Grind
Background
Grind began as a beloved London café chain, known for its stylish locations and quality coffee. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a swift pivot to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. Despite having a strong brand presence offline, Grind faced challenges in translating this success to the digital realm. Their online marketing infrastructure was minimal, lacking cohesive ad content, tracking mechanisms, and optimized landing pages. The digital coffee market was saturated, and Grind needed a robust strategy to stand out and scale effectively.
Active Period
Challenge
Grind's transition to DTC was met with several hurdles:
- Digital Infrastructure Deficit: The existing marketing stack was underdeveloped, missing critical components like effective ad creatives, tracking systems, and conversion-optimised landing pages.
- Market Saturation: The online coffee space was crowded with established players and new entrants, making customer acquisition increasingly competitive and costly.
- Resource Constraints: Operating with a lean team and limited budget, Grind needed a strategy that prioritised efficiency and rapid iteration.
Context
What we did for them
Highrise partnered with Grind to overhaul their DTC strategy comprehensively.
- Consumer Insight Discovery: Conducted in-depth research to understand customer motivations, preferences, and barriers to purchase.
- Communications Matrix Development: Created a structured messaging framework to ensure consistency across all digital touchpoints, including ads, emails, and landing pages.
- Iterative Funnel Testing: Implemented A/B tests on product positioning, subscription offers, and pricing strategies to identify the most effective approaches.
- Performance Tracking Enhancement: Integrated advanced analytics tools to monitor key performance indicators, enabling data-driven decision-making.
- Creative Asset Optimization: Developed a suite of digital-native creatives tailored to resonate with online audiences, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
Breakthrough
Within three months, Grind experienced a significant transformation:
- Revenue Surge: E-commerce revenue skyrocketed from £10,000 to £500,000 monthly, marking a 50x increase.
- Subscription Growth: The introduction of sustainable at-home coffee pods and a focus on subscription models led to substantial subscriber growth across both paid and organic channels.
- Data-Driven Insights: Enhanced tracking allowed Grind to accurately attribute sales to specific marketing efforts, optimizing return on ad spend (ROAS) and customer lifetime value (LTV).
Highrise has helped us transform our business from traditional high street retail to direct to consumer first.
Grind is now primarily a DTC coffee business, not a high street mini-chain, with our mission now to build the world's leading at-home coffee brand.
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