4 Years. 42% YoY Growth. And the Biggest Q4 Yet on the Horizon.
Since 2021, Cleens and Social Nucleus have partnered to build one of the most consistent growth stories in UK ecommerce — scaling a premium footwear brand through creative diversity, SKU-level precision, and data-led media strategy.
Across four consecutive years of double-digit growth, Cleens has evolved from an ambitious start-up to a category leader — now heading into what will be their biggest Q4 yet.
+42%
Sales up by
+32%
ROAS
-16%
NCPA
4
Years Partnership
The Brand
Cleens is a UK-born footwear and apparel brand redefining functional design for the modern athlete. They’ve built a loyal community through quality, comfort, and aesthetics — pairing premium materials with sharp creative identity.
When they first partnered with Social Nucleus in 2021, the goal was simple but ambitious:
Build a sustainable growth engine that could scale every year without sacrificing brand integrity.
Four years later, that engine hasn’t stopped running. Cleens has grown year after year, through platform changes, algorithm updates, and economic volatility — proof that when brand and performance align, growth compounds.
The Challenge
As Cleens matured into a high-growth DTC business, the challenges evolved:
- Creative fatigue and audience saturation were starting to slow delivery on Meta.
- Rising CPMs meant acquisition efficiency had to be protected.
- SKU performance needed sharper segmentation to ensure high-margin products could lead scale.
- Seasonal peaks (summer and Q4) required tighter operational coordination — scaling when stock and demand were highest, not just when ads were performing.
Heading into 2025, the mission was clear:
Drive high-efficiency acquisition, increase repeat purchase behaviour, and prepare for the biggest Q4 the brand has ever seen.
The Long-Term Strategy
What makes this partnership stand out isn’t just the numbers — it’s the consistency. Every year since 2021, Social Nucleus has helped Cleens scale through a compound system of creative breadth, media precision, and financial discipline.
1. Creative Volume & Persona Diversity
We’ve built Cleens’ ad library into a system. Every creative variation — from top-of-funnel hooks to retargeting stories — is designed to match Meta’s probabilistic delivery model .
- Volume-first creative testing: Letting Meta’s algorithm surface winners through live delivery instead of wasteful “test campaigns.”
- Persona-mapped storytelling: Ads that speak differently to cold, warm, and returning customers, feeding data loops that improve efficiency.
- Diverse creative formats: From Reels-native UGC to high-end product visuals, built to balance performance and brand perception.
Result: Higher delivery efficiency, lower fatigue, and a +32% YoY increase in ROAS even as CPMs rose.
2. SKU-Level Scaling & Product-Led Growth
Instead of lumping all products under broad campaigns, we designed SKU-specific strategies around each collection.
Each had:
Each had:
- Tailored ad creative and messaging.
- Unique pacing logic based on margin and inventory.
- Dedicated budget controls to scale efficiently.
This SKU-led structure allowed Cleens to sell through key collections at 100% efficiency, while new releases like Midnight and Monochrome launched seamlessly off the momentum.
3. Inventory Intelligence & Timing
Media and stock were synced.
We scaled ad spend only during periods of high stock availability and eased during low inventory. This meant every £1 spent was backed by available product, reducing wasted impressions and keeping CAC tight during high-demand phases.
Result: Ad spend increased +130% YoY during the Summer Sale — but efficiency improved, with -16% NCPA and +32% ROAS.
4. Partnerships & Creator Whitelisting
Performance isn’t just about ads — it’s about trust.
By running creator whitelisting campaigns, Cleens expanded into warm audiences that responded to authentic, peer-led content. CTRs and CVRs climbed.
Execution:
Where Strategy Meets System
Cleens’ results didn’t come from a single campaign — they came from consistent execution built on three guiding principles:
Platform Discipline
- CBO as the backbone for scalable efficiency.
- SKU based campaigns to control downside risk while unlocking upside performance.
Data Integrity
- Click-only attribution for congruence between ad account and backend data.
- Single source of truth for decision-making — blending Meta, Shopify, and Triple Whale data to measure real incrementality.
- Guardrails for volume — spend where contribution margin supports growth.
Results (2025 Performance)
+42%
Total Sales
+41%
Orders
+36%
Sessions
26.7%
New Customer Orders
Returning Customer Rate
Up 35.38%
Why It Worked
Cleens’ sustained growth over four years isn’t coincidence — it’s compounding cause and effect.
- Creative volume = Delivery efficiency. Meta rewards diversity; we built a system around it.
- Product precision = Scalable profitability. SKU-level budgets protect CAC and maximise margin.
- Data clarity = Confident scaling. Click-based attribution and incremental analysis ensure every pound spent is justified .
- Operational rhythm = Sustained success. Weekly creative refreshes, margin-linked scaling, and cross-department alignment drive relentless momentum.
“This wasn’t a short-term win. It’s four years of deliberate growth, compounding on itself year after year.”
Now Heading Into Their Biggest Q4 Yet
After four years of partnership and consistent YoY growth, Cleens is now entering what will be their biggest Q4 to date.
Inventory levels are stronger, new SKUs are launching into peak season, and the creative pipeline is deeper than ever — with performance data fuelling every brief.
For Cleens, Q4 isn’t a finish line. It’s the next evolution in a long-term growth story — one built on alignment between data, creative, and performance.
The Takeaway
Cleens’ growth shows what happens when creative diversity meets disciplined media and financial control.
With Meta’s machine learning, SKU-level precision, and clean attribution alignment, we helped Cleens scale year after year — turning efficiency into momentum, and momentum into market leadership.
Want to scale with the same precision?
Let’s map your growth system — creative, spend, and data — for sustained, year-on-year success.