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 A Google search trends study for the UK found direct-to-consumer brands lagged larger brands in search interest last year, but some are closing the gap. Gillette had double the searches of Dollar Shave Club in 2018, according to the study commissioned by Marketing Week. Searches for DSC grew by over 430 percent, and but searches for Gillette fell 2 percent. Huel, a meal replacement drink brand, saw about two-thirds of the search volume of established rival SlimFast, and its UK search volumes grew 92 percent in the year. The top fastest-growing D2C brands for search volumes in 2018 were Dollar Shave Club, Brushbox (403 percent), Huel, Glossier (85 percent) and Simply Cook (45 percent).
"Interest in direct-to-consumer brands lags big rivals – but maybe not for long", Marketing Week, December 21, 2018
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 Walker & Company Brands, which makes health and beauty products for people of color, announced it will be acquired by Procter & Gamble for an undisclosed amount. The company’s brands include grooming line Bevel, targeting men with coarse or curly hair, and FORM Beauty, a hair care line for women with textured hair. The brands are primarily sold direct-to-consumer, but Bevel can also be found in Target stores, and Sephora stocks Form Beauty products. Bevel has taken a different approach to marketing Dollar Shave Club, relying less on paid media and more on social-media and word-of-mouth. P&G says it wants to learn about how Walker builds and uses authentic connections, and Walker aims to leverage P&G's expertise in developing, distributing and marketing products, and how to build the brand internationally.
"Procter & Gamble buys Walker & Co.", Advertising Age, December 12, 2018
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Gillette Venus has teamed up with Remi Cruz, an entrepreneur and YouTube personality, for the launch of a limited-edition razor. The Venus x Remi razor has a handle printed with a tropical design and is available for the holiday season exclusively on the new Venus Direct subscription platform.
"Gillette Venus Teams Up with YouTube Star Remi Cruz for Limited-Edition Razor", Procter & Gamble, December 07, 2018
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 Unilever’s Vaseline brand in the US is giving away 1,000 free #SaveMySkin# kits to help people deal with skin problems in the coming winter. The limited period offer, in collaboration with Fooji, an experiential technology platform, invites people in the US to Tweet a custom hashtag and emoji in order to get a kit comprising two Vaseline products – the new Clinical Care™ Extremely Dry Skin Rescue, and well-known Petroleum Jelly – together with a mug, and family games. The brand is also taking to the streets to give away free products.
"Vaseline® Delivers Free "#SaveMySkin Kits" To Consumers Nationwide", PR Newswire, December 06, 2018
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 L’Oréal continues to look outside of its walls for innovation opportunities with the launch of a new venture capital fund for taking minority stakes in high-growth-potential startups. The BOLD Business Opportunities for L'Oréal Development fund will consider investing in new business models across a range of functions, from supply chain to retail and marketing. It will support the investments in a number of ways, including mentoring and financial assistance. The fund will build on its external innovation efforts run through partnerships including Founders Factory and Station F. Its first investment will be a minority stake in a French customized fragrance startup, Sillages Paris, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning.
"L'Oréal creates a corporate venture capital fund dedicated to accompanying innovative startups", L'Oréal, December 05, 2018
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