Beardbrand: Building a cult brand with content, community and reviews
Eric Bandholz's Beardbrand didn’t follow many rules when they started out. In fact, some might say it wrote its own playbook.
Reviews became more than social proof - they became fuel for growth.
Combined with a purposeful content strategy, the brand has become one of the most recognizable male grooming company's in US.
From day one, the team used content and community to build a culture-first brand and Judge.me, they gave customers a louder voice, turning feedback into everything from ad copy to product strategy.
Key Results
10,000+ verified Judge.me reviews inform product development, messaging, and marketing.
A Slack integration ensures the entire team sees every review in real time.
Review insights have directly powered Beardbrand’s best-performing ad.
Reviews support a closed community, deepening loyalty and retention.
The Challenge: Standing Out Without Selling Out
When Eric Bandholz founded Beardbrand in 2012, he wasn’t just selling beard oil, he was selling a new identity.
The beard care market was dominated by outdated stereotypes: lumberjacks, bikers, and rock stars.
Eric saw an opportunity to serve a different kind of customer - the modern urban beardsman and needed a way to bring that story to life.
Creating a community from scratch meant earning trust, crafting an authentic brand voice, and turning customer experience into a key part of the company’s DNA.
From humble webcam videos on Tumblr and YouTube, Beardbrand struck a nerve and built a devoted following. But turning that passion into a sustainable business meant doing things differently.
From its early days as a bootstrapped brand, Beardbrand made content and community the cornerstones of its growth, and Judge.me helped amplify that voice across every touchpoint.
“In the early days, 99% of your time should be spent getting in front of people. Stop overthinking. Stop planning. Just start talking to customers, messaging influencers, or sharing content. You’ll learn faster by doing than by researching.”
The Solution: Reviews as culture, not a checkbox
Beardbrand doesn’t treat reviews as a backend tool, they’re a living, breathing part of the company’s operations.
With Judge.me, the team found a lightweight, integrated way to turn feedback into action across the business.
Transparent feedback loops
Every review gets piped into a dedicated Slack channel so the full team, product, marketing, and customer support, can see exactly what customers are saying.
That means faster fixes, smarter copy, and fewer blind spots. They leave negative reviews up, and reply directly, which earns trust and shows customers that they’re being heard.
A/B testing through the voice of the customer
One review that read “I kiss my husband just to smell his beard” became Beardbrand’s best-performing ad. They regularly pull review snippets for ads, landing pages, and product descriptions, letting real customer language do the heavy lifting.
Founder-led engagement
Eric replies to reviews himself. He’s not afraid to explain, educate, or even joke back. That human touch builds a brand that feels personal, not corporate.
Insights that drive product
Beyond marketing, reviews shape the product roadmap. Patterns in feedback help the team spot formulation issues, packaging confusion, or feature requests without formal surveys.
Community-centric growth
Beardbrand’s loyalty program, “The Alliance,” gives customers who’ve purchased 3+ times or who have spent $150+ on a single order, access to a private forum where they can test new products and offer early feedback.
Review data helps identify potential community leaders and superfans.
Integrated, not interruptive
Judge.me’s automation lets Beardbrand gather reviews post-purchase without disrupting the customer experience.
Customizable timing ensures review requests arrive when products have had time to be used and appreciated.
This system scales feedback without losing the human layer that Beardbrand is known for.
Eric’s advice for other ecommerce merchants
With over a decade of growing Beardbrand from scratch, Eric Bandholz has clear, practical advice for fellow founders. Here are his top lessons for building a business with integrity:
Start with content, not commerce
Share ideas first, build trust, then sell. Beardbrand built a community before launching products.
Talk to customers like a human
Skip the templates. Reviews, outreach, emails, and all other means of communication are 10x better when you imagine another person actually reading it.
Find product-market fit before scaling
If everything feels hard, you might be solving the wrong problem.
Use reviews beyond product pages
Repurpose them in ads, emails, community, and content.
Build for people like you
Don’t chase trends. Serve a small group exceptionally well and let them spread the word.
“If nothing you’re doing is working, and it’s all hard – chances are, you don’t have product-market fit yet. Great products should feel like they’re pulling you along.”
If you want to find out more about Beardbrand's origin story and how their strategy has developed over time, check out our Growth Unlocked webinar. 👇
