The Graham + Parker Effect

Every so often, you find a brand with a killer product and a real mission. A business that has the potential to be truly disruptive, but just needs the right growth engine to light the fuse.

That’s what we saw in Heirloom Coffee Roasters.

As part of our Pixel Theory growth incubator, we knew this brand could redefine the at-home coffee experience. But to do that, they needed more than just a single marketing channel. They needed a complete, integrated growth stack.

So, we teamed up with Parker and his email marketing team at Bylders to build it.

Here’s a look at how we combined a best-in-class acquisition funnel with a powerful retention machine to create a profitable growth flywheel in under 60 days.

Part 1: The Acquisition Engine (Pixel Theory)

When we took over paid media in mid-August, the goal was simple: build a scalable and efficient funnel to acquire new customers.

The old setup was wasting money advertising to existing customers and flying blind with bad data. We fixed it.

• First, we rebuilt the data foundation. We optimized the Meta Conversion API so the ad platform got stronger signals. No more guessing what’s working.

• Next, we plugged the leaks. We implemented exclusion audiences to stop showing acquisition ads to people who were already loyal customers. This immediately focused every dollar on new growth.

• Then, we took control. We introduced manual bids and a rigorous creative testing system to systematically find winning ads and scale them profitably.

The results show a clear story of scaling spend while improving efficiency:

• July (Pre-Pixel Theory): Spend: $20k | CPA: $91 | Purchases: 222

• August (Mid-Month Takeover): CPA dropped -20% while purchase volume jumped +45%.

• September (Full Month): We scaled spend +60% to $36.9k, dropped CPA another -8%, and drove purchase volume up +73% to 556 orders.

We were successfully flooding the top of the funnel with efficiently acquired, high-intent customers. Now, we needed to make sure they stuck around.

Part 2: The Retention Machine (Bylders)

Before we started, email was a ghost town—inconsistent, underutilized, and contributing almost nothing to the bottom line.

Parker’s team was tasked with turning it into a top-performing revenue channel in 90 days. They did it in 30.

Here’s the 30-day playbook:

• Campaigns Became a Cadence: They launched 2-3 campaigns per week, from seasonal promos to product education. This alone drove $5,194 in revenue.

• Automation Was Activated: They built and optimized the 5 core money-making flows: Welcome, Abandoned Cart, Browse Abandonment, Post-Purchase, and Thank You. These automated flows added another $2,421 in revenue.

The results in just the first 30 days were staggering:

• Total Email Revenue: $7,615.59

• Average Open Rate: 59.6% (Industry benchmark is ~20%)

• Average Click Rate: 3.44%

Email went from a dead channel to a proven revenue driver.

The Flywheel Effect: Why This Works

This isn't about two separate channels doing well. It's about a perfectly integrated system.

Pixel Theory's acquisition engine brings in a steady stream of new customers at a profitable CPA. The moment those customers make their first purchase, Bylders' retention machine takes over.

They’re immediately entered into a powerful welcome series, nurtured with engaging campaigns, and guided by automated flows that drive repeat purchases and increase lifetime value.

The investment in acquisition is quickly paid back and amplified by the retention efforts. This is the flywheel: Acquire → Retain → Profit → Reinvest in Acquisition.

This isn't a one-off success; it's the playbook for modern CPG growth. If your brand has a great product but a stalled growth engine, we should talk.