Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Vice President Kamala Harris goes on Call Her Daddy, a set of worrying trends converge on women in tech, and the 'xennial' customer is key to one founder's repeat success. Have a mindful Monday.
- Next gen. Between Gen X and millennials, there's a micro-generation called "xennials." Born between the late 1970s and early 1980s, the members of this generation bridge the gap between their Gen Z kids and their parents—and they've been crucial to the success of a portfolio of brands founded by serial entrepreneur Katherine Power.
Power founded the fashion blog Who What Wear in 2006 before turning her attention outside media; today, she's behind the skincare brand Versed, the social media-favorite beauty brand Merit, and the wine brand Avaline, which she cofounded with actor Cameron Diaz. Merit has raised $20 million led by L Catterton's growth fund; Power is also a partner at the venture firm Greycroft.
Across this portfolio, Power has consistently aimed to serve the xennial female customer—a strategy that has, in turn, helped the brands reach other shoppers. "By targeting that micro-segment, it's helped us reach the generation below her and the generation above her," Power says.
The xennial shopper right now is in or near their peak earning potential with peak responsibilities: caregiving for both kids and parents, homeownership, and demands at work. Those responsibilities make this customer a crucial point of connection between demographics. They're known by retailers to have higher basket sizes and more brand loyalty. "She's buying blush for her daughter, and she's telling her mom to drink the wine," Power explains.
While other cohorts have also served as this point of connection, what makes the xennial unique is growing up in an analog world before quickly adapting to the internet in adulthood. That experience makes this micro-generation technologically savvy but with a nostalgia for the pre-internet era. "We have this millennial mindset in a lot of ways, but the tradition and nostalgia of Gen X," Power says.
Those qualities have guided marketing and product strategy across Power's brands. Merit's makeup is meant to work well on fine lines and wrinkles and be easy to apply with one hand—whether for a young, first-time makeup wearer or a busy mom. Its campaigns typically feature talent over age 40 that also speaks to younger shoppers, like Gossip Girl actor Kelly Rutherford or legendary Vogue editor Grace Coddington. At Avaline, 62% of the brand's e-commerce shoppers are between 35 and 54 and the brand has leaned into marketing its wine for everyday moments rather than special occasions.
Cameron Diaz says that while she's pretty firmly Gen X, she identifies with the xennial shopper. "It's a mindset," she says. For Diaz, that's translated as a more typically millennial focus on ingredients and organic shopping, which is a differentiator for Avaline in the wine category.
Merit in particular has become popular on TikTok. "We want it to be multigenerational," Power says, "but targeting this woman is how we feel we best get there."
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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