Behind the Brand: Arrae, with Siff Haider - Conversations with Consumer Goods Mavens
Episode 6: How to humanize your brand and scale world-class community, with Siffat Haider, co-founder and CEO of Arrae
TLDR: I broke my leg skiing earlier this spring. As a Founder/CEO, wife, and mom with a whole lot going on, it was a massive disruption. For years I’ve been wanting to make the time to record conversations with my network of founder-friends, mentors, and consumer goods experts. I always found a reason to say “we’ll get to it later,” until now.
While I’m back on my feet (literally and figuratively), I’m continuing the conversations. I’m super excited to share this week’s conversation with Siffat (Siff) Haider, CEO and Co-Founder of Arrae, the natural supplement brand that has captured the attention of every influencer and the internet over the past few years.
Prior to launching Arrae, Siff spent time in the publishing industry working for ELLE Canada, and then moved on to launch her blog that gained wild traction, Icing & Glitter. Her company Arrae, co-founded with her husband, has found a way to break through the crowded natural supplement space cementing itself as the go-to for millennial women to combat everyday problems such as bloat and stress.
Our conversation focuses most deeply on the power of community. We talk about the importance and opportunity of community building and how to do it authentically, and acknowledge that for this one, there just aren’t shortcuts. It’s gotta be real to be real.
Siff shares with us some of the tactics that have led to Arrae’s exponential growth:
Humanizing your brand: How to treat your brand as a living, breathing entity and operate your social media and marketing efforts from the voice of an individual.
Personal connection at scale: Consider surprising and delightful types of engagement, like handwritten notes, Polaroids, or personal messages. These can become a cornerstone of community, allowing you to start small and building to a conversation over time.
A balanced budget: Allocate a portion of your marketing budget to community-building efforts, just as you would for influencer marketing or other strategies. Balancing paid partnerships with community engagement is key.
Loyalty programs (the Rolls Royce of them!): Siff encourages founders to consider implementing a loyalty program—if it aligns with your business model. For high-subscription businesses, a well-designed loyalty program can strengthen customer relationships. We talk through how to design a performant loyalty program, including unique incentives that truly show appreciation to your customers.
Creative engagement: It’s a competitive market, and to stand out, brands need to think differently. Hosting events, workshops, walks, or other activities to engage with your community are a way to bring digital communities together in a physical context.
The power of team involvement: Siff underscores how to involve your entire team in community-building efforts to foster a close-knit relationship between your brand and your customers, and to help spread the weight of the authentic connection throughout your team.
Our conversation underscores the importance of continuous connection, and what a difference regular touchpoints with your community through various channels works to maintain a strong relationship. I greatly enjoyed our chat and the amount of golden information for founders looking to accelerate their community growth in just a 45 minute conversation was incredible.
Watch or listen to our full chat above. You can also tune in on our YouTube, where the full transcript lives.
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Behind the Brand aims to inspire entrepreneurs, marketing professionals, and design enthusiasts by showcasing the real stories of those who have navigated the complexities of product-based landscapes. Whether you’re curious about the latest trends, seeking practical advice, or craving inspiration, this interview series offers a deep dive into the minds shaping the future of consumer brands.