Direct-to-consumer ecommerce enterprise Snag, often known as Snag Tights, is likely one of the fastest-growing manufacturers of its variety in Europe.
Advertising and marketing itself as a model that gives ‘garments for each physique’, Snag prides itself on producing moral, sustainable clothes to suit a variety of physique sorts and on centring demographics who don’t usually see themselves represented in style promoting.
As Prema Chablani, then-Chief Model Officer at Snag, instructed attendees at Ecommerce Expo 2025, “We … simply started with a product that basically labored. … What we determined to do was characterize the individuals who had been most let down by style.”
From its preliminary product choice that targeted on tights that match comfortably, Snag has since expanded to promote lingerie, attire, skirts, denims, and equipment, and alongside the best way, has constructed a extremely engaged following of followers who love, promote, and maintain the enterprise. Chablani defined how Snag has grown and nurtured its group, together with how Snag’s prospects turned the primary fashions for its clothes, how group suggestions has formed Snag’s advertising and marketing and product providing, and why experimentation has shaped a significant cornerstone of the model.
“We weren’t simply promoting tights; we had been constructing a group of individuals”
“While you go to a style model’s web site, you see the identical sort of individuals … you see lots of fashions which might be all one measurement. You by no means actually get to see your self in a product,” stated Chablani.
She defined that Snag was based with a want to “change the best way that tights had been designed” and cater to under-represented teams similar to plus-sized and disabled prospects, making certain that they’d have entry to tights that match correctly.
Because of catering to demographics who not often felt like style was for them, Chablani stated that the model got here to face for one thing greater than promoting a product. “We weren’t simply promoting tights; we had been constructing a group of individuals – and that’s what made the whole distinction to our model. … It was [about] gathering a gaggle of individuals and making them really feel particular.”
Snag’s founders additionally wished the model to embody moral, sustainable values, making certain that everybody concerned in producing the clothes was paid a good wage, avoiding single-use plastics, utilizing sustainable power sources and drawing on recycled water for dyes. These commitments additional endeared buyers to the model, making a loyal following of followers who enthuse about Snag and need to join with fellow followers.
Snag’s group additionally offered the model’s earliest fashions: Chablani defined that the model initially featured solely user-generated content material from Instagram (reposted with permission in alternate at no cost tights) on its web site. A few of these early fanatics had been subsequently invited to participate in official photoshoots for Snag – even when they’d no modelling background.
This doubled as phrase of mouth for the model: “Extra individuals then determined to tag us [on Instagram]; extra individuals wished to be Snag fashions; extra individuals wished to be represented on the [brand] web page.”
Chablani additionally highlighted that this kinds an necessary a part of Snag’s strategy to model promotion: that includes constructive, however not idealised, depictions of the individuals who wore Snag’s garments. “We need to characterize the world because it actually is; we don’t need to create a world that’s aspirational,” she stated.
“We need to present individuals what they’re; how they’ll take pleasure in life; [that] they don’t have to cover away … We wished to indicate them that’s what they may do by exhibiting them their friends.”
“The purpose of the model … is to make individuals be ok with themselves”: How Snag ensures that its group thrives
Chablani attributed a big a part of Snag’s community-building success to how responsive the workforce is on social media, sharing that Snag has a 12-person workforce solely devoted to responding to prospects.
“You’ll be able to touch upon an advert; you may touch upon an Instagram publish; you may ship us a DM – there isn’t a spot that you’ll attain us that you’re going to get ignored,” she stated.
She posited that within the “chronically on-line” world of extended smartphone use, individuals flip to the digital world for significant social interplay, together with from manufacturers.
“The purpose of the model isn’t simply to promote stuff – it’s to make individuals be ok with themselves. That has been [the goal] from the very first day,” Chablani stated. These prospects who attain out to Snag and obtain a human, engaged response in return usually turn out to be among the model’s most loyal prospects.
Snag’s workforce has additionally created Fb teams to fulfil this want for reference to likeminded individuals inside the digital sphere. “That blew up,” Chablani stated. On the time of writing, Snag has 4 completely different Fb teams comprising of greater than 50,000 model followers in complete, lots of whom publish on daily basis. This on-line community-building has even crossed over into the true world with a few of Snag’s group members organising the model’s first in-person meetup in September.
Chablani underlined how invaluable these teams are to Snag’s buyer retention. “These individuals who work together with us in that approach aren’t going anyplace,” she emphasised. “They’re going to come back again – once they want a pair of tights, they’re going to buy with us.
“Once we launch a brand new product … they’re going to buy with us. They’re tremendous engaged, they’re tremendous energetic – they only need as a lot communication from us as potential they usually need actual communication.” She added that this extends to Snag acknowledging when the model has made a mistake and being clear in regards to the purpose.
“They need to inform us, ‘You tousled’ – they usually need us to express regret,” she stated. “It’s actually open communication, and it’s actually pleasant communication.”
“Your prospects truly know what they need from you”: Taking buyer knowledge on board
Due to this excessive degree of engagement from Snag’s fanbase, Chablani shared that the model doesn’t need to put lots of work into figuring out what their subsequent product launch shall be. “We [ask the community]: ‘What would you like?’ And so they inform us.
“Your prospects truly know what they need from you … They know what’s going to serve them greatest, and what they need to purchase, so we ask them issues [about] colors, sort of product, all that form of stuff.”
This sort of outreach may even result in surprising discoveries about who actually makes up Snag’s group. Over the summer time, Snag put out a buyer survey that contained questions on prospects’ pursuits and most well-liked private type, which in the end obtained greater than 160,000 responses. Snag used this knowledge to classify its prospects into seven broad archetypes (similar to ‘goth’, ‘boho’, and ‘dopamine dressers’) – not all of which matched up with the shopper demographics they’d traditionally been focusing on.
“We had been truly focusing on a kind of buyer that we don’t serve,” Chablani revealed. “And we’ve modified our inventive, we’ve modified … the best way we current our merchandise; we’ve modified the best way that we design merchandise to suit with [each] a type of archetypes.
“So, it’s a buyer profile however it’s truly based mostly off who we’re working with … Every thing is now centred round private type: the aesthetic of a video, the aesthetic of a set – it’s been a very cool shift within the enterprise.
“And really, we’ve seen an enormous distinction with engagement on our socials, we’ve seen an enormous distinction with engagement with our advertisements; and with sure merchandise, if we re-shoot them for the archetype they’re imagined to be, they’re gone in two weeks.”
The significance of experimentation
“My job is much less about operating the day-to-day and extra about strive[ing] model new issues that we’ve by no means tried earlier than and see[ing] the way it goes,” stated Chablani.
In 2019, Snag determined to increase internationally to gauge demand from different markets. “[We thought], the worst factor that would occur is that no-one buys from us; no one cares,” she stated. “However this actually labored.” Initially Snag’s worldwide web sites had been merely in English with completely different currencies, however after the workforce applied native translations, enterprise boomed. Germany is now Snag’s second-largest market after the UK and has its personal buyer success workforce and German-language video content material manufacturing.
“What we do is we constantly experiment … I’ve tried 70 completely different initiatives this yr,” Chablani stated. “I’ve tried so many issues that I’ll by no means strive once more … However if you happen to don’t do it, you’re by no means going to get anyplace; and if you concentrate on it an excessive amount of, you’re by no means going to get anyplace. … The worst factor that may occur is that it fails, proper?”
A few of Snag’s different profitable ventures embody branching out into linked TV promoting within the US this yr, which the model determined to strategy by filming one “actually cool advert” per quarter specializing in a special product every time. This didn’t value an enormous quantity and grew the model’s US enterprise by 20%. “It’s been such a game-changer,” Chablani stated. Snag has additionally succeeded in lifting its gross sales in London by advertisements on the London Underground.
E mail advertising and marketing has been an surprising development space for Snag: Chablani admitted that at one time, “We truly believed e-mail advertising and marketing is lifeless. We [thought], ‘This isn’t one thing that issues’ – however now it contributes to about 25% of our income.”
At first Snag solely despatched product launch-related emails, however has since begun segmenting and focusing on its emails, adapting the messaging to prospects’ private type or to what they could purchase subsequent and inspiring them to experiment with new appears. “We actually hit individuals on the proper time with what they need to purchase, and what we’ve seen is that our open price hasn’t actually dropped. Our deliverability is absolutely good,” Chablani stated.
“…There’s a thriving group who do take pleasure in e-mail. So, if you happen to’re utilizing it proper, and also you’re making it actually particular for them, you’re going to get what you need again from it.”
From right here, Snag is planning to increase into WhatsApp advertising and marketing and likewise proceed its experiments with influencer advertising and marketing, which was one other new addition to Snag’s advertising and marketing this yr. Chablani admitted that not the entire influencers Snag has partnered with had been proper for the model, however that Snag is now seeing excellent outcomes from those that are, netting a 3x ROI after factoring within the reductions that creator companions give out.
“If you happen to decide people who find themselves genuine to your corporation, it should work,” Chablani stated. “If you happen to companion with an influencer simply because they’ve lots of followers, it’s most likely not going to do something [for the business].”
Different near-future objectives embody making successful of TikTok Store and enhancing Snag’s content material to make sure it stands out and serves the model. “We’re re-evaluating the best way that we do content material and [asking], “What do individuals truly need to learn about our product? … We’re attempting to make it in order that … our content material teaches individuals one thing. That the content material that’s working for us in the mean time: when somebody learns one thing from us.”
Chablani concluded with 5 takeaways based mostly on Snag’s successes thus far:
- Remedy actual issues along with your merchandise
- Construct with your group
- Progress follows when values lead
- Preserve experimenting otherwise you’ll get caught
Your model doesn’t exist with out your prospects; “If you happen to discuss to your prospects and contain them, you’re going to do effectively.”
