Posted By: Olivia Mancuso
Matt Matros knows a thing or two about consumer brands. He sold his popular restaurant chain Protein Bar to L Catterton in 2013, and his caffeinated sparkling water brand Limitless to Keurig Dr Pepper just last year.
But with his latest venture, inspiration struck while he was shopping last year for a baby stroller before the arrival of his first child. It was mid-pandemic and Buy Buy Baby was closed, so test driving a stroller wasn't an option. Images on brand websites were fine, but didn't tell the whole story. YouTube reviews weren't cutting it either.
"I found that the best source of information for which stroller to buy for our family came from just watching people in the park on a Saturday in Chicago," Matros told me.
The experience led him to start Shopflix, Matros's latest venture that's aiming to be a 24/7 video streaming network where brands can tell their stories, and where shoppers can see high-quality demos of products they want to buy. Shopflix creates video content for brands in its production studio in Chicago, using a video team and writers who've worked on Hollywood productions like Rick and Morty and Boss Baby. It works with influencers who host regular segments that focus on products, founders or a specific retail category.
It started as a mix of "QVC meets Peloton meets Netflix," Matros explained. The QVC element being demonstration shopping, Peloton for the ability to follow specific hosts and tune in when they're live, and Netflix for its catalogue of content. But ultimately, the business is a storytelling platform, Matros said, not unlike HGTV or the Food Network, where content comes first and commerce comes second.
Read the full story from Chicago Inno here.
