It’s almost impossible to not make fun of Goop. It reminds me of stories like Juicero: the OG
Schadenfreude of the Company Forensics stories you guys enjoy.
But I’m going to leave the pleasure of telling you this story to Elle,
the newest guest in our Youtube channel. Elle is an early-stage investor at Miami Angels
and flew to our studio in Costa Rica to shoot a couple of Forensics episodes with us.
Imagine getting a vagina-scented candle as a present. And, it's $75.
What to make of this? Is it weird, funny, outlandish?
Or is it empowering because it's destigmatizing the female body? Debatable,
but what is clear is it's sold by Goop.
Goop is the "modern lifestyle brand" that has brought us such
wonderful revolutionary products as the Psychic Vampire Repellent Spray ($27), Glacce Rose Quartz
Bottle ($80), Goop Jade Vaginal Egg ($66). So, how does a company sell these items and,
according to Pitchbook, make $255m in Revenue in Just 2019?
Goop embodies the extremes of wellness culture and pseudoscience
permeating into mainstream adoption. But there's a reason
why this company has received legitimacy and notoriety: its founder Gwyneth Paltrow.
Welcome to Company Forensics - The Goop story.
Earning the rank of most hated celebrity isn't easy. But that's what the tabloids called Paltrow
in 2014, after her "conscious uncoupling" from Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay.
BTW, "conscious uncoupling" is fancy celebrity lingo for divorce.
Paltrow was definitely an A-list actress and no stranger to controversy.
Even her 1999 Oscar for Shakespeare in Love
is thought of to many as a major upset. But for as many people who hate Paltrow,
there are perhaps just as many who aspire to be her. We love to hate her.
Paltrow represented what was and perhaps still is the quintessential Hollywood ideal of beauty.
She's blonde, wealthy, thin, and famous. And she found a way to package up that
image and dream into a brand for sale at a high price point no less.
Goop had simple beginnings in 2008 when Paltrow debuted Goop as a nutritional newsletter. The
first issue featured recipes for banana nut muffins and turkey ragú. Harmless enough.
The company started off as a silly and fun project. The name "Goop" got its name when
branding legend Peter Arnell told Paltrow that all successful internet companies have
double o's in their name. So she added that to her initials GP.
By that logic, should these guys rename Slidebean Slideboon?
Although it started as a simple newsletter by 2009, it had around 150,000 subscribers.
After approximately six years of recommending products and gaining trust from her audience,
Gwyneth Paltrow pursued her bigger ambitions for the company. So, Goop jumped into e-commerce
in 2014. It launched products like branded vitamins, fashion, and housewares to start.
The idea to go into e-commerce made sense. Goop had a loyal and captive audience that
all aspired for that perfect Gwyneth Paltrow lifestyle.
And those fans proved willing to spend whatever money it took to achieve that goal. This allowed
Goop to charge everyday items at absurd price points. For example, a $725 pajama set.
There are honestly too many ridiculous
and expensive products to all go through. Here are just a couple.
Soon Goop became synonymous with privileged, expensive,
and absurd products. In fact, prominent VCs took notice because of just that.
But Paltrow wanted the brand to outgrow herself. In 2016, she publicly stated that her goal was
to separate herself from the brand until no one would remember she had anything to
do with it. However, right now, it's tough to separate Goop from its infamous founder.
And, Goop had plenty of momentum. The company raised
$50 million in its Series C led by New Enterprise Associates in 2018.
Most recently documented, the company raised an estimated $53 million of Series D from Greycroft
in 2019. The pre-money valuation was $380 million. But controversy was always there.
Goop began to face backlash as it went from beyond a lifestyle brand and into wellness. The company
mercilessly exploited the wellness culture. Well, if something also has health benefits,
then there is even more opportunity for an upcharge. And Goop began promising that its
products could do more than what is proven. That's when the company got into some serious trouble.
In September 2018, the company made headlines for settling a $145,000 lawsuit. This happened
because Goop claimed that its vaginal eggs could balance hormones and provide crystal healing.
After the lawsuit, the company had to admit that
some of its magazine's outlandish health advice may not work.
So, wait. Crystal vaginal eggs with hormone-balancing powers didn't work? I’m shocked.
Goop also launched a Netflix show called Goop Labs,
where employees actively tested out pseudoscience. Well, it
received a 30% review on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the UK's National Health System
criticized the documentary. The health authority linked the company
with misleading claims online. It went as far as calling them quacks, charlatans, and cranks.
Furthermore, Goop had "beef" with NASA. You know, the agency that put men on the moon.
Goop, in typical fashion, claimed that its Body Vibes stickers used
"NASA space suit material" to "rebalance the energy frequency in our bodies." Afterward,
two NASA representatives stated there were absolutely zero merits to the claim
As a result, Goop removed its NASA-related claim. Instead, they said it was an error
where their engineer was "misinformed by a distributor about the material in question."
Most telling was that,
although Goop pulled the claim from their site, they released a statement defending their actions.
It read: "Our content is meant to highlight unique products and offerings,
find open-minded alternatives, and encourage conversation." So, in a way, their statement
backtracked on any apology and flagrantly condoned their actions,
and signaled they would continue to do so. This brings us to the vagina-scented candle.
That's right, we haven't forgotten about it. Even as recently as 2021,
that same product became the subject of a $5m lawsuit, as one allegedly exploded.
But, the fascinating thing is that, in the case of Goop, it seems that all press is good press.
All this news only served to direct the company traffic and attention.
One would think the company is in chaos for a company that has gone through so much controversy.
But Goop is still around today and even has its
widely criticized Netflix show renewed for a second season.
Some may argue that the company isn't hurting anyone,
so why does it matter? Some people want Goop's products and are willing to pay
for them to achieve an aspirational lifestyle. So, they should go for it.
However, when a company spreads misinformation and promises health benefits through using their
products, it becomes a question of whether to "open a dialogue" or take advantage of consumers.
Many times when we hear about insane products, we simply laugh it off. But
Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow provide legitimacy, and it is hazardous. Goop creates content,
even Netflix shows, that propel those pseudoscience products into the mainstream.
But has all of its controversies hindered Goop as a business?
We can't know if this strategy has been successful
for Goop since it is a private company and has not released its financial information. However,
based upon Paltrow's responses to Goop, it seems that the company is still thriving.
Despite how much we wanted to make fun of what they do and 'predict' their demise,
we seem to be wrong. Goop is seemingly at the forefront of wellness brands
as controversy only continues to feed the beast.