SoftBank-backed Brandless shuts down after burning through $292.5 million of investors’ money

Brandless, a SoftBank-backed direct-to-consumer startup focused on food, beauty and personal care products, has shut down operations. The San Francisco-based was founded in 2016 by Ido Leffler and Tina Sharkey. Before the shutdown, Brandless raised up to $292.5 million for its vision of selling competitively priced products with plain packaging.

Brandless’ mission is selling competitively priced products with plain packaging. In a statement on its website, Brandless said the following:

“After more than two amazing years of bringing customers across the country better for you and better for the planet products, Brandless is halting operations. While the Brandless team set a new bar for the types of products consumers deserve and at prices they expect, the fiercely competitive direct-to-consumer market has proven unsustainable for our current business model.

The good news is that although Brandless products will no longer be available on our website, they will still exist in homes and kitchens everywhere thanks to you, our supporters and fans.

To all of our customers: thank you for trusting Brandless to bring you innovative products created with quality materials and clean ingredients that help you live well and take better care of yourself, your family and your home. We’re hopeful the future holds a new version of Brandless and that we see you again.”