Fixing Unit Economics Before Marketing

At Scentials, the core problem was not demand or scale — it was profitability. Despite strong sales volumes and associations with high-profile brand ambassadors such as Virat Kohli, Salman Khan, and Tiger Shroff, the business continued to operate at a loss.

When I took ownership, the underlying issue became clear quickly: marketing decisions were being made without a clear understanding of unit economics. Campaigns were aggressively scaled using random discounting, thin margins, and volume-led thinking. While topline sales looked healthy, contribution margins were either negligible or negative, further worsened by high RTO and return rates. The business was effectively losing money on growth.

The first intervention was rebuilding clarity around unit economics. Every campaign, discount, and scaling decision was evaluated through the lens of CAC, margins, return behaviour, and net contribution. Loss-making campaigns were paused immediately, and discounting was rationalised to ensure sales volumes translated into actual profitability rather than vanity revenue.

A second major challenge was brand perception. Despite celebrity associations, brand awareness and trust at the performance level remained weak. The creative strategy relied heavily on static ads, which underperformed in a category where consumers needed authenticity and reassurance. I shifted the creative direction toward UGC-led content, focusing on real usage, social proof, and expectation-setting. This not only improved engagement but also helped reduce mismatched expectations that often led to returns.

Another critical gap was the lack of retargeting. High-intent users were entering the funnel but not being re-engaged effectively. Structured retargeting layers were introduced to capture demand already generated, improving conversion efficiency without increasing acquisition costs.

As these changes compounded, the business saw measurable improvements across financial and customer metrics. Monthly burn reduced by 85%, driven by tighter spend control and the elimination of unviable campaigns. Average marketing spends were reduced by 35% while maintaining the same revenue levels, fundamentally improving contribution margins. Better expectation-setting and funnel quality led to a 52% increase in repeat customers, indicating stronger brand trust and customer satisfaction.

Over time, as UGC-driven content improved visibility and credibility, organic orders began contributing meaningfully, reducing reliance on paid acquisition and signalling healthier brand equity.

More importantly, the business gained financial visibility and operational clarity — creating a sustainable foundation for future growth rather than revenue without profits.