Smashing the growth ceiling for St Eval

545%

increase in total sales

490%

increase in overall revenue for the year

537%

revenue increase in paid search

306%

increase in organic revenue

125%

increase in new customers and 10x more brand visibility on Meta

10x

more brand visibility on Meta

Manufacturing demand and smashing the growth ceiling

Intelligent experimentation and a bold social-first strategy drove a 545% increase in sales for heritage candlemaker St Eval.

The challenge

It is a dilemma many premium consumer brands face: a performance plateau caused by over-reliance on bottom of the funnel capture. For over 30 years, St Eval has crafted high quality fragrances from its North Cornwall home, but its Q4 strategy had become predictable. By doubling down on Google Ads to harvest existing demand and discount hunters, the brand was limiting its universe of potential customers. With acquisition costs creeping up and margins tightening, St Eval tasked Launch with a clear objective: turn the Golden Quarter into a sustainable growth engine fuelled by high value, full price customers.

Our approach

We identified that the growth ceiling was a result of being too efficient in a vacuum. Google Ads was capturing demand, but it was not creating it. To break the cycle, we recommended a fundamental shift in media spend, flipping the traditional 60:40 Search to Social split to 40:60 in favour of Social.

This bold, social first approach focused on manufacturing demand a full month before peak season. We used structured experimentation to identify which content would resonate. By isolating static imagery against video, we forced the algorithms to give each format a fair trial. This revealed that while video drove purchase activity, high quality static imagery was a powerhouse for volume. We also looked at new creative approaches for the brand, such as review focused social ads, to build trust with new audiences.

Finally, we implemented a measurement framework to track the halo effect, proving how this top of funnel investment fuelled organic search, direct traffic and email signups.

The results

The results validated the decision to spend on brand storytelling over discount driven search. We hit targets early, but most importantly, we built a more resilient brand.

The influx of new customers (up 125%) was so significant that it has reframed St Eval’s entire 2026 strategy toward retention and nurturing. By proving that paid search success is fuelled by social awareness, we moved St Eval from seasonal reactivity to sustainable, year-round growth.

Exponential growth

545% increase in total sales and a 490% increase in overall revenue for the year

Channel synergy

The halo effect drove a 537% revenue increase in paid search and a 306% increase in organic revenue

Customer acquisition

125% increase in new customers and 10x more brand visibility on Meta

“For a heritage brand like St Eval, Q4 is always high stakes, but we recognised that our traditional reliance on paid search was reaching a ceiling. Launch challenged us to move beyond the safety of bottom-of-funnel activity and lean into a social-first strategy that focused on brand building and intelligent experimentation. The results have been transformative. A 163% revenue jump in Q4 and a 125% increase in new customers has completely reframed our 2026 outlook. We’ve moved from a mindset of seasonal reactivity to one of sustainable, year-round growth. This campaign proved that even in a crowded, discount-heavy market, investing in brand story and creative testing pays dividends far beyond the initial click.”

Neil Fox Marketing Director, St Eval