How Peak Events Changed Our Growth Trajectory

Platform sales helped us start-out. Building our own peak events? That changed everything. How we broke out, doubled revenue — and why I’ll never go back. 👉

👋 Hola! Welcome to Out of Singapore.
I'm Shan, and I’m building Xandro Lab — a longevity science brand rooted in evidence and transparency. I oversee marketing, operations, cash flow, and hiring to ensure we keep growing and succeeding.

Every week, I share raw, unfiltered lessons from building consumer brands in Singapore. This week: the real role of peak events — how they changed our growth story (and why I get excited every single time we pull one off).

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned building DTC brands —
it’s that platform sales are great growth boosters, but too much dependency on them is risky.

Why?
Because during big marketplace sales, the entire market gets crowded. You're fighting for attention in a noisy, discount-driven battlefield. And more importantly — you don’t control the platform.

We learned this the hard way. In March 2024, just after we had our best-ever TikTok Shop sales month, TikTok abruptly closed our shop (for “policy” violations).

All of this happened in 14 days - warnings, violation points and closure. All our appeals were automatically rejected, no real review took place. One day you’re breaking records, and the next, you’re locked out of your storefront.

That’s when it really hit me:
You can benefit from platforms. But you can never build your future on platforms alone.

Having the ability to host your own brand-led peak events gives you something powerful:
✅ Control over timing, storytelling, and pricing
✅ Flexibility to design offers based on your strengths
✅ Stronger and deeper consumer relationships

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May 2024: The Month We Finally Broke Out 🚀

What happened:
After months of steady (but slow) growth, we finally saw a breakthrough in May 2024.
Our DTC revenue jumped 1.5x compared to previous months.

Why it mattered:

• It proved our systems were compounding

• It showed that small improvements add up — and sometimes explode

• It gave us the confidence to take bigger swings

When you get your operations, product, and marketing lined up — growth doesn’t trickle. It jumps.

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July 2024: Launching Co-hosted Creator Livestreams🎥

The bold move:
In July 2024, we started a new month-end co-stream series with Lucas — without any platform-sponsored traffic.

The results:
➡️ 3X revenue compared to June
➡️ Momentum continued — August revenue doubled again
➡️ We became one of the Top 5 wellness brands on TikTok 🚀

The secret:
Consistency, raw authenticity, and the courage to be visible for hours. We were not just selling, but educating. It became a brand-defining strategy.

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Long-Hour Livestreams: Building Trust, Not Just Sales ❤️

Why long hours matter:
When you spend 4, 5, or even 6 hours live with your audience, they see the real you.

They don’t just shop —
They connect.
They ask questions.
They get invested.

The depth of connection:

• We explain product ingredients in detail

• We share our brand values openly

• We answer every question — big or small

Trust compounds hour after hour.
And trust → loyalty → lifetime value.

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The Reality Check: Product Range Limits ⚡

Where we hit a wall:
Our core product line wasn’t built for mass appeal.
It resonated deeply, but not broadly enough to keep acquisition growing fast.

What we decided:
➡️ Launch more products in Q1 and Q2 2025
➡️ Build new customer entry points without losing brand focus
➡️ Leverage the trust we had to introduce more advanced, tech-driven products

Lesson:
If you want to keep growing, you have to keep giving your customers new reasons to engage.

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The ROI Lessons from Hosting Peak Events 💰

The big realization:
Peak events are insanely profitable in terms of marketing dollars.

What we saw:

• July 2024: Marketing ROI jumped sharply

• November 2024: We broke that record again with even higher profitability

Important reminder:
📌 Marketing profitability ≠ overall business profitability.
(You still have overheads, salaries, inventory.)

But sharper marketing efficiency gave us a huge gift: Cash flow strength.
And that cash enabled us to start heavy investments in new R&D and product development for 2025.

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Peak Events Spark Consumer Curiosity 🔍

A hidden win:
During peak sales, customers don’t just stock up on what they know —
They explore.

• They try new SKUs

• They buy premium items they were hesitant about

• They expand their relationship with the brand

Every additional trial is a seed planted for future loyalty.

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Our Latest Peak Event Series: April 2025 🚀

The last 15 days have been packed with brand-led and platform-led peaks — all carefully stitched together:

📅 Pre-Anniversary Sale on Website (Mid-April):
→ Warm-up event to re-engage our loyal customers and build excitement for the big day.

📅 10-Day Anniversary Sale on TikTok (Ongoing):
→ Deep promotions + long-hour livestreams = driving new customer acquisition and bigger cart sizes.

📅 Big Brand Day on Shopee (26 April):
→ Syncing with Shopee’s platform push to layer on extra visibility and new audiences.

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Why this matters:
For the first time, we’re combining multiple peaks across platforms into a coordinated growth engine — not just reacting to events, but designing them intentionally.

Each event supports the others.
Each channel feeds the brand.
And together, they’re helping us create bigger, more consistent waves of momentum.

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Final Thoughts

Why Peak Events Matter (and Why I Love Them)

Hosting your own peak events is a different kind of thrill. You’re not piggybacking on a platform’s traffic. You’re not hiding behind ads or hoping for algorithm luck.

You’re showing up. You’re earning attention. You’re leading the momentum.

And the impact goes way beyond short-term sales:

• Rapid Customer Acquisition:
  Peak events help you bring in a large number of new customers in a very short window. This concentrated burst of growth is hard to replicate with daily marketing.

• Word of Mouth Momentum:
  When there’s urgency — limited-time offers, special bundles — people naturally share it.
  Peak events create their own mini-viral loops inside your customer base.

• Cash Flow Strength:
  Peaks generate high volumes of cash quickly.
  This eases the day-to-day cash situation and reduces dependency on slow, trickling daily revenue.
  With stronger cash flow, we can reinvest faster — whether it’s into R&D, inventory, or marketing expansion.

And honestly?
Peak events are my favorite part of the journey.
Every one feels like game day — the energy, the stakes, the excitement.

Every time we pull one off, we don’t just grow our numbers.
We grow our brand.
We grow our team.
We grow our confidence.

And that's what makes it all worth it.

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Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone building a DTC brand — or drop me a message with what you'd love me to write about next!

Keeping it short and simple today. Have a great week ahead!