Carpe, a leading antiperspirant brand, specializes in solutions for sweaty underarms, hands, feet, and more – helping improve the quality of life for those struggling with excessive sweating. Their innovative products quickly gained popularity across the United States, becoming a go-to choice for effective sweat control. Eager to bring relief to people worldwide, Carpe set its sights on launching new markets.
However, with expansion came challenges – most notably, unreliable shipping made it difficult to provide a consistent experience abroad. These logistical issues resulted in poor experiences and increased support demands to resolve delivery-related complaints. To improve customer satisfaction and scale operations sustainably, Carpe and their 3PL, Logistech Solutions, partnered with Passport to ensure their life-changing products could reach customers reliably around the world.
Hear directly from Carpe’s Co-Founder and Passport’s President
For deeper insights into how Carpe scaled profitably with Passport, check out the DTC Podcast. In this episode, Kasper Kubaka and Tom Griffin dive into expansion strategies, the power of localization, and how to build trust with international customers.
International Challenges and Pain Points
Prior to partnering with Passport, expanding into the Canadian market revealed significant obstacles for Carpe that impacted their ability to provide a seamless customer experience. The primary hurdles they faced included:
- Customs Delays – Shipments were frequently held at customs due to duties and taxes, leading to frustrated customers and delayed deliveries.
- Unreliable Delivery – Inconsistent and lengthy transit times compromised the reliability of Carpe’s deliveries, which is crucial for their subscription-based model.
- Lack of Tracking Visibility – Inadequate tracking information and reliance on postal services resulted in poor visibility, affecting customer satisfaction and trust.
- Customer Support Strain – The influx of international shipments led to a spike in complaints, particularly related to duties and taxes, significantly increasing support demands.
“Customers would have to pay $60–$70 for shipping, wait three weeks for the product to arrive, and then realize they had to go down to their local post office and pay the import duties to even pick up the product,” explained Kasper Kubaka, Co-Founder of Carpe.
This experience revealed the need for a more reliable shipping solution, while growing international demand made it clear that Carpe required a partner to support their end-to-end global strategy. “There was an evident demand for our products in Canada, and we clearly needed to do this a different way and come up with a more comprehensive solution,” added Andy Louis, Vice President of Operations at Carpe.
How Passport Helped
Passport addressed Carpe’s international challenges through a series of targeted improvements across the entire shopper journey, from pre-purchase to post-purchase. This holistic approach not only solved immediate issues but also identified ways to increase performance, facilitating growth by elevating the customer experience and driving additional sales in new global markets.
1. Expanded Global Reach
- Seamless Integration – Passport’s technology is integrated with Shopify, Carpe’s existing ecommerce platform, supporting efficient operations and quick scalability.
- Growth Advisory – Capitalizing on global demand, Passport made it easy for Carpe to grow and test new countries by guiding them in expanding to additional regions. Carpe also utilized Passport Seller of Record™ to handle international taxes in countries that require local registration, allowing them to enter markets within a matter of days.
“The biggest challenge in expanding into international markets was the logistics. Passport let us quickly test inbound traffic, see if people in those countries were interested, and ensure they received our products fast, cost-effectively, and without duty overhead.” – Kasper Kubica, Co-Founder of Carpe
2. Optimized Checkout Process
- Duty & Tax Management – Passport manages duties and taxes for Carpe with real-time calculations, collection at checkout, and remittance. This landed-cost solution facilitated a smooth customer experience by providing transparent pricing to increase conversions and prevent shipment delays from customs holdups.
3. Enhanced Post-Purchase Experiences
- Reliable Shipping & Tracking – Passport’s logistics capabilities and extensive global shipping network enhanced Carpe’s delivery reliability and transit times, significantly reducing customer complaints. As the carrier, Passport also provides industry-leading tracking, keeping customers informed about their shipment status and enhancing the overall post-purchase experience.
- Comprehensive Support – Passport’s dedicated support team handles international shipping inquiries, alleviating the burden on Carpe’s internal team.
- Effective Compliance Management – With in-house licensed customs brokers and global trade expertise, Passport manages compliance requirements effectively. This results in streamlined customs processing, reduced delays, and improved operational efficiency.
Impacts of Partnering with Passport
Since partnering with Passport, Carpe has seen remarkable improvements in its sales and operations. “Passport has been huge in terms of allowing us to grow our international business to a meaningful portion of our current overall business,” said Andy Louis. “Prior to Passport, our international sales were less than 5% of our revenue, but right now it’s making up more than 10% of our overall revenue.”
- Revenue Gains – In less than two years, Carpe doubled its international revenue, underlining the financial impact of improved international solutions and customer satisfaction.
- Boost in Shipping Volume – Carpe’s shipping volume increased by more than 55% year-over-year, with hundreds of thousands of successful deliveries across 36 countries, reflecting their expanded international reach.
- Improved Transit Times – Transit times to six key markets improved by up to 18% quarter-over-quarter, enhancing delivery speed and reliability.
- Reduction in Support Tickets – The volume of international tickets related to duties and taxes dropped to nearly zero due to effective landed-cost calculations and collection during checkout.
“Carpe’s passion for helping people and commitment to providing an excellent customer experience exemplifies how brands should approach global expansion. We’re proud to call Carpe a partner, and thrilled to see the international growth and shipping success they’ve achieved with Passport’s help.” – Andrew Brown, Senior Director of Customer Growth
Carpe and Passport’s Collaborative Success
Carpe’s partnership with Passport has been pivotal in overcoming cross-border challenges, driving additional revenue, and improving both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. With Passport’s technology, Carpe streamlined duty and tax collection, eliminated customs delays, and reduced support tickets. Reliable shipping and tracking also ensured timely deliveries, which is critical for their subscription products.
This seamless collaboration has enabled Carpe to expand into new regions and help people around the world manage sweat problems. As they continue to grow, Carpe plans to leverage Passport’s expertise to reach even more international customers.
“Ecommerce is not only a huge opportunity, measured in the trillions, but it’s fast-growing. For brands like Carpe, whose products solve universal problems, expanding into even a few accessible countries can double your customer base right out of the box.”
Tom Griffin
For ecommerce brands looking to tap into global opportunities, Passport Global provides the end-to-end support and expertise needed to simplify international selling. Whether you’re entering new markets or optimizing existing operations, set up a discovery call with our team today to see how Passport Global can help you achieve your international potential.
