How Cariuma & Onport Are Creating A More Sustainable Marketplace Model

Company Introduction

Cariuma empowers sustainable choices by embracing personal style over status-quo trends, enabling conscious consumers to buy quality over quantity with better for the earth and people products - the only true answer to sustainability.

Company Representatives

Felipe Araújo | Chief Digital Officer | Cariuma Michelle Katz | Head of Global Public Relations | Cariuma

Can you explain how the concept for Cariuma came about and the core mission statement behind the brand?

MK - "Cariuma was created by our founders, David and Fernando. While working in the footwear industry for well-known companies, they realized there was an incredible gap in the market for truly sustainable and ethically produced, very cool skate-style sneakers that were genuinely comfortable."

"There’s still no other product like ours on the market. They wanted to create a brand where the values permeated every stage of the business and give back to the community.”

What challenges did you encounter when you were starting off and building the brand?

FA - “For a Brazilian brand headquartered in Singapore and with its focus mainly in the US market, it can be difficult to have customers understand the inherent challenges involved in actually getting those shoes to them and gaining their trust as a new brand, as well as then introducing our ethical brand proposition to them.”

How did you first come across or hear about Onport?

FA - "We knew immediately that to achieve our aims, we would need a solution like Onport to act as a bridge between us and the marketplaces. Design Milk, a company we knew, actually mentioned Onport, which led us to investigate the platform and what it could do for us."

"We realized that Onport covered our operational requirements, not just one of two features like ordering syncing or inventory management, but all aspects we were looking for. It could perform every task that we had planned out, so we decided to go forward with an Onport implementation.”

In what features of Onport do you see the most value and how has it benefited your operations?

FA - “Onport allows for seamless integration with other brands' websites, and it's something that is prebuilt and can be turned around in just a few days."

"It's just changing settings; it does not involve any development or change anything in the order workflow process for that brand. That saves all parties involved so much time, and I think that's probably the main value proposition I see from Onport.”

How does the marketplace model help lend visibility to ethical brands?

FA - “It absolutely helps; there are a lot of trust issues around greenwashing nowadays so it can take a while to prove yourself to the consumer as truly sustainable."

"Working with other brands that have proven themselves in the sustainability space and have solid brand recognition, such as ForDays, really helps to boost your reputation in the market among your customers. Being seen alongside such brands in a marketplace can solidify your positioning and credibility.”

How do you see Onport supporting your growth plans for the future?

FA - “We are big believers in this hybrid wholesale e-concession model and will be a big feature in our future moving forward. It's a way for brands to work with us with low risk, allowing us to own the delivery and unboxing experience."

"Onport helps us to generate revenue for the brands we are working with and allows us to own the delivery experience and keep it consistent for all our customers.”