E101: Category Expansion via Paid: When to Launch, What to Test & How to Scale

Are your new product launches driving incremental revenue or just shifting money around?

Connor Rolain, Head of Growth at HexClad, and Connor MacDonald, CMO at Ridge, dig into one of the most under-discussed challenges in DTC: how and when to introduce new products into your paid acquisition channels. From HexClad's cocktail shaker launch to Ridge's tattoo-inspired wallet designs, they break down real decisions they're making right now.

Geo lift tests, channel holdouts, MER vs. ad-level performance, blended business unit analysis, and cross-category buying behavior. The conversation centers on operationalizing category expansion in paid — building frameworks for when to scale, when to hold, and how to make smarter allocation decisions across categories.

Chapters

00:00:00 The Juice Worth the Squeeze Tease

00:00:46 Triple Digits & Counting

00:01:49 The Looks Maxing Rabbit Hole

00:05:07 Every Influencer Sells Something

00:10:24 What Both Brands Are Building Now

00:12:40 New Products Change the Game

00:13:53 The Tattoo Wallet Holdout Test

00:15:26 HexClad's New Product Funnels

00:18:57 When to Build a New Landing Page

00:21:25 Every Colorway Gets Its Own Ads

00:23:16 Does North Beam Confirm the Lift

00:27:03 Rings vs. Wallets & Newness

00:30:25 Matching Creators to Colorways

00:32:01 Cross-Category Buying Breakdown

00:38:59 Product Expansion Is the Lever

00:41:55 Funnels Across Every Category

00:44:41 Seasonality & Spend Allocation

00:49:12 Seasonal vs. Always-On Spend

00:51:22 The New Product Decision Matrix

00:55:40 Start Simple & Stack the Layers

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