Naman Shrestha
Apart from providing its customers with comfortable and premium hiking socks, ToughCutie also values the importance of working on feedback from women and women-led businesses, which are the foundations of the brand. Pushing the brand and pitching her ideas for the future, the owner and founder of ToughCutie, Brittany Coleman, made an appearance on the ninth episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 16. She gave an idea of what her business is all about to the Sharks in front of her, hoping to get one of them on board with her and take her company to newer heights under their guidance.
ToughCutie Socks: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
The idea for ToughCutie was conceived by Brittany Coleman, a determined individual with several years of experience in the corporate world. Hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada, she grew up in an urban landscape but had experienced homelessness with her mother for a while. Having a totally different understanding of the outdoor community of Las Vegas, it was only later that she realized the truth of the matter — the fact that it is robust. The truth about the outdoor community became clearer to her when she spent years and years at various outdoor and active lifestyle brands in leadership and analyst positions. It was evident and frustrating to her that the product development and research teams were male-dominated and male-run, failing to understand women’s needs or even include them in the decision-making process.
She elaborated on all of it in an interview with Public Lands, saying, “I used to manage the sock division of an outdoor brand, and the decision at the company was essentially that we would be designing for the girlfriend of the “real outdoorsmen.” She didn’t really need quality gear; she was just supposed to look the part.” Thus, with enough product development experience and factory knowledge under her belt, Brittany decided to establish a women-centered business. In 2019, she founded ToughCutie and manufactured products entirely made in the USA in a WRAP-certified factory, with feedback from women in mind.
It took nearly three years for the founder to translate her idea into reality, as in 2022, ToughCutie’s first sock — Eve: The Original Ladies Lightweight Merino Wool Hiker — was revealed and made available for sale. Ever since then, the brand has been dedicated to serving women’s hiking needs by providing them with premium socks. Talking about ToughCutie and their approach, she told Canvas Rebel: “We take a slow and intentional approach to developing our products. We design FOR women BY women, incorporating customer feedback every step of the way. We listen to our customers, we invent on their behalf, and deliver an assortment of products that add value.”
ToughCutie Socks: Where Are They Now?
In the beginning stages of ToughCutie, Brittany Coleman spent a significant amount of time looking for a women-owned factory as she wanted to stay true to her goal of making her business completely women-led and women-owned. Although she found one, she was aware of the fact that she needed to fund the brand in order to stay true to her values. So, she tried to go the crowdfunding route, which ended up being a failure as she did not reach the funding goal. Despite being embarrassed by it, Brittany did not stay down. She immediately entered a pitch competition, which was for women-owned businesses. She somehow managed to give an exceptional pitch and won the competition, thanks to her determination and confidence in her brand.
Following her victory, she won a retail distribution contract with one of the most respected and coveted women-owned brands — Title Nine. It was during these weeks that ToughCutie took off and started leaving a mark on the market. Funding wasn’t the only challenge that Brittany faced. Since she prefers to stay away from the limelight, her business pushed her to get out of her comfort zone and put her personality out there, which was something very challenging for her. With thousands of followers across its social media platforms, ToughCutie has its products available on its official website as well as on Amazon.
Yet to tap into the market of physical stores, the company has different kinds of socks available within the price range of $20-24. For instance, Tia Ladies All Terrain Performance No Show Tab is available for $20, while socks like Classic Athletic Merino Wool Hiker Crew, Eve Ladies Light Weight Merino Wool Hiker Crew, No Planet B Merino Wool Hiker Crew, and Sasha the Fierce Bear Merino Wool Hiker Crew are priced at $24. Besides socks, you can also purchase Protect Mother Nature T and ToughCutie Max Hydration 32oz Insulated Bottle for $25 and $20, respectively.
In order to end the eventful year of 2024 with a bang, ToughCutie was a part of several events in November and December. In November, they had a pop-up shop at The Front Market in Waterloo Park, Austin, Texas. The following month, ToughCutie was spotted at the Gossamer Gear Pop Up & Holiday Party in Gossamer Gear, Austin, Texas, and the Outdoor Rec Industry Market at Brazos Bend State Park in Texas. With so much wind behind its back, ToughCutie continues to stand up for women and claims to have the best hiking socks in the business.
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