Case Study
How I launched a new product in a saturated market
The Problem Most Beauty Brands Face: Competing with L’Oréal and Estée Lauder for ad space. £50+ CAC on Facebook. Burning through capital hoping unit economics work eventually. Confusing product lines that don’t convert.
How I Grew The Business
Step 1
Found the underserved audience. Women over 50. Ignored by major brands chasing 25-year-olds. Talked down to by “anti-ageing” messaging. Wanted simplicity and quality, not 47 different products.
Step 2
Simplified the offer. Three products, not thirty. Bundled together. Clear value, higher AOV. First-order profitable in a market where most brands lose money for 6-12 months.
Step 3
Proved it fast. Facebook/Instagram ads to women 50+. Deep customer research before launch meant messaging landed immediately. Hit 7-figure run rate in 90 days.
The Result
First-order profitable from day one. Sold to Monark Global, a complementary beauty brand, after realising my life’s calling wasn’t selling lipstick to middle-aged women.
We already knew this market well. Ed had nailed the positioning and built a customer acquisition system that was working. It was a natural fit for our portfolio.
What This Means For Your Business
Competing in oversaturated markets isn’t about outspending competitors. It’s about:
Finding who’s being ignored — Major brands optimise for the masses. That leaves gaps.
Simplifying the offer — Confusion kills conversion. Make the decision easy.
Getting profitable fast — If your model needs scale to work, you’re already behind.
The brands that win aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that understand a specific customer better than anyone else.
