Partner Content: Glimpse
Chargebacks are one of those hidden drains that can quietly erode a growing beverage brand’s cash flow. For Kin Euphorics, reconciling deductions had become a major operational challenge as wholesale orders scaled.
When one deduction alone reached five figures, Senior Operations Manager Melanie Rose knew the team needed a better system for disputing chargebacks.
The Hidden Cost of Manual Chargebacks
Founded to make wellness a shared and celebratory experience, Kin Euphorics built early momentum with functional non-alcoholic beverages formulated with adaptogens, nootropics, and botanicals.
As wholesale demand accelerated, though, the back office began to feel the strain. Every deduction from a distributor or retailer meant hours of manual reconciliation: digging through bills of lading, piecing together spreadsheets, and chasing down documentation.
For a lean team of two, those hours came at a high cost. Even after experimenting with in-house scripting, Melanie found that the process still demanded more headcount and specialized expertise than the company could justify.
Still, at the company’s early stage, she knew that she couldn’t simply let thousands of dollars slip away.
Automating the Process
Like many operators, Melanie first tried to streamline the process internally, experimenting with data optimization and scripting. But even with those tools, Kin still needed more hands and deeper expertise to keep pace with deductions.
The team decided to explore external support. That’s when they turned to Glimpse, whose platform and analyst team specialize in trade spend and chargeback recovery.
Onboarding was quick: Kin uploaded historical data, and Glimpse’s automated platform began validating and disputing deductions. Instead of tackling each chargeback by hand, Melanie now received email updates about claims already won.
Turning Data into Insight
Beyond the financial recoveries, Glimpse provided a clearer view of Kin’s overall deduction picture. By aggregating and categorizing all chargeback data, the platform gave Melanie’s team actionable insights into recurring issues.
This visibility has helped Kin identify discrepancy patterns at the warehouse level and refine processes to prevent future chargebacks. The datasets also feed into finance planning, offering a more accurate basis for capital forecasting.
Results That Scale
In just one dispute, Kin recouped more than $10,000, with an additional $34,000 in pending reversals. The automation has saved enough bandwidth to avoid adding labor hours or hiring an additional employee, while ensuring the team can keep its focus on retail expansion and product development.
For Melanie, the partnership represents more than cost savings. It enabled the team to stay focused on Kin’s mission: building a category-defining brand in alcohol alternatives.
Lessons for Other Founders
For founders navigating the transition from regional growth to national scale, Kin’s experience offers a few takeaways:
- Chargebacks are dull and pointless on the surface, but in truth, that paperwork represents critical working capital.
- Visibility into deductions can highlight operational issues elsewhere in the business.
- Automating early saves bandwidth and helps small teams stay focused on growth.
Throughout the process, Glimpse provided the operational backbone that enabled Kin to recover cash and keep momentum going, even in the face of bureaucratic speedbumps.
To see how Glimpse can support your brand, book a 30-day free trial and get started. For more, follow Glimpse on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
