Frustrated with conventional medicine, Chanyu Xu turned to traditional Chinese medicine to find the balance she’d been missing — and HER ONE was born. “I saw the opportunity to position a brand founded by a woman for women,” said Xu, Founder and CEO. “It perfectly encapsulates my passion for healthy eating, consumer brands, and startup entrepreneurship.” Dedicated to supporting women’s health and well-being, HER ONE offers a wide range of supplements and vitamins that can be easily absorbed and are thoughtfully made with high-quality ingredients.
Xu often calls herself the Chief Everything Officer, and has even packed and fulfilled products. “We had our own warehouse and stood there, in winter temperatures, packing and shipping — that’s how we grew.” Now, 25 people focus on product creation, design, and customer service, while fulfillment partners manage packing and shipping.
Growing fast, HER ONE needed an operating system that could keep up: something scalable, with seamless onboarding, effortless communication, and the ability to deliver high-quality customer support. “I can’t recall any company where we didn’t have Slack, which made it an easy choice,” Xu said. “I’ve used it in all the businesses I’ve co-founded or helped build.”
“I’m no longer stressed at the end of the day wondering where to start. What used to take a dozen apps, I now handle in one place: Slack. Mic drop.”
Powering wellness from the inside, out and saving 3,600 hours a year
From gut-friendly probiotics to hormone-balancing blends, there’s something to support customers at every stage of their HER ONE journey. Internally, each product has a dedicated Slack channel for real-time updates and a shared canvas for plans, progress, and key decisions. This encourages visibility by keeping everyone aligned and in the loop.
In lieu of unnecessary meetings, huddles are a go-to solution for quick audio or video chats. Thanks to best practices thoughtfully outlined by Xu, teams know how to take full advantage of Slack’s apps and integrations. For example, with Google Drive and Calendar, users get instant notifications about new documents, changes in access permissions, and upcoming meetings, making it easier to stay organized and keep track of project timelines.
“One of the biggest challenges for startups isn’t the ideas, but executing them,” said CMO Laura Dittscheid. “Traditional meetings often create more questions and action items — but in reality, 60% to 70% of those could be handled in a Slack message.”
Removing unnecessary meetings, minimizing context-switching, and eliminating redundant emails all help save valuable time. “With Slack, we get 45 minutes back, per employee, per day,” said Founder’s Associate Charlotte Küppers. “And with 25 employees, that means we save 3,600 hours per year.”
To keep everything running smoothly, tailored Slack workflows allow the team to automate repetitive tasks and maintain consistency. “The biggest game changer is our KPI monitoring workflow,” said Dittscheid. “Automations from our marketing teams push key KPIs straight into Slack, so I no longer have to update sheets manually. We get a clear summary and only meet when it’s truly necessary — saving time for what really matters.” The team even built a workflow for when supplies run low: It scans spreadsheets, monitors stock and inventory levels, and automatically sends alerts to the right Slack channel.
“With Slack, we get 45 minutes back per employee, per day, and with 25 employees, that means we save 3,600 hours per year.”
Faster answers and fewer silos with Slack Connect
Slack is so essential to Xu that it even shapes how she chooses external partners. “Slack is a must — and all our partners use it. It doesn’t feel like they’re external; we’re working as one team. That’s why I love Slack Connect.” This kind of seamless collaboration doesn’t just scale — it supports HER ONE’s commitment to customer-first operations. Real-time updates on orders, inventory, and delivery status mean the team can respond faster, solve issues on the spot, and plan more effectively, especially on busy shopping days like Black Friday.
“We cannot afford to have customers waiting ages for an answer,” said Küppers. “If a customer doesn’t know where their package is or has a question about the delivery, we can write directly to the fulfillment center and respond immediately in Slack.”
None of this would be possible without a strong internal team culture, which Xu built purposefully in Slack. Even as the company scales, culture continues to thrive thanks to channels, threads, emoji, GIFs, and apps like Clappy, which make it easy to celebrate wins and recognize great work.
Keeping data secure, compliant, and under control
Data protection, GDPR compliance, and data management are top priorities for any online business. Slack checks all the boxes for HER ONE and Xu by keeping communication and collaboration secure. It offers enterprise-level security and compliance, while giving the business full control over its data.
“The topic of data security is extremely important in Germany,” said Xu. “GDPR is a big buzzword. All the tools we work with must adhere to these guidelines, not only legally but also concerning compliance. Slack is a super important partner for us; it meets all the requirements.”
This trust has given Xu the confidence to send herself a direct message with the company IBAN: Since it’s hard to remember, she simply searches for it whenever needed. This sense of security also encourages the team’s creativity, as they can freely brainstorm knowing everything they discuss is safe.
“As founder and CEO, it’s extremely important to know that all our data and information are in a secure place,” said Xu.
“We absolutely don’t have to worry about our data in Slack. Every message, every document, and all projects are super safe.”
Harnessing AI to accelerate growth and efficiency
At a startup like HER ONE, a single day can feel like a week or a month at a larger company. With that kind of fast-paced environment, time and speed are crucial. Keeping this in mind, the tech-savvy, efficiency-focused teams have been exploring the potential of AI. They’re already using various AI tools that integrate with Slack, and they’re excited to build on this further as Slack continues to expand its AI capabilities.
“AI solutions that can take action, communicate with our warehouse, and send us updates would save a lot of time,” said Küppers. “It would streamline processes, improve forecasts, and optimize not just fulfillment and logistics, but procurement too.”
This forward-thinking approach is at the heart of HER ONE’s digital culture, and the team knows that staying agile and scaling quickly are key to their success. “That’s why we chose Slack,” said Xu. “Everything we do is focused on speed and agility, so we need partners and tools that are the same. I can’t imagine our company without Slack.”
