How Canopy Grew Their Subscription Brand While Balancing Seasonality and SKU Proliferation

Facing 4X growth and a constantly changing SKU mix, Canopy needed a fulfillment partner that could do more than just ship boxes – they needed a partner who they could collaborate with to find a scalable solution. Here’s how DCL helped turn operational complexity into customer satisfaction.  

Canopy is a fast-growing digitally native company, with an expanding product mix of devices (humidifiers and shower heads), as well as a wide variety of subscription model replenishment components (filters and aromas).     

Samantha Kane, Director of Planning and Operations at Canopy says, “The complexity of our business was growing, our SKU count was expanding, and we wanted a partner that could help support our fast-paced growth.”    

Working with DCL has given Canopy the tools and dedicated operational support to grow their business, not only developing a wide variety of products but not missing an opportunity to delight new and loyal customers.    

Founder and President at Canopy, Justin Seidenfeld says, “We’ve scaled very quickly across products—our scale has grown tremendously, and I’m confident in DCL’s ability to support that without any issues.”   

Ecommerce Case Study: Canopy  

• Challenge: Canopy is a fast-scaling subscription brand with an evolving product line that changes quarterly. With frequent SKU changes, seasonal volume spikes, and continuous product innovation, they needed a fulfillment partner that could offer both reliability and flexibility—without compromising speed or customer experience.   
• Solution: DCL’s proprietary eFactory platform gave the Canopy team real-time visibility into inventory and SKU performance, while enabling a dynamic subscription model business through customizable virtual bundles and streamlined supply chain inventory management.   
• Outcome: Canopy’s subscription customers enjoy a consistently seamless experience—regardless of manufacturing delays or seasonal demand. With DCL handling the operational complexity, Canopy can focus on scaling their product offering and driving overall growth.    

“For all the complexities of our business, it’s the collaboration between Canopy and DCL teams that is how we’re able to make things happen quickly. I really value the relationship with DCL, that it’s a partnership.

Operational Flexibility is Necessary for Rapid Product Expansion   

Canopy’s business is defined by constant innovation—regularly introducing new inventory items across both hardware and consumables. This steady flow of new products demands a fulfillment partner that can manage complexity without slowing down to meet demand. Each new SKU, whether a seasonal aroma or a hardware upgrade, adds layers of coordination across inventory, kitting, and last-mile execution.   

Justin says, “We’re continuously introducing new inventory items at a regular cadence.” Canopy is unique in that they are adding new items to their offering regularly, not only new aromas but also new hardware. Products innovation requires a lot of resources and attention, that may often go toward shipping, fulfillment, or customer service.  

From a supply chain perspective, there’s a lot of complexity to managing the back end of new product launches, even when things go according to plan.   

When delays happen upstream in the supply chain, it’s usually the last-mile providers who end up with tight turnaround times once products finally arrive. Because Canopy runs a subscription model, they need a partner with the flexibility to scale up and down, to help them smooth out a consistent schedule—so customers never feel the ripple effects.  

Justin says, “When we’ve had delays from supply partners, we’ve needed flexibility, and DCL has really come through. We’ve been able to work with the DCL teams to figure out how to work through these.”  

Operational flexibility starts with clear communication. DCL and the Canopy team are in constant dialogue to ensure new SKUs are mapped into their inventory, so that when they are received, they can go out as quickly as possible. This high touch approach ensures that inventory moves seamlessly from receiving to outbound with minimal delay, enabling Canopy to deliver on their customer promise.  

Smart Kitting is Ultimately in Service of Customer Delight   

Like many DTC brands, Canopy relies on kitting to tailor orders for maximum customer satisfaction. But Canopy needed a nuanced and specialized kitting project to ensure subscription customers receive the correct seasonal items they’ve selected or are expecting.  

To keep their subscription customers engaged and excited about their offerings, Canopy changes the aromas they offer on a quarterly basis.   

Justin says, “With a product that has a regular update like this, SKUs need to get mapped in the inventory systems, which is a very detail-oriented process, to ensure the correct aroma collections are being sent out with the correct orders. It’s not a set and forget approach, and it adds compounding complexity to our operations.”  

The Canopy team uses DCL’s virtual bundling capability within the proprietary fulfillment platform, eFactory.   

Sam says, “eFactory allows us to indicate what needs to be picked, but also a secondary action that should be taken on the floor. We need one of the items to be taken out, a different product added in, and have the box closed so that the change was not recognizable to the customer.”    

“eFactory acts like a mini centralized system for everything operations related. We rely very heavily on it because it is just so easy to use.”

eFactory is a tool designed for operators, by operators. It gives Sam and her team the ability to make nuanced updates that support their business.   

The DCL team works closely with the Canopy team to enact creative solutions to match Canopy’s innovative business and fast-moving growth. DCL knows the ultimate goal is to serve the end-customer, to exceed their satisfaction; that is the way to support trendsetting brands like Canopy. DCL’s tools, while they provide operational efficiency and precision for brand operators, they are ultimately in service of maximum customer satisfaction. 

Managing Seasonal Demand with Precision and Partnership   

As a subscription brand with a constant flow of new product offerings, Canopy experienced extreme seasonal swings in order volume. Managing this variability without disrupting the customer experience is an operational challenge—one that many high-growth DTC brands face. Peaks in demand require rapid scaling of fulfillment resources, while quieter periods demand tight inventory controls.   

Sam says, “Part of our growth too is not only in terms of order volume and as a brand, but we have these big waves of demand that come through throughout the year. DCL has been able to manage those highs and lows of volume really seamlessly.”  

DCL helps Canopy smooth out their inventory ebbs and flows with a highly detailed fulfillment platform that acts as the source of truth and constant communication between their teams.   

eFactory is a daily-use tool, with real-time order and inventory visibility and control. Sam says, “eFactory acts like a mini centralized system for everything operations related. We rely very heavily on it because it is just so easy to use. It has all the information we need in one place—orders received, orders going out, back order, on hold—the tool is so easily accessible and easily actionable for our team to resolve issues and implement directions. And the analytics module really helps us visualize what is happening.”  

Even with all the tools necessary to help a growing brand streamline and manage orders, DCL knows it’s still a business driven by humans, for humans. Being in lock step with the Canopy brand is the only way to ensure their fulfillment is taken care of so they can focus on brand growth.   

Justin says, “For all the complexities of our business, it’s the collaboration between Canopy and DCL teams that is how we’re able to make things happen quickly. I really value the relationship with DCL, that it’s a partnership. We have open lines of communication at all levels of the DCL organization. From a strategic 30,000 foot view, it’s so important that we can get our needs met at all levels, I really value that in our partnership.”      

About Canopy 

Canopy reimagines home wellness devices. They make the world’s cleanest humidifier for beauty and skincare. With a sleek modern design and hassle-free maintenance, it’s the best humidifier. But the benefits of Canopy products are more than just skin deep. Our devices will help you build your wellness routine and help to promote easy breathing and better sleep.  

Their aroma oils are thoughtfully formulated to be clean and highly potent, giving you a superior scent experience free from the harmful ingredients we all want to avoid.