Beyond the Dress: Inside David’s Bridal’s Transformative Platform Strategy

Beyond the Dress: Inside David’s Bridal’s Transformative Platform Strategy

David’s Bridal may be best known for wedding dresses, but the brand’s next chapter is about something much bigger: becoming a digital platform for the entire wedding journey. In this episode of Retail Remix, Kate Robertson speaks with Elina Vilk, President and Chief Business Officer of David’s Bridal, about how the 75-year-old brand is transforming from a dress retailer into an AI-powered wedding ecosystem. Elina shares how David’s Bridal is expanding from “aisle to algorithm,” using tools like the AI-powered Pearl Planner to help brides manage the hundreds of decisions behind every wedding and stay within budget, while also growing wholesale, marketplace and commerce partnerships to serve more of the bridal ecosystem. Key Takeaways * Why David’s Bridal is expanding beyond dresses to support the full wedding planning journey   * How expectations toward the modern wedding experience have shifted with added pressures such as social media  * How the Pearl Planner uses insights from in-store “dream makers” to guide brides through planning tasks   * Why David’s Bridal now views boutiques, marketplaces and other retailers as partners rather than competitors   * How wholesale, AI commerce and smaller-format store concepts are shaping the brand’s 2026 growth strategy   Related Links * Explore David’s Bridal [https://www.davidsbridal.com]’s wedding dresses, planning tools and Pearl platform * Get more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPoints [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com] * Subscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/podcasts]

How Frances Valentine Built a Viral Fashion Brand Around Women 50+

For years, fashion brands chased younger consumers online, but Frances Valentine has found its edge by doing the opposite. Building a vibrant, social-first brand experience around women 50 and up. In this episode of Retail Remix (and the first hosted by new Retail TouchPoints Editor-in-Chief Kate Robertson), Kate sits down with Katherine Brodie, CMO of Frances Valentine, to discuss how the brand is scaling through video-first storytelling, creator-style content and a deeply engaged community built around color, joy and personal connection. Katherine shares how Elyce Arons — who co-founded the brand with her best friend, the late Kate Spade — has become both the face and personality of the brand across social media, why Frances Valentine treats content creation like its own production studio and how the company is balancing digital growth with expanding retail and wholesale partnerships. Key Takeaways * Why Frances Valentine has found major success by focusing on the underserved and highly affluent 50+ female consumer   * How Elyce Arons’ authentic social presence has become a powerful customer acquisition and engagement engine   * Why the brand treats social content and video production as a separate, always-on marketing track   * How Frances Valentine balances owned digital channels with retail stores and wholesale partnerships to deepen loyalty   * Why Katherine believes today’s marketers need to understand the full business picture — not just impressions and traffic   Related Links * Explore Frances Valentine [https://francesvalentine.com]’s colorful fashion and lifestyle collections * Get more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPoints [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com]Subscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/podcasts]

The New Rules of DTC: How AquaSonic Became a Multi-Channel Powerhouse

DTC success used to hinge on cutting out the middleman. Today, the real growth opportunity is knowing how to show up everywhere customers shop. In this episode of Retail Remix, host Nicole Silberstein speaks with Arsalan Rahbarpoor, Founder and CEO of AquaSonic, about how he built an Amazon-native oral care brand that now sells across Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Best Buy and TikTok Shop. Arsalan shares how AquaSonic disrupted a legacy-dominated category with premium design, accessible pricing and a sharper read on consumer demand — and why consistency, packaging and operational planning became critical as the brand expanded into national retail. Key Takeaways * How AquaSonic identified white space in oral care by combining premium design with accessible pricing;   * Why launching on Amazon was foundational to AquaSonic’s future multi-channel success;   * What changed when the digital-native brand expanded into brick-and-mortar; * How TikTok Shop creates a different kind of discovery-driven opportunity than Amazon or brick-and-mortar retail;  * What the success of AquaSonic says about consumers’ increased interest in wellness and their new expectations for the category; and   * Why AquaSonic is expanding beyond oral care into broader health, wellness and everyday essentials.   Related Links * Explore AquaSonic [https://aquasonic.com]’s oral care products and wellness essentials * Get more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPoints [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com] * Subscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/podcasts]

AI-Powered Pricing: The Future of Retail — or a Friction Point?

In an era of tariff swings, rising costs and AI-powered deal hunting, pricing has become one of the most complex (and consequential) levers in retail. In this episode of Retail Remix, host Nicole Silberstein speaks with Revionics’ Matt Pavich about how retailers are using AI-driven pricing to stay competitive without eroding consumer trust. Matt breaks down the difference between dynamic pricing and surveillance pricing, explains why the best retailers use AI to listen more closely to customer behavior rather than exploit it, and shares what guardrails are essential if brands want to move faster on price while still keeping shoppers on their side. Key Takeaways * Why ongoing disruption, from COVID to inflation to tariffs, has made AI pricing tools a competitive necessity for retailers;   * Why the healthiest pricing strategies combine proactive planning with the ability to react quickly when the market shifts;   * The critical distinction between dynamic pricing and surveillance pricing, and why consumers view them very differently;   * How retailers can use aggregated customer behavior, not personal data, to set smarter prices and promotions; and   * Why pricing agility, strong guardrails and a healthy dose of curiosity will define the most successful retail organizations in the years ahead. Related Links * Learn more about Revionics [https://www.revionics.com] and AI-powered retail pricing solutions * Related reading: Exclusive Q&A: Why Retailers Should Leverage the Power of Dynamic Pricing [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/auto-draftexclusive-qa-why-retailers-should-leverage-the-power-of-dynamic-pricing/617624/] * Get more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPoints [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com] * Subscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/podcasts]

Calling BS in the Sauce Aisle: How One CPG Brand is Taking on Big Food

If you’ve ever stood in the grocery aisle staring at a wall of “clean,” “natural” or “better-for-you” labels and wondered what any of it actually means, you’re not alone. In this episode of Retail Remix, host Nicole Silberstein speaks with Anna Vocino — actor, comic, cookbook author and founder of Eat Happy Kitchen — about what it really takes to build a clean-label CPG brand in a market dominated by food giants. Anna shares how her celiac diagnosis set her on a hunt for better-for-you foods that has evolved into a thriving food business and why breaking into grocery requires far more than a great-tasting product (although that matters). From label confusion and ingredient trickery to slotting pressure, promo costs and the realities of wholesale expansion, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to build a mission-driven food brand from the ground up. Key Takeaways * How Anna turned her personal health journey into cookbooks, a podcast and the growing CPG brand Eat Happy Kitchen;   * Why building a clean-label food brand means constantly pushing back against misleading ingredient claims and grocery aisle “trickery”;   * How to navigate the challenge of not just getting on shelves but staying there by driving trial and managing margin pressure;   * Why Anna’s direct-to-consumer community remains essential for the brand even as it expands to more than 1,300 retail doors; and * What Anna’s background in acting and comedy has taught her about pitching, negotiating and surviving the “Walmart wince.” * PLUS…Stick around to the end to hear the voice Anna would give one of her best-selling products.  Related Links * Explore Eat Happy Kitchen [https://www.eathappykitchen.com]’s sauces, spices and snacks * Related reading- Small Business, Big Ideas: Eat Happy Kitchen’s Recipe for Breaking into a Crowded Market [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/small-business-big-ideas-eat-happy-kitchens-recipe-for-breaking-into-a-crowded-market/155987/] * Get more retail industry insights from Retail TouchPoints [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com]\ * Subscribe and catch up on all episodes of Retail Remix [https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/podcasts]