles”, relying on “guilty of chasing trends” to attract stickiness.

3. Marketing trick: Throwing $0.5 into the sea for every shell sold

• “Who doesn’t want to donate money? But Pela even rolls up the wrapping paper!”
• Cooperating with 1% for the Planet, the user’s order page displays the cumulative donation amount in real time (over $2 million to date);
• The wrapping paper is printed with seed paper, which can be used to grow lavender after soaking in water. Social media is competing to show “shell planting diaries”;
• Even the tape on the express boxes is replaced with glutinous rice glue, which dissolves immediately when it comes into contact with water. Netizens joked: “This company is so environmentally friendly!”