In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Mark Rushmore, Co-Founder of SURI (Sustainable Rituals). SURI is disrupting the $6 billion electric toothbrush market dominated by legacy players with 80% market share. Starting from a simple observation about plastic waste at P&G, Mark and his co-founder built a premium electric toothbrush that doesn’t compromise on performance, design, or sustainability. In just three years, they’ve grown from zero to £23.5 million in annual revenue by focusing relentlessly on product excellence, strategic SEO placement, and building genuine customer love that drives 18-20% of sales through word of mouth.

Topics Discussed:

• Building trust and credibility as a new brand in a high-consideration category

• Strategic SEO approach for product recommendation searches

• Creating a premium product that doesn’t compromise on sustainability

• Scaling through repeat purchase dynamics in a “low-frequency” category

• Multi-market expansion strategy and localization decisions

• Team structure evolution from generalist to specialist roles

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Dominate SEO for High-Intent Searches in Consideration Categories

SURI identified that consumers research “best electric toothbrush” extensively before purchasing. Instead of just running ads, they strategically targeted journalists and publications to get featured in roundup articles that dominate Google’s top 20 results. This creates crucial third-party validation at the exact moment prospects are comparing options, turning SEO into a trust-building channel rather than just a traffic source.

Reframe “Low-Frequency” Categories by Calculating True Customer Lifetime Value

While toothbrush handles seem like one-time purchases, SURI recognizes that customers need replacement heads every few months for years or decades. Over 30% of their revenue now comes from repeat customers. This long-term view justifies higher customer acquisition costs and investment in customer experience, as the true LTV extends far beyond the initial purchase.

Use Product Excellence as Your Primary Marketing Strategy

SURI’s most-used word across 12,000 reviews is “love.” They created a custom GPT to analyze all customer feedback, discovering that genuine product satisfaction drives 18-20% of sales through word of mouth. This reinforces that in competitive categories, the product itself must be the primary marketing vehicle – no amount of clever messaging can overcome a mediocre experience.

Build Systematic Processes Early, Even Before You Need Them

Mark’s key regret is not implementing formal operating systems (like EOS) earlier in the company’s growth. While they’ve succeeded despite developing their own processes organically, he observed that companies using established frameworks from the beginning scale more efficiently. The lesson: adopt proven systems before you feel you need them, not after growth makes them necessary.

Test Multiple Markets Simultaneously for Validation, Then Focus

SURI initially ran ads in the UK, US, and Germany to test market receptivity. When all three responded well (even with English ads in Germany), it validated global demand. However, they quickly focused on just UK and US markets to maximize resource efficiency rather than spreading efforts too thin across multiple regions simultaneously.

Structure Teams Around Performance Plus Purpose, Not Purpose Over Performance

SURI attracts purpose-driven talent due to their sustainability mission, but Mark emphasizes they hire for “performance plus purpose,” not “purpose over performance.” They specifically seek competitive individuals (including former professional athletes) who can execute effectively in a smaller team competing against much larger incumbents.