GardenCup

$29M+ DTC Run Rate

the brief
Overview
GardenCup did not start overnight. In 2021, founder Brad Savage brought me in through my agency at the time, BuzzShift, to help establish the initial brand foundation. That work focused on positioning, identity, and the early digital experience. After that, Brad spent more than three years doing the work most founders underestimate. He obsessed over operations and solved a real problem. How to ship fresh salads direct to consumer across all 48 contiguous states. Once the operating model was dialed in and demand started to compound, Brad brought me back in again. This time after my agency exit. My role shifted to Fractional CMO and strategic advisor focused on scaling the business.

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the challenge

The real problem

By the time I reentered, the fundamentals were strong, but scale introduces new problems.

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The product worked.

Operations was starting to get dialed in. (Shipping salads 48 states nationwide is the hardest thing to ship, no really.)

Demand was there.

What lagged behind was leverage.

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The brand look and messaging had not caught up to the quality of the product. Acquisition leaned heavily on branded ads with rising CAC. Partnerships existed, but they were not being used as a system. Growth decisions were happening tactically instead of intentionally.

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The opportunity was not reinvention.

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It was refinement and sequencing.

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Key decisions

The strategic moves that unlocked growth.

01
We refreshed the brand, site experience, and messaging so the outside of the business finally matched the quality of what was inside. The goal was credibility, clarity, and trust at scale without breaking what already worked.
02
We turned partnerships into a real growth lever instead of a logo exercise. Collaborations were built as products, not promotions, designed to lower COGS, increase perceived value, and introduce GardenCup to aligned audiences.
03
We shifted acquisition away from mostly branded ads toward creator led and whitelisted media. Product seeding became normal. Creators became infrastructure. CAC improved as trust increased.
04
Identity stacking and ingredient led collaborations became part of the growth engine, not one off tactics. Each partnership strengthened brand equity while driving performance.

the results

The outcome

From 2024 through 2026, I led GardenCup’s DTC growth from $0 to a $29M+ run rate.

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As the business matured, I also helped lead GardenCup’s first outside capital raise. We structured it intentionally as a targeted SPV after the model had already been proven through bootstrapped growth.

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FlightPlan Ventures was the first check in, alongside Space Station Investments, as part of GardenCup’s initial pre seed SPV in late 2025.

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The goal was not optics.

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It was aligned capital from operators who understood the business.

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Pattern Recognition

The lesson

Most brands do not stall because of bad ideas.

They stall because foundations, systems, and timing get ignored.

GardenCup scaled because the work happened in the right order. Product first. Operations second. Brand and growth layered on top. Partnerships and capital added only after the model worked.

That is how durable DTC brands are built.

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