Did you know people with the first name “Connor” are three times as likely to become DTC growth experts?

Need proof? It’s math ...

😋 Connor Rolain wants you to increase AOV just like HexClad

📊 Connor MacDonald with lessons on tens of millions in spend

💰 Sean Frank gives you two multi-million dollar revenue levers

Plus, the top five headlines in DTC.

Connor Rolain Head of Growth, HexClad

30 Minutes To Raise Your AOV

We had a conversation with the team at Aftersell by Rokt.

In half an hour, they uncovered:

• Instant AOV lifts
• Broken sequences
• Hidden margin leaks

Then they gave us the tactical roadmap.

The result?

A 448% increase in post-purchase offer acceptance and six figures in incremental revenue from backend efficiency alone.

Here’s a peek at what we created …

If you think your checkout might be leaking revenue ... it is.

The team at Aftersell can help you fix it with a 30-minute, one-on-one conversation.

Connor MacDonald CMO, Ridge

Tens of Millions in Ad Spend Over 60 Days: YoY Channel Mix, 3 Big Wins & 7 Lessons

We just closed the books on a record-setting Q4 at Ridge.

December was our biggest growth month ever. And that came on the heels of November already having …

• Our biggest day ever
• Our biggest week ever
• Our biggest month ever

Flexes are fun. You know what’s better?

Sharing as much as I can about how we did it. That’s what I want to do today. Take you behind the scenes by the numbers.

1. YoY Channel Distribution
2. Three Big (Efficiency) Wins
3. 7 Lessons on Scaling Paid

 1. YoY Channel Distribution 

Here’s a glimpse at how our paid budget shifted year-over-year from ‘24 to ‘25.

• Meta: +26%
• AppLovin: -54%
• Google: -26%
• YouTube: +37%

Note: We spent much more YoY, so % share decreases are still mostly net $ increases.

What’s wild is that nearly every channel improved efficiency.

In ROAS:

• Meta: +28%
• AppLovin: -2.1%
• Google: +75%
• YouTube: +85%
• Twitter: +93%
• Snapchat: +32%
• TikTok: +105%

What drove those lifts?

Higher CTRs reduced our cost of traffic, while AOV and conversion rates held steady.

Of course, it’s one thing to show you the numbers and chalk it up to math — more clicks, same AOV, same CVR.

How did we pull that off?

 2. Three Big (Efficiency) Wins 

#1. Better Creative

Operationally, we got better at making ads that actually work. More testing. Faster iteration. Better hooks. Clearer offers.

#2. Smarter Placements

We shifted channel budget distribution. More search than shopping on Google. More in-stream than Shorts on YouTube.

#3. Channel Leverage

YouTube and TV built top-of-funnel awareness. That created warmer audiences for Meta and improved brand recognition.

Let’s look under the microscope.

• Meta: 53% Share
• Google: 12% Share
• YouTube: 12% Share
• AppLovin: 11.5% Share
• Twitter: 3.6% Share
• TikTok: 2.3% Share

Meta: 53% Share

In 2024, at 42% of total budget, Meta was the smallest we’d ever seen. In ‘25, ROAS increased 28%, including non-purchase optimized campaigns with low one-day click (1DC) ROAS.

Getting Meta back above 50% of budget was a huge win.

Google: 12% Share

Google decreased its share percentage to 12%, but raised its ROAS (+75%) and had the biggest lift in CTR (+252%).

First, we treated Google as more demand-capture, less demand-creation — so shifted budget away from shopping campaigns and into search. Old-school AdWords type stuff.

Second, increased overall ad spend improved brand awareness.

YouTube: 12% Share

YouTube might be our biggest win.

We came into ‘25 with a goal to crack the code on horizontal video and in-stream ads.

All said and done, we increased:

• Share 8.6% to 11.7%
• ROAS by 85%
• CTR up 168%

Meanwhile, cost per click dropped 47%.

AppLovin: 11.5% Share

During ‘24, AppLovin was underpriced and took a 24.6% share. Last year, that dropped to 11.5% and ROAS declined 2%.

Why?

• CPMs increased 69%
• More advertisers piled in
• Competition ate into efficiency

The early-adopter arbitrage we enjoyed disappeared, but it maintained ROAS.

Right now, AppLovin is a seasonal seven-figure channel for us — mostly active during gifting periods. Our 2026 goal is to make it evergreen instead of just a Q4 lever.

Twitter: 3.6% Share

Twitter (X) is the sleeper hit of the year.

• CTR increased 243%
• ROAS improved 93%
• Cost per click down 66%

They’ve been very public about platform improvements. It seems the ad performance came along with it.

Still small at only 3.6% but the channel is working. We’re paying close attention to push it even further.

TikTok: 2.3% Share

TikTok had the highest ROAS increase of any channel, up 105%.

• CTR increased 67%
• Cost per click dropped 52%
• CPMs decreased 20%

However, we kept its share flat at 2.3%.

This is our biggest missed opportunity. The platform has matured. The ad products work. We just didn’t commit the resources to scale it. TikTok is our number one priority.

That tells you what happened. But understanding how to scale and where to diversify, that’s the key.

 3. Seven Lessons on Scaling Paid 

1. Master Meta Before Diversifying
2. Know Your Product’s Maturity
3. Prioritize Ad Inventory Quality
4. Diversify Without New Creative
5. Use Post-Purchase Surveys
6. Avoid Too Many Channels
7. Install an Imperfect System

#1. Master Meta Before You Diversify

I often speak to mid-sized brands eager to do YouTube partnerships, live shopping, or linear TV.

I tell them the same thing:

Diversification is inevitable in the long-run, but most brands underestimate how much scale they can get from Meta.

We learned this the hard way.

At <$20M a year, Ridge was everywhere: newsletters, YouTubers, affiliates, obscure sites — anywhere that would take our money.

Sure, we captured short-term arbitrage ...

But it delayed mastery in our key channels. We didn’t get good at Meta until 2021, when we had already done +$50M.

#2. Know Your Product’s Maturity

Our strategy today reflects my “don’t diversify too soon” mindset; we have three unique categories at different maturity points, reflected in their channel mix.

• Travel: Immature
• Rings: Maturing
• Wallets (EDC): Mature

The differences are clear.

Rings’ diversification is essential going into 2026. The men’s online wedding band business is not that large. We’ll need to expand in order to reach new people.

Travel, on the other hand, can remain Meta-centric much longer. Given our AOV and market size, I don’t foresee channel expansion becoming a requirement.

Wallets have reached full maturity and require the most diversified mix. With Meta saturation and category familiarity, growth now comes from alternative upper-funnel channels.

The lesson? Align channel diversity with product maturity.

#3. Prioritize Ad Inventory

Good ad inventory is underrated. For instance:

Last Q4, we got a $15 CPM from AppLovin, roughly 20% higher than Meta. But cost per three-second view was 50% less because of the difference in ad units.

Sometimes all you need is good ad space.

#4. Diversify Without New Formats

Strong creative travels. While there are some differences in consumption, much of the same content (vertical video in particular) can work across placements:

• AppLovin
• Reels
• YT Shorts
• Snapchat
• TikTok

This year, we applied the same principle to horizontal placements across CTV, linear, and YouTube in-stream.

This makes testing + iterating faster.

#5. Identify Your PPS Baseline

Post-purchase surveys can fragment attribution and blur truth.

This gives you a baseline.

Before launching AppLovin, we added “mobile gaming app” to our PPS. After we launched the ads, responses jumped to 20% of all survey responses, up 10x from our baseline.

That proved the channel was driving incremental purchases and gave us conviction to scale AppLovin further.

#6. Avoid Too Many Channels

It’s dangerous to have too many channels at 1-2% of spend.

Every channel requires:

• Creative iteration
• Measurement setup
• Ongoing optimization

Too many low-budget channels are distracting, prone to errors, and you can most likely figure out how to spend more on Meta at a higher incremental ROAS.

#7. Proudly Install an Imperfect System

There are 1,000 ways to skin your ad budget. But remember …

We use multiple data points to build conviction:

• Platform-reported ROAS
• Post-purchase surveys
• Incrementality testing

Together, they give us enough confidence to make decisions.

The goal isn’t 100% certainty. It’s having a system that’s good enough to act on. Find your data points, build workflows around them, and refine from there.

2025 was a great year for Ridge.

With a little luck and a good plan, 2026 will be even better.

• Maintain Meta’s momentum
• Unlock TikTok at scale
• Make AppLovin evergreen
• Keep pushing YouTube

Sean Frank CEO, Ridge

2 Multi-Mil $ Revenue Tips

These two moves have unlocked TENS OF MILLIONS in revenue.

First, licensing. Why?

New customers discover us.
Existing customers buy more.

Second, personalization.

Higher AOV.
Product differentiation.
Better margins.

The problem is-
Operational complexity sucks.

There is ONLY ONE REASON we have been able to scale both these categories without blowing up fulfillment...

We use Fulfil's ERP to do everything.

- Royalties
- Payouts
- Order routing
- Production schedule

This means zero manual lift from our ops team and massive new revenue opportunity for marketing and growth.

If you want to WIN, you need infrastructure that does not break when you make a lot more money.

THE FEED

​From Brand Moments to Revenue: How Halfdays Drives Growth With Liz Anthony, Chief of Staff​

​2026 Part 1: Macro Ecommerce Predictions & Big Bets​

The Trends

Curated by the editor of CPG Wire, the five top stories in commerce and DTC.

1. L Catterton Bets on Cottage Cheese: PR Newswire​

L Catterton is acquiring a majority stake in Good Culture at a valuation north of $500 million. Founded in 2015 and based in Austin, TX, Good Culture is best known for its clean-label cottage cheese products.

Good Culture sales have increased nearly 4x over the past three years as consumers rediscovered cottage cheese as a high-protein food option (thank you, TikTok). Manna Tree, who invested in Good Culture in 2022, will reinvest alongside L Catterton.

2. Evergreen Secures Over $15M: LinkedIn​

Evergreen, a Chicago-based frozen waffle brand, secured $15.2 million in funding from Melitas Ventures and Terpsi Capital.

Founded in 2020 by Emily Cole Groden, Evergreen is a purveyor of better-for-you frozen waffles, which are packed with hidden veggies and free from seed oils, preservatives, and artificial flavors. The brand retails at 8,000 across the US, and sales were expected to hit $26 million in 2025.

3. Kiss Beauty Group Acquires Chillhouse: NewBeauty​

Kiss Beauty Group is expanding its brand portfolio by acquiring Chillhouse, a fast-growing nail care brand. Chillhouse originally launched as a nail salon in 2017 before the company was forced to pivot to press-on nails due to COVID.

Today, Chillhouse offers a wide variety of products, including face and body care solutions. In 2024, Helen of Troy acquired Olive & June, another nail care brand, for $240 million.

4. Mid-Day Squares Unveils Latest Innovation: Instagram​

Viral snack brand Mid-Day Squares just upped the ante with its newest product: the No Bread PB&J. It’s basically a refrigerated Uncrustables bar with 6g of protein and 4g of fiber per serving.

The new line is rolling out at 1,700 Target doors across the country. The new SKU mitigates the company’s exposure to rising cocoa prices while maintaining its familiar form factor.

5. Honey Mama’s Raises $4M: NOSH​

Honey Mama’s, an Oregon-based producer of refrigerated fudge bars, closed a $4 million funding round led by Bochi Investments. The company will use the funding to increase production capacity, scale retail, and develop innovative new products.

Christy Goldsby launched Honey Mama’s at a farmers market in 2013, and now the brand retails at Costco, Kroger, Sprouts, and Whole Foods. Honey Mama’s previously raised $8.7 million from Irresistible Foods Group and other investors in 2024.

 In LA? Want to Get Dinner Together? 

Next Wed (Jan 21st) at 6pm …

Sean Frank & Jason Panzer are bringing together a small group of senior leaders from some of the most respected brands in Los Angeles and beyond for an intimate get-together.

If you want to be in the room, you can apply to attend here.

With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor

PS (Disclaimer): Special thanks to Aftersell and Fulfil for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

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