Men's Grooming Products
How Beardbrand Cut Fulfillment Costs After a 3PL Disaster
Recovering from a Bad 3PL Experience
Beardbrand is an Austin-based grooming company founded by Eric Bandholz in 2012. Known for premium beard oils, deodorants, and hair products, Beardbrand ships fragile liquid products that require careful packaging and precise fulfillment processes to protect both the product and the brand experience.
Before partnering with Founders 3PL, Beardbrand experienced a pattern common among growing DTC brands: their previous 3PL quoted one price during onboarding, then raised fulfillment costs after the transition was complete. Per-item fulfillment charges inflated order costs, poor pallet handling caused product damage, and oversized packaging increased dimensional shipping charges.
Since switching to Founders 3PL, Beardbrand operates under labor-based billing instead of per-item fees, ships in right-sized cartons that protect fragile products without inflating dimensional weight, and includes promotional kits with every order at no additional per-item charge.
Labor-Based Billing
Beardbrand's previous 3PL charged per-item fulfillment fees — every bottle of beard oil, every stick of deodorant, every grooming product added a separate line-item charge to the invoice. Multi-item orders became disproportionately expensive, and the per-item model created a perverse incentive to ship fewer products per order.
Founders 3PL bills actual labor time at cost plus a fixed 20% margin. Whether an order contains one item or ten, Beardbrand pays for the labor performed — not an inflated per-item fee. This model eliminated the surprise cost increases that plagued their previous 3PL relationship.
Right-Sized Packaging
Beardbrand's products require protective paper packaging to prevent leaks and breakage during transit. Their previous 3PL used oversized cartons that increased dimensional weight charges and provided no better protection than properly sized alternatives.
Founders 3PL selected right-sized cartons that fit Beardbrand's protective paper wrapping without excess void space. This reduced dimensional shipping charges while maintaining — and improving — product protection during transit. Orders arrive undamaged, reinforcing Beardbrand's premium brand experience.
Promotional Kit Assembly
Beardbrand regularly includes seasonal thank-you kits, product samples, and promotional materials with orders. At their previous provider, each insert triggered an additional per-item fee, making promotional programs expensive to run.
At Founders 3PL, promotional kits are assembled and inserted into orders as part of the standard labor workflow. Beardbrand can change inserts, swap samples, and add seasonal materials without negotiating additional fees — because the cost is labor time, not a per-item surcharge.
Warehouse Access and Collaboration
Beardbrand's team regularly visits the Founders 3PL warehouse to collaborate on packaging design and launch preparation. This hands-on involvement is critical for a brand that cares deeply about the unboxing experience.
The open-door policy extends to launch support — when Beardbrand drops a new product or runs a promotion, the warehouse team prepares staging, validates packaging, and adjusts workflows in advance. International shipping for Beardbrand's global customer base is also supported through the facility's carrier network.
Our previous 3PL quoted us one price and charged us another. Founders 3PL charges us for the labor they actually perform — no per-item games, no surprise invoices. We can visit the warehouse anytime and see exactly how our products are handled.
Beardbrand Team