Case study · Premium Skincare

Husk & Seed

Selling Value, Not Volume

Ongoing

Average order value: +45%
Contribution margin: 2x
CAC maintained: Flat
Partnership: Ongoing

Period: Post-change period against the preceding equivalent period.
Basis: Contribution margin after product and fulfilment costs, with customer acquisition cost held flat.
Source: Client account and margin data.

How we define and measure these figures

"They were selling £5 samples at a loss. We shifted the focus to high-margin bundles."

Interrogate this case study

Go on, ask.

ROAS was not the number that mattered here. Discovery Sets converted well and cost more to sell than they returned, so every conversion moved the P&L the wrong way regardless of how the ratio looked. Contribution margin doubled and average order value rose 45% with acquisition cost held flat.
From changing what the ad sells. Copy moved from loss-leading discovery samples to full ritual bundles, so average order value rose 45% and contribution margin doubled. The same acquisition cost now buys a customer worth twice as much.
Stopped selling samples at a loss to price-sensitive browsers, and stopped showing sample buyers the same acquisition ad. They now get a dedicated upgrade offer instead.
That is the risk the account was running rather than a result we can evidence. On the numbers as they stood, every conversion lost money and the funnel leaked at the point the economics depended on: sample buyers who never upgraded.

Situation

Husk & Seed were acquiring customers efficiently on paper and losing money on every one. Discovery Sets converted well and cost more to sell than they returned.

The assumption holding the model together was that sample buyers would upgrade. Most did not.

Diagnosis

Customer acquisition cost exceeded the contribution on a sample set, so every conversion moved the P&L the wrong way.

Generic skincare messaging was attracting price-sensitive browsers rather than buyers with a specific problem worth paying a premium to solve.

Nothing existed to bring sample buyers back, so the funnel leaked at exactly the point the economics depended on.

Decision

The call

Sell the commitment rather than the trial, and target by problem state rather than by category.

The product line and pricing were already right and were not changed.

Execution

Ad copy rebuilt around full ritual bundles instead of samples.

Audiences layered by problem state, with specific copy for menopause and sensitive skin.

Exclusion lists built so sample buyers received a dedicated upgrade offer rather than the same acquisition ad.

Messaging moved from ingredients to outcomes.

Result

Average order value rose 45% and contribution margin doubled while customer acquisition cost was held flat.

Holding CAC flat matters more than reducing it here: the same acquisition cost now buys a customer worth twice as much.

Principle

A cheap first order is not a cheap customer. Changing what the ad sells fixed unit economics that no amount of bid tuning would have.

"JudeLuxe isn't your standard Google Ads agency. Gee and Chris are friendly and clear communicators, explaining things simply. They're creative and use the latest tech, including AI, to maximise your ad spend. But the best part? They truly care about your company's success. They take the time to understand your goals and develop a strategy to achieve them. JudeLuxe is basically your own Google Ads dream team. Highly recommend!"

Wendy Lane, Owner, Husk & Seed Skincare