From start-up to love brand with data-led precision and an agency model built to last

When we started working with NewShades in early 2022, the idea was clear: a strong product and an intuitive online experience, in an industry considered “impossible to digitalise”. Blinds and sun protection were shaped by long decision journeys, traditional competitors and interchangeable ranges. Thinking D2C here takes more than ads.

The challenge: to scale a young brand digitally so that it generates revenue and, beyond that, rewrites the rules of the segment.

The brand

NewShades was founded with the vision of bringing blinds and sun protection into the digital age, away from overloaded ranges and complex offline processes and towards a modern e-commerce solution with a clear design focus. Intuitive online configuration, high-quality materials and a well-thought-out user experience quickly made NewShades a relevant brand in the interiors space.

Vision

Blinds and sun protection should be more than purely functional products. NewShades sees pleated blinds, roller blinds and curtains as defining interior elements: individual, aesthetic and uncompromising in quality and fit. The brand stands for modern interior design with maximum usability.

Products

The range includes made-to-measure pleated blinds, roller blinds, venetian blinds, curtains and insect screens, manufactured in Germany, individually configurable and designed to meet the highest standards. Customers benefit from a well-designed ordering process with a digital configurator, free samples and easy self-installation. All of this is underpinned by first-class, professional and personal customer service that sets the benchmark.

USP

Made to measure, “Made in Germany”

Intuitive online configuration & free samples

A design focus over purely functional looks

High-quality materials, easy installation

Clear brand communication, visually strong branding

This combination makes NewShades the preferred destination for discerning customers looking for made-to-measure sun protection.

The goal was to develop NewShades from a growth-oriented start-up into a dominant brand in the DACH region, with a clear focus on profitable scaling and lasting brand building. Alongside revenue growth, the central aim was to position NewShades as the digital destination for made-to-measure blinds and sun protection. Today, just three years later, the success shows in market share and also in the fact that competitors are trying to adopt the brand’s design and positioning.

Entering a fiercely contested market with established, aggressively advertising competitors

Profitable growth from the very start

A complex customer journey with long decision paths

Building differentiated new-customer campaigns and performance forecasts

Scaling new product categories, strategically and based on data

The challenge: to position a young, innovative brand so that it achieves visibility, relevance and profitability at the same time, despite high market saturation.

Instead of relying on short-lived campaign fireworks, we worked with NewShades to establish a data-driven system that works over the long term. Rather than a classic agency model, it is a setup that keeps learning and growing like an operating system. The focus was on building a stable foundation on which we could test, optimise and scale based on data. The collaboration went so deep that both sides now see themselves as one team rather than external partners.

Why this case was only possible this way with Touchpoint:

More than 3 years of consistent collaboration, with no change of team and no loss of know-how

A proprietary forecasting model & a continuous testing framework

Full integration into the in-house marketing team, as if Touchpoint were part of the company

Strategic sparring & operational excellence in one setup

Foundation first, then scale

Before any budget was spent, we put the basics in place: a detailed tracking setup, a purpose-built forecasting model and a measurable customer journey. This let us plan audiences, funnel stages and categories on the basis of data, and optimise every decision for impact.

Testing as DNA

What really works? Which category has potential? Which message converts at which funnel stage? We tested continuously: ads, keywords, creatives, landing pages. Fast, controlled, structured. A framework with a method, where budget is never spread blindly.

Every campaign was part of a test, and every test part of a hypothesis. The result was a cycle of insights, implementation and learnings that runs through all channels like an operating system.

Building the funnel: from Search to full funnel

Initially, the focus was on performance basics, split granularly into new and existing customers. Step by step, we expanded the setup with Performance Max, Demand Gen and upper-funnel strategies. The result was a full-funnel system with maximum efficiency in the lower funnel and steady brand building in the upper funnel.

Category growth by plan

Whether curtains, insect screens or new roller blind formats: every new product was treated as a case of its own, with its own testing, its own messaging and its own campaign structure. Each one was scaled, well beyond simply being launched.

We ARE part of the team

Our collaboration with NewShades goes beyond the classic agency–client relationship and is defined by trust, depth and consistency. No change of account team, no loss of knowledge. We know every conversion rate, every bounce and every category trend. This closeness is no coincidence: it is part of our model.

D2C in a category considered “impossible to digitalise”

Where other agencies avoid complexity, we step in. The combination of configurator, made-to-measure production and an advice-intensive product is the ideal playground for data-driven marketing, far from being an obstacle

Our hypothesis: anyone who wants to master D2C in “dusty” categories needs a partner who does more than run ads and thinks deeply about the business.

Revenue development, whole account

In three years, NewShades grew by more than 470%, from an ambitious online shop to a player with revenue in the mid-eight-figure range.

Efficiency gains

ROAS rose by more than 38% over the same period, a clear sign that our data-driven testing scales and makes the business more profitable at the same time.

Category scaling

Pleated blinds: more than 240% growth, driven by a data-based campaign architecture and differentiated funnel strategies

Roller blinds: more than 200% growth, strategically built up as a second revenue pillar

From Q1 2022 to Q3 2024, we increased NewShades’ revenue by more than 470%, with a clear focus on profitable growth and strategic brand development. The result: a transformation from an ambitious e-commerce start-up into a leading player in the market for made-to-measure blinds and sun protection.

Revenue growth, all products:

Revenue/ad spend growth

Alongside revenue, we also increased campaign efficiency significantly: ROAS improved by more than 38% over the same period, clear evidence of the impact of our data-driven approach. More performance, more margin, more scale, with no compromise on brand quality or user experience.

Scaling the core product: pleated blinds

The focus product, pleated blinds, recorded revenue growth of more than 240% from Q1 2022 to Q3 2024. This development underlines how effective a clear product focus can be when combined with data-driven segmentation and continuous testing, especially when strategy and execution reinforce each other. Pleated blinds became a growth driver and, beyond that, the benchmark in the market for made-to-measure blinds and sun protection.

Category growth: roller blinds

The roller blind category also grew by more than 200% over the same period, from Q1 2022 to Q3 2024. Through targeted campaigns, differentiated audience targeting and continuous conversion optimisation, roller blinds were established as a second strong revenue pillar alongside pleated blinds. The result: sustainable growth across the depth of the range, with no trade-off in efficiency or brand quality.

Success factors

Data-driven optimisation: well-founded decisions through reliable tracking and systematic testing

A segmented campaign structure: differentiated messaging for new and existing customers

A holistic funnel approach: combining short-term performance with long-term brand building

Strategic category expansion: systematic introduction of new product segments

Trends & best practices

Test-based scaling of categories

Maximising efficiency through differentiated audience targeting

Targeted upper-funnel activity to strengthen the brand

Transferability: who benefits from our approach?

Brands that want to take off digitally in traditional markets

Companies with products that need explaining & complex journeys

D2C brands that want to scale for the long term, without compromising on quality