Two women hold Cymbiotika Liposomal Glutathione and Liposomal Vitamin C pouches against a blue sky

( Case study )

Cymbiotika × DOE Media

  • TikTok Shop
  • Meta
  • Google & Bing
  • Creative & landing pages
  • Email & lifecycle

Cymbiotika case study: Where others failed, DOE delivered.

DOE Media bolsters Cymbiotika to a billion-dollar brand growth engine.

See the results
Q4 revenue
growth, YoY
49%
Net subscriber
growth
8X
Weekly TikTok
Shop GMV
$80K+

( 01 )

The brand

Cymbiotika, San Diego

Cymbiotika was built on a simple but radical idea: people deserve supplements they can actually trust.

Clean ingredients. Clear labels. Formulas designed for real absorption.

One of the most science-forward wellness brands in the country, co-founded by Shahab Elmi, Durana Elmi, and Chervin Jafarieh, committed to making clean, effective, science-backed supplements consumers can actually trust.

  • 01Clean ingredients
  • 02Clear labels
  • 03Real absorption
Two women laugh under a deep blue sky, one raising a small Cymbiotika Liposomal Vitamin C pouch, the other holding Liposomal Glutathione

( 01.1 ) The product

The product is genuinely better.

Getting that story in front of the right people at scale? That's where DOE came in.

( 02 )

The challenge

Meta · Google · TikTok Shop · Email

Every attempt stalled.

Cymbiotika had rising CACs and lowered EBITDA as a result of an inefficient account structure across Meta and Google.

Accounts weren't being managed strategically. Budgeting, pacing and KPIs alongside CAC-to-LTV models were not truly defined. DOE installed third-party attribution and MMM modeling strategies and reports with the internal Cymbiotika team to monitor efficacy and optimize in real time while thinking long-term.

  1. 01TikTok Shop

    Cymbiotika tried to crack TikTok Shop multiple times, with several agencies. Every attempt stalled.

  2. 02Meta & Google

    Paid media was broad, creative was blending together, and there were no defined personas.

  3. 03Email

    Email growth had come to a stop.

  4. 04Creative

    An ever-changing opportunity: distilling complex science into forward-thinking marketing that moves the top and bottom line.

( 03 )

The solution

Six pillars

Six moves that built the growth engine.

Move 01

TikTok Shop

$1K → $80K+ per week, in ten weeks

Once DOE took over the TikTok Shop, things started moving fast. Within seven weeks, weekly GMV climbed from under $1,000 to over $13,000. By week ten, Cymbiotika was generating $80,000+ per week consistently, all with a lower CAC than all other paid media channels.

The rebuild covered affiliate outreach strategy, creator activation and management, and GMV Max campaign structure running in coordination, not in silos. Where previous agencies stalled, DOE had them scaling within 60 days.

  • 28K+Orders in five months
  • 26K+Net new customers
  • 60Days to scale

Move 02

Subscription LTV as the
North Star

8X net subscriber growth

Driving orders is easy. Driving the right customer orders takes strategy and planning. DOE modeled Cymbiotika's subscription LTV from day one and only scaled spend on creators and channels where CAC stayed within a healthy ratio while targeting the highest lifetime value customers.

Growth had to translate to real business value. The result: not just more customers, but better ones.

Move 03

Meta: problem-aware,
persona-driven

−22% Meta CPA while scaling spend

DOE rebuilt the Meta strategy around who the customer actually is. Fully developed personas based on women focused on skin elasticity, gut health, and ingredient transparency shaped both targeting and creative. Rather than fishing in the same solution-aware supplement pond, DOE expanded into problem-aware audiences: people who knew something was off but hadn't found a solution yet.

UGC briefs shifted from lifestyle content to problem-and-solution storytelling, statics diversified across every persona's visual identity, and enhanced whitelisting helped launch renowned figures like Gary Brecka.

  • Skin elasticity
  • Gut health
  • Ingredient transparency

Move 04

Google & Bing:
precision over automation

+54% conversions on 47% more spend

DOE rebuilt the Google account from the ground up. Dedicated Shopping campaigns, intentional search structure, and Cymbiotika's first-ever Demand Generation, Display and YouTube campaigns. Standard Shopping saw 250% growth.

And Bing? DOE launched it as a net-new channel and matched Google's ROAS within 30 days.

Move 05

Creative & landing pages:
making the click worth more

+$20 average order value

The DOE design team recreated the landing page strategy around persona-based listicle pages: not single-product pitches, but educational experiences that explained why a customer's gut needs three specific products working together, and what each one does. That approach increased both conversion rate and AOV by $20+.

DOE also built Cymbiotika's brand bible and go-to-market strategy from scratch, giving the brand a consistent creative voice across every channel for the first time.

  • +$20Average order value, with a higher conversion rate
  • 3Products explained per persona-based listicle page
  • 1stConsistent creative voice across every channel

Move 06

Email & lifecycle:
rebuilt for retention

+220% email opt-in rate

The full customer journey was restructured. Automations were rebuilt for efficiency, and email automation revenue grew 31% year-over-year, with lifecycle strategy focused on converting first-time buyers into subscribers, and subscribers into long-term advocates.

( 03.1 )

TikTok Shop

Case study

$1K → $80K+ per week.

Once DOE took over the TikTok Shop, things started moving fast.

( 01 ) Week

00/ 10

( 02 ) Weekly GMV

<$1K

( 03 ) Milestones
  1. Week 0

    Several agencies had tried. Every attempt stalled.

  2. Week 7

    Weekly GMV climbs from under $1,000 to over $13,000.

  3. Week 10

    $80,000+ per week, consistently.

( 04 ) GMV per week · reported milestones
$0$40K$80KWk 0Wk 7Wk 10 <$1K/wk$13K+/wk$80K+/wk
Static · Gut
Video · Product
Video · UGC
Video · Product
Static · Clean
Video · UGC
UGC
UGC
Static · Gut
Video · Product
Video · UGC
Video · Product
Static · Clean
Video · UGC
UGC
UGC
A creator talks to camera about Cymbiotika Liposomal GlutathioneCreator activation & management
A creator films a morning routine with Cymbiotika Liposomal Vitamin CAffiliate outreach strategy
A creator presents Cymbiotika Liposomal Vitamin C on a TikTok Shop live streamLiveGMV Max campaigns, in coordination
A Cymbiotika static ad: Glutathione and Vitamin C pouches on wet blush stoneLowest CACof all paid media channels
Hands unbox a mailer of Cymbiotika pouches28K+orders in the first five months
A creator in her kitchen holds Cymbiotika Glutathione and Vitamin C26K+net new customers
UGC
Static · Clean
Video · UGC
Video · UGC
Static · Gut
UGC
Video · UGC
Video · Product
UGC
Static · Clean
Video · UGC
Video · UGC
Static · Gut
UGC
Video · UGC
Video · Product

Where previous agencies stalled, DOE had them scaling within 60 days.

The rebuild

Affiliates, creators and GMV Max, running in coordination, not in silos.

  1. 01Affiliate outreach strategy
  2. 02Creator activation & management
  3. 03GMV Max campaign structure

( 03.2 )

The creative

Ads · UGC · Pages

Persona-driven creative.

−22%Meta CPA while scaling spend

Our creative team developed statics that diversified across all persona-specific visual identities.

UGC problem / solution

UGC briefs shifted from lifestyle content to problem-and-solution storytelling.

  • UGC

    01Morning routine1.4M views

  • A woman laughs in the sun holding Cymbiotika Liposomal GlutathionePhoto

    02Static · Skin3.1% CTR

  • UGC

    03Car talk980K views

  • A creator presents Cymbiotika Liposomal Vitamin C on a TikTok Shop live streamLive

    04TikTok Shop live640K views

  • UGC

    05Post-workout1.1M views

  • Two hands raise Cymbiotika Vitamin C and Glutathione pouches against a blue skyPhoto

    06Static · Routine2.7% CTR

Landing pages persona-based listicles

Not single-product pitches, but educational experiences that explain why three products work together, and what each one does.

( 01 ) Products per page

3

( 02 ) Avg. order value

+$20

with a higher conversion rate
( 03 ) The pages
  1. 01Gut

    The Gut Reset ProtocolSeal. Soothe. Remineralize.

  2. 02Skin

    The Skin Health ProtocolBuild. Protect. Power.

Listicle · Gut
Cymbiotika gut listicle landing page designed by DOE: 7 reasons you're still bloated, foggy and running on empty, through to the Gut Reset Protocol offer
Listicle · Skin
Cymbiotika skin listicle landing page designed by DOE: 7 reasons your skin keeps getting worse, through to the Skin Health Protocol offer

( 04 )

The full-funnel results

Where others failed, DOE delivered

Not just more customers. Better ones.

Revenue · Q4

49% Q4 revenue growth, year-over-year

Broad paid media and blended creative gave way to persona-driven Meta, a Google account rebuilt from the ground up, and a TikTok Shop that finally scaled.

  • +250%Standard Shopping growth
  • +54%Google conversions on 47% more spend
  • −22%Meta CPA while scaling spend

Subscription

8X net subscriber growth

Subscription LTV was modeled from day one, and spend only scaled where CAC stayed within a healthy ratio. Growth had to translate to real business value.

  • +220%Email opt-in rate
  • +31%Email automation revenue, year-over-year
  • Day 1Subscription LTV as the North Star

TikTok Shop · weekly GMV

$1K → $80K+ per week, in ten weeks

Several agencies had tried and stalled. With affiliate outreach, creator activation and GMV Max running in coordination, DOE had the shop scaling within 60 days.

  • 28K+Orders in the first five months
  • 26K+Net new customers
  • 350+Daily orders, at a lower CAC than all other paid channels
Get results like these (opens in a new tab)

( 04.1 )

Nine numbers, one system

Growth had to translate to real business value

( 05 )

The founders

Founder films

A world-class, industry-leading team.

Founded by Shahab Elmi, Durana Elmi, and Chief Science Officer Chervin Jafarieh, Cymbiotika is one of the most science-forward wellness brands in the country.

01 / 03 Founder film
Shahab ElmiCo-founder

( 06 )

What's next

The only direction is forward

A subscription flywheel that keeps on turning.

  1. 01 / 06More creative & content

    Telling the story to the top, middle and bottom of the funnel.

  2. 02 / 06Affiliate partnerships
  3. 03 / 06More creator activations
  4. 04 / 06Persona testing

    Continued expansion on Meta and Google.

  5. 05 / 06New channels

    Expanding the advertising ecosystem into different channels.

  6. 06 / 06Evolving pages

    Landing pages and creative that keep evolving with the data.

Listicle