Case study · Leaf Shave
How a product retirement became the highest-earning launch in Leaf's history.
The brief
Leaf Shave was retiring their (community favorite!) Leaf Razor and launching the new Leaf Two. Our job was to help subscribers say goodbye to something they loved, while building real excitement for what was coming next.
A standard product announcement wasn't going to cut it for a launch this big, so we told a story instead. The whole thing became a series that turned Leaf's most loyal subscribers into insiders, with breadcrumbs, early access, and even a secret passcode before anyone else knew the new razor existed.
See more of my work →The strategy
We built anticipation in phases, rewarded the most engaged subscribers first, and made launch day feel like something they earned with a big celebration.
We kicked things off with emails that looked like accidental sends. Blurry assets, insider Slack-style copy, no clear reveal. Subscribers started talking about it before we said a single word about the new product!
Then we honored the original razor before pivoting to what was next. Educational sends walked subscribers through the new razor's design & materials, always with one clear CTA in every email: sign up for early access. That helped us segment around who was most interested, so by launch day we knew exactly who was primed to buy.
The big moment! The Leaf Two dropped for the early access list first, and that single email became the highest-performing send in Leaf's history. Then we opened it up to the full list with a community that was already primed and excited. We wrapped it all up with more education and a big thank-you to everyone who came along for the ride.
The results
January 2026 launch vs. Leaf's own BFCM / Cyber Monday (December 2025), their previous benchmark.
Why it worked
Most launches ask people to pay attention. This one made them want to. That's what happens when we let your most engaged subscribers feel like the insiders they are :)
Every project starts with a real conversation. Let's talk about your retention program & how we can hit your goals together!
