The Intersection of E-Commerce, Creative Direction, and Brand Loyalty

Here’s the thing—so much of e-commerce marketing today is about performance, efficiency, and squeezing every last drop out of an ad budget. But where does that leave creativity?

This week on After Hours Live x Above The Fold, we sat down with our friend Ali Rose VanOverbeke. She’s done it all—styling editorial shoots, designing for billion-dollar fashion brands, launching a seven-figure sustainable eyewear company, and now leading growth at a company redefining beverage retail, Kadeya. And through all of it, she’s seen one thing over and over. Brands that prioritize creativity and connection don’t just sell. They last.

We talked about the slow death of creative direction in e-commerce, the hard lessons of running a mission-driven brand, and why real brand loyalty comes from more than just a great product.

If you care about brand building, sustainability, or just making things that people won’t stop talking about, this one’s for you.

Ali’s Career: From Fashion to Marketing Without Trying

Ali didn’t set out to be a marketer. She was all in on fashion from day one—Parsons grad, big-name brands, the whole thing. But then she started noticing something. She wasn’t just designing clothes. She was shaping how people felt about a brand.

Her time at Lane Bryant was when things really clicked. Technically, she was a designer, but she was also casting models, running social, and making marketing decisions before she even realized it. Turns out, fashion design and brand building? Same thing, different font.

Is Creative Direction in E-Commerce on Life Support?

E-commerce brands today are obsessed with short-term wins—performance ads, influencer UGC, and sales funnels. But what happened to actually building a brand?

We talked about how brands used to create entire worlds. Now, everything feels like a copy-paste formula. We also got into why the brand manager role has basically turned into a “person who does everything but gets no credit.” If brands aren’t investing in creativity, they’re just another forgettable name fighting over ad space.

Genusee: A Brand with Purpose (And the Hard Truths of Running One)

Ali didn’t just talk about brand storytelling. She built one. Genusee was her eyewear company that turned plastic waste from the Flint water crisis into glasses. Thoughtful, innovative, and genuinely values-driven.

But here’s what no one tells you. Running a mission-first business is not for the weak. Scaling a sustainable brand while keeping it profitable is straight-up hard. Rising customer acquisition costs, supply chain struggles, and pricing ceilings made it tough. Eventually, Ali made the call to shut it down rather than compromise on what made it special. It wasn’t a failure. It was proof that even the best ideas need a business model that actually works.

What Every Brand Builder Can Learn from Genusee

A strong mission won’t fix bad math. If the numbers don’t add up, the brand won’t last. Customers respect honesty. Genusee’s transparency built a community and kept people invested. More brands should try it. Impact needs infrastructure. If companies want to scale, they need a plan that makes growth possible.

From Founder to Growth Leader: Ali’s Work at Kadeya

After Genusee, Ali joined Kadeya, a company reinventing beverage retail with closed-loop vending stations that eliminate single-use plastic. But what’s actually wild? The data play.

Kadeya’s QR-coded bottles give brands real-time insights into who’s buying and when—something traditional beverage companies have never had. Imagine if Pepsi actually knew who grabbed their drink at a gas station. That’s the future. And yes, we got into why QR codes (when done right) are way more than just a restaurant menu shortcut.

Hot Takes: Alex Cooper, Alix Earle, and the Future of Creator Brands

Creators are shifting from content to commerce, and the internet is eating it up.

Alex Cooper’s Unwell brand had skeptics, but she built an audience first and then launched a product they actually wanted. That’s how it’s done. Meanwhile, Alix Earle is rumored to be launching an alcohol brand, but Gen Z drinks 86 percent less than millennials, so will they even buy it? TBD. More creators are teaming up with big brands instead of launching solo because running a product business is actual work and not just vibes.

Final Thoughts: How to Build a Brand That Stands Out

Creative brands don’t just survive—they thrive. Ads get traffic. Brand identity gets loyalty. Sustainability is great, but it has to scale, or it won’t last. Creator brands are shifting. Expect more influencer-led partnerships and fewer solo startups.

If you’re trying to build something real, something people remember, this episode had a lot to unpack. Let us know what you think, and catch the full convo when you can.