Away built a billion dollar luggage brand not by inventing a new suitcase but by treating travel as an identity people wanted to belong to. They grew an audience before they had a product, kept the range simple, sold direct, and turned customers into their loudest advertisers through design, guarantees and shareable moments.
Away launched in 2015 with a single hard shell carry on case and went on to become one of the most talked about direct to consumer brands of its generation. Founded by Jen Rubio and Steph Korey, both of whom had backgrounds in building consumer brands online, Away treated luggage as a lifestyle category rather than a commodity. Its marketing playbook, built on content, community and design before advertising spend, offers genuine lessons for small business owners who cannot outspend larger competitors but can out think them.
Positioning luggage as a travel lifestyle, not a commodity
Before Away, most people bought suitcases based on price and durability alone, choosing from brands like Samsonite or American Tourister without much emotional attachment. Away repositioned the category entirely, framing its Carry-On as part of a broader travel lifestyle rather than a functional purchase. The tagline and brand language focused on journeys, adventure and the feeling of travel rather than zips and wheels.
How to apply this to your business: Look at your product category and ask what emotional job it actually does for customers beyond its function. Rebuild your messaging around that feeling rather than the specification sheet, and use it consistently across your website, packaging and social content.
Building an audience before the product existed
Away did not launch with a product and then market it. Before the Carry-On was available to buy, the founders built an email list of over 12,000 people through content, including a travel-focused publication that shared stories about destinations, packing and travel culture. This meant that when the suitcase launched, there was already a warm audience ready to buy rather than a cold market that needed convincing from zero.
How to apply this to your business: Start publishing useful, relevant content in your niche months before you launch a new product or service. A simple email list, blog or social account built on genuine value will give you a ready audience the day you open your doors.
Selling direct to consumer to control the experience and the margin
Away sold almost exclusively through its own website in its early years, avoiding traditional wholesale and department store distribution. This meant it controlled pricing, presentation and the entire customer journey from the first website visit to the unboxing at home, rather than sharing that experience with a retailer.
How to apply this to your business: Wherever possible, sell directly to your customers through your own website or store before handing distribution to third parties. This protects your margins and lets you shape the full experience, from first click to delivery, in a way that reflects your brand properly.
Keeping the product range deliberately simple
Away launched with just one product, the Carry-On, in a small number of colours, rather than a sprawling catalogue. This focus meant marketing could be simple and repeatable, and every piece of content, packaging and messaging reinforced the same hero product rather than splitting attention across dozens of options.
How to apply this to your business: Resist the urge to launch with a huge range. Pick one strong product or service, make it excellent, and let your marketing build real recognition around it before you expand into variations or new categories.
Pricing as a positioning statement
Away priced its Carry-On at a level clearly above budget luggage but well below premium brands such as Rimowa, positioning itself as accessible luxury. This pricing decision was itself a marketing message, telling customers they were getting a considered, well-designed product without paying designer prices.
How to apply this to your business: Set your price deliberately to signal where you sit in the market, rather than simply matching competitors. Choose a price that reflects the value and quality you offer, then let your marketing explain and justify that positioning clearly.
Founder-led storytelling drawn from direct to consumer experience
Jen Rubio had previously worked in social media and marketing at Warby Parker, another brand credited with pioneering the modern direct to consumer playbook. This experience shaped how Away approached branding, photography and tone from day one, and the founders were visible in press coverage explaining why they started the company and what problem they were solving with travel.
How to apply this to your business: Share your own story honestly, including why you started the business and what frustration or gap you were solving. Customers connect with founders who are visible and consistent, so use interviews, social posts and your About page to tell that story clearly.
Seeding product with influencers and editors early
In its early years, Away gifted suitcases to journalists, influencers and people with large social followings, encouraging organic posts of the product in real travel settings such as airports, hotels and holidays. This generated a steady stream of authentic images that felt like recommendations rather than adverts.
How to apply this to your business: Identify a small group of people whose audience matches your ideal customer and send them your product with no strings attached. Genuine, unscripted content from people your customers already trust will outperform paid advertising in credibility every time.
Turning stores into brand experiences rather than just sales points
Away opened physical retail locations, including its first store in New York, designed more like lifestyle showrooms than traditional luggage shops. Stores featured design details, seating areas and Instagram-friendly moments, encouraging visitors to photograph and share their visit rather than simply buy and leave.
How to apply this to your business: If you have a physical location, design it as an experience worth talking about, not just a place to complete a transaction. Small details such as unusual displays, comfortable spaces or a distinctive layout can turn a visit into free word of mouth marketing.
Turning customers into a visible community
Away encouraged customers to share their travel photos featuring the luggage using branded hashtags, and regularly reposted this content across its own social channels. Over time this built a large, recognisable community of real travellers who associated the brand with their own adventures rather than seeing it as an anonymous manufacturer.
How to apply this to your business: Create a simple hashtag or tag system and actively invite customers to share how they use your product. Repost the best examples on your own channels so customers feel recognised, which encourages more people to participate.
Limited edition colours and collaborations to create ongoing news
Rather than relying only on its core range, Away regularly released limited edition colourways and collaborations, giving press and social media something new to cover without needing an entirely new product line. These drops created urgency and gave existing customers a reason to buy again or talk about the brand.
How to apply this to your business: Introduce limited runs, seasonal versions or occasional collaborations even within a simple product range. This gives you fresh marketing angles throughout the year without the cost and risk of constantly developing new core products.
Removing purchase risk with strong guarantees
Away offered a lengthy trial period along with a lifetime warranty on its luggage, allowing customers to use the case on an actual trip before committing fully and to trust that repairs or replacement would be handled if something went wrong. This reduced the perceived risk of buying luggage online without being able to touch or test it first.
How to apply this to your business: Offer the strongest guarantee you can genuinely stand behind, whether that is a trial period, extended warranty or clear returns policy. Removing risk from the buying decision is one of the most effective marketing tools available and often costs less than expected.
Handling reputation challenges transparently
Away faced public scrutiny in 2019 after reporting on workplace culture at the company, which led to leadership changes including a temporary step back and later return of one of its co-founders as chief executive. The episode is a reminder that marketing and brand reputation are not limited to advertising, and how a company responds to criticism becomes part of its public story.
How to apply this to your business: Treat internal culture and customer facing reputation as connected, since problems inside a business rarely stay private for long. Respond to criticism honestly and quickly, and remember that consistent values matter more to long term trust than any single campaign.
Frequently asked questions
What made Away different from other luggage brands when it launched?
Away combined a simple, well-designed product with a lifestyle-driven marketing approach, direct online sales and a strong content and community strategy. Rather than competing purely on durability or price, it built an emotional connection to travel that older luggage brands had largely ignored.
Did Away rely mainly on paid advertising to grow?
Advertising played a role over time, but Away’s early growth relied heavily on content built before launch, influencer and press seeding, direct to consumer sales and word of mouth through social sharing. This mix meant the brand did not depend solely on advertising spend to build initial awareness.
How did Away use its website differently from typical retailers?
By selling directly through its own site, Away controlled photography, storytelling, pricing and the entire checkout experience rather than sharing shelf space and presentation with a third party retailer. This consistency helped reinforce the brand identity at every stage of the customer journey.
Can a small business realistically copy Away’s marketing approach?
Yes, though at a smaller scale. The core principles, building an audience before launching, keeping the product range focused, offering strong guarantees and encouraging customer generated content, do not require a large budget and can be adapted by almost any small business willing to be consistent.
What is the main lesson small business owners should take from Away?
The clearest lesson is that product quality alone rarely builds a brand. Away paired a genuinely useful product with deliberate storytelling, a simple range, direct customer relationships and real risk-removal guarantees, and that combination is what turned a suitcase into a recognisable lifestyle brand.
More marketing case studies
- BrewDog Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Brand That Wins
- GoDaddy Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Brand That Wins
- Etsy Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Brand That Wins
Related reading: Starbucks Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Brand That Wins and Ahrefs Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Brand That Wins.
For the bigger picture, see my full guide to digital marketing.
