This is a legendary story, and honestly, it’s one of the best examples of why I do what I do.
Most people look at a brand like MASA and see a lucky "viral" moment. They see Joe Rogan talking about them or the "Tan Man" aesthetic and think, "Must be nice to have a cool brand."
They’re wrong. MASA isn't just a "cool brand." It’s a high-performance machine engineered by two opposites: a visionary health crusader (Steven/The Tan Man) and a cold-blooded private equity operator (Seth).
It started with a hungover bet on a beach in Miami in 2022. It’s now an industry disruptor.
At Pixel Theory, we’ve been in the trenches as their Growth Partner, helping them bridge the gap from "DTC cult favorite" to a nine-figure powerhouse.
Here is the breakdown of how we’re building the "LVMH of Food" together.
The "Status Alibi" (Why they can charge $13 a bag)
If you try to sell a "healthy chip," you’re playing a losing game. You're competing on restriction (no gluten, no fun).
MASA did the opposite. They sell Hedonism. The "Vintage Vogue" aesthetic, flash photography, Amalfi Coast vibes, makes seed-oil-free eating look aspirational, not like a diet. They sell a bundle of Health + Taste + Status. The health (organic corn, beef tallow) is just the "alibi" the consumer uses to justify the $13 price tag for the status. It’s the Patagonia vest of the snack aisle. When you bring MASA to a party, you’re signaling that you’re "in the know."
“If I eat a bag of Doritos, I feel like a loser.”
The Supply Chain Blockade (Vertical Integration)
When Steven and Seth started, every co-packer in America laughed at them.
"Beef tallow? That will cross-contaminate our vegan lines."
"Heated tanks for solid fats? Too expensive."
So, they did the "founder move": They built their own factory.
By bootstrapping their own production line near NYC, they achieved 100% control. They are now one of only three legitimate tallow chip manufacturers in the country. That "blockade" became their Moat.
How We Scaled the Vision (The Pixel Theory Playbook)
You don't build a legacy brand by just being "cool." You need a growth engine that can handle the heat. When MASA brought us in, our mandate was simple: Scale aggressively without breaking the unit economics.
Here is the 3-part system we used to turn the "LVMH" vision into a mathematical reality:
Phase 1: The Scale Sprint In January 2025, we ramped daily spend from $7k to $25k. Most brands collapse here because their creative gets "fatigued." We launched 80+ net new creative angles in 30 days. We moved beyond "No Seed Oils" and tested angles like "The Most Expensive Chip" and "Junk Food Without the Junk."
The Result: Spend jumped 162% while holding CAC steady.
Phase 2: Treating CPG like SaaS We don't look at Day 1 ROAS. We look at Cohort Maturity. We test 10-20 offers a month (BOGO, Variety Bundles, GWP). We model the LTV of a "Buy 6" customer vs. a "20% off" customer. We only double down on the acquisition hooks that build long-term enterprise value.
Phase 3: The Subscription Explosion (The Post-Click Overhaul) Selling single bags is a hobby. Selling subscriptions is a business. We completely rebuilt the post-click experience to force a behavior shift.
Revenue Per Visitor (RPV): Increased by +50.2%.
The Result: 67.2% of all new orders are now subscriptions. That’s a 15x lift in subscription revenue.
The "Ancient Crunch" Roadmap
MASA is just the first act. Seth and Steven are building Ancient Crunch, an umbrella for premium ancestral snacks. They’ve already added Vandy Crisps (potato chips) and Golden Age Fats (tallow) to the mix.
The Goal: $2B in revenue by 2030.
They didn’t just sell a chip. They engineered an identity and built a tribe.
P.S. I want to do for your brand what we’re doing for MASA. I’m opening up 10 spots for a free growth consultation over the next 7 days. If you’re a founder doing over $10M/year and you want to stop "guessing" on your growth, grab a time below.
