Softies x Human: A growth plan that fits to a tee

As a family business that started in a garage, loungewear and accessories brand Softies has it all: the heartwarming story, the impressive trajectory, and the premium products.

When it came to intentional growth, however, Softies was stuck. Like many ecommerce businesses, the fast-expanding brand was raking in revenue without generating profit.

Human stepped in to help refocus the forward motion and prioritize scaling their contribution margin. With multi-channel marketing strategies and optimizations backed by irrefutable data, we made profit the latest part of the Softies story.

The challenge: Progress without profit¶

Before Softies partnered with Human in 2021, they already had 15 years of momentum behind them. The family had built a strong brand with a loyal following. They’d even earned a spot on Oprah’s Favorite Things list several years in a row.

What was missing was structured, quantitative data. Softies knew they were growing, but they didn’t have a clear path toward profitable growth.

Strategic decisions were based more on “what can we reasonably achieve?” than “what will get results?” With hazy measurements and incomplete data, Softies couldn’t quantify impact or modify the plan of action. And with no reliable plan to scale profitably, Softies was left hoping that a shot-in-the-dark approach would connect.

That’s when they called Human.

Our approach¶

The Human team came in hot. We wanted to know everything about cash flow, contribution margins, OpEx—all the real business metrics that most marketing agencies don’t bother with. By developing a head-to-toe understanding of Softies’ operations, we could develop a game plan for rapid growth and profitability.

Our team revamped the Softies marketing machine with a full-funnel strategy that included:

• Creative testing
• Lifecycle marketing
• Paid media optimization
• Performance analytics

With measurement systems for cross-platform conversion and retention in place, Softies could finally ensure every marketing dollar was driving customer acquisition and profitability. But data is only one piece of the puzzle. Beyond setting up platforms and measurement frameworks, we sought a fundamental shift in Softies’ marketing philosophy: Stop chasing "safe” metrics like ROAS and set your sights on long-term profitable customer growth.

Our approach exposed growth opportunities Softies couldn’t see before—moments where every indicator pointed toward increasing spend, rather than holding to fixed monthly budgets. With data as our guide, we could make the hardest argument for any agency: Spend more on marketing.

The results: More customers, more margin, all profitable¶

By increasing spend at the right time and monitoring for holistic profitability beyond ROAS, we achieved what Softies had been looking for all along.

• New customer acquisition – Thanks to paid media strategies and email/SMS marketing campaigns, Softies added 36,000+ new customers in a single year. Many of these acquisitions occurred outside peak gift-giving season, contributing to sustainable, year-round growth.
• Increased revenue – Our combined efforts helped Softies scale to nearly $10M in revenue. This increase represented 160% YoY growth for the company—a figure they could now measure with ease.
• Expanded contribution margins – Our approach drove a $1.3M margin lift. More capital to reinvest in scaling the business means a virtuous cycle of profitable growth.

Improvements like these are inspiring, but they’re not unexpected when you put vanity metrics aside and scale with profitability in mind.

In their own words¶

When asked to reflect on the partnership, CEO Tim Murphy had this to say: “Human is good people and they’ve done good by Softies. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to grow their business with a true partner that cares.”

Throughout the organization, the Human partnership remains the gold standard:

“Working with Human has been so refreshing. They don’t over-promise and under-deliver. It’s the exact opposite. They say what they’re going to do, and they do it, and then they exceed it.”

– Jandi Swanson Gonzalez, Marketing

Softies makes their products with comfort in mind. We’re proud to have fostered that same comfort as their growth partner.

“The impact to our overall business, and then also concentrating on our bottom line, has been amazing. Absolutely amazing. So just trusting that process has been very, very good for Softies.”

– Tim Murphy, CEO