When Claudia Snoh and her mother Mariella Cho launched CluFor their craft coffee espresso brand, they took an unconventional approach: a soft launch to solicit customer feedback so they could refine the brand and product before an official brand launch. This strategy may sound counterintuitive, but it has proven to be the cornerstone of their current success.
“When we have our product and initial website ready but everything else is ready, I think it will be better to do that rather than waiting for the rest of the infrastructure that is common with e-commerce businesses like social email or even some parts of the packaging to be all set up. It would be wise to start trial sales immediately,” explains Claudia.
By obtaining and implementing feedback, the pilot launch of espresso gave them critical time to perfect the product before launching a larger marketing rollout. The pair knew that once people form an opinion about a high-end brand, it’s difficult to change that opinion. The Kloo team thought it would be better to improve the product without letting the market take notice.
For other founders interested in perfecting their brand before investing in marketing, advertising or sales, Claudia shares the soft launch strategy that helped Kloo become a premium coffee company.
Collect fair feedback
During its soft launch, Kloo was marketed exclusively to family, friends, and people who discovered it through word-of-mouth or discovery and review platforms thing test and grommet. For Claudia, what was valuable about this period was her aggressive pursuit of customer feedback.
“We ask for a lot of feedback from our customers,” Claudia said. “I would text them, email them, ask to be on the phone with them. I would interrupt them whether we knew them or not. This hands-on approach to communicating with clients gave Kloo immediate insights that she could implement.
Feedback resulted in significant adjustments in three key areas:
1. Brand Story
The survey revealed an important insight: Customers who heard the brand story directly from Claudia understood what makes Kloo unique. However, according to Claudia, those who discover it online think it’s “just another espresso brand with a cool bottle”, ignoring that Kloo is run by Q Grader (the coffee equivalent of a master sommelier) Mariella co-founded Facts and uses a proprietary brewing process.
This resulted in significant changes, including investing in a brand video highlighting Mariella’s journey from immigrant to Q Grader, as well as prominent mention and placement of the video in brand materials. The founders have also redesigned their website to focus on their journey to launching Kloo, why the quality of the coffee beans and their processes produce a better product, and why they favor craftsmanship over aesthetics.
2. Packaging evolution
The lesson about craftsmanship over aesthetics came through when Claudia received feedback that Kloo’s early subscribers didn’t need a premium glass bottle with every order. Many subscribers even offered to return the bottles for recycling. “Their feedback is that ultimately they subscribe to us because of the taste of our coffee. The beautiful packaging is just an added bonus,” Claudia said.
Kloo immediately pivoted to producing refill bags for subscribers, which had the added benefit of improving unit economics and allowing it to offer better subscription pricing.
3. Strategic pricing
The soft launch also revealed important insights about pricing: Customers strongly dislike shipping costs, and price per bottle is more important than total order value.
Claudia and team lowered the price per bottle from $35 to $32, eliminated shipping, offered subscribers a significant $7 discount, and increased the minimum order to two bottles. These changes improved profitability and increased completed checkout carts while increasing conversion rates.
But getting survey participants isn’t always easy. To get customers to respond, Kloo offers free products—whether the survey is conducted online or over the phone—to incentivize responses.
When designing customer surveys, Kloo always focuses on the meat of the issue because “survey fatigue is real,” Claudia points out. “If you’re trying to keep it under 10 minutes, which is about 10 to 15 questions, then that’s really the best goal,” she said.
Future-proof your publishing
Kloo’s comprehensive soft launch strategy positions it for sustainable growth. Six months after launch, the company is already planning to expand into new product categories on the back of confirmed demand from survey data.
For founders planning to launch their own products, Claudia recommends taking the time to test, learn, and adapt before going big: “Prioritize one thing (about your brand) and repeat that story everywhere: in your On your website, in social emails, in text messages, in elevator pitches — wherever you go, repeat this story. As you notice and track the elements that resonate with consumers, that element will change during the soft launch. Be very clear.
Kloo’s success shows that a methodical pre-launch strategy, while time-consuming, can lay the foundation for rapid growth. The key is to remain flexible and responsive to customer feedback while staying true to the brand’s value proposition. catch the complete Shopify Masters Be interviewed to find out how Claudia has spent her career and Kloo’s soft launch challenges.
