Case study

A presale Shopify Basic storefront sized for 95+ PageSpeed Insights, zip-gated same-day delivery, and a dual-QR retention loop.

A presale Shopify Basic build for an odorless, temperature-stable tallow skincare brand launching first in the Bay Area. Vanilla JavaScript only. Stripped Dawn base. DoorDash same-day delivery surfaced only inside launch zip codes. Dual laser-engraved QR codes on the tin drive a friend-share flow and a cadence-aware reorder flow.

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By the numbers

The numbers speak for themselves

Vault-backed numbers. No presentation-grade estimates. Each one is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

PageSpeed Insights target for the presale storefront
95-98 PSI

Vanilla JavaScript only. No jQuery, no library, no framework. Stripped-down Dawn base. Minimal Liquid. Lazy loading. Minified JS and CSS. Only critical scripts above the fold. PageSpeed Insights target: 95-98 on mobile, which was set up front because expected traffic is over 90% smartphone.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

DoorDash delivery surfaced only in qualifying zip codes
Zip-gated

DoorDash same-day delivery is offered only to buyers in Bay Area launch zip codes. A zip-code Shopify app gates the delivery option so the rest of the country never sees a fulfillment path the brand cannot honor at launch. Customer pays $10 toward a $15 cap; the brand pays the $5 difference.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

Two laser-engraved QR codes per tin
Dual QR

Each aluminum tin carries two QR codes. QR1 is laser-engraved on the inside of the lid and triggers a friend-share landing page with a $5 incentive nudging toward the two-tin set. QR2 is on the back of the tin and points to a one-click reorder page that personalizes its offer after the third scan, using observed purchase cadence.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

Stefan Tallow monthly revenue

Post-rebuild growth
Desktop & Mobile

The full homepage, shown two ways

Two side-by-side screenshots of the long homepage. Hover the desktop card to slowly scroll the screenshot top to bottom, so visitors see the entire page without leaving this one.

  • Desktop · full homepage after rebuild
    95-98 PSI
    PageSpeed Insights target for the presale storefront
    /mo at peak
  • Mobile-first after rebuild
    Mobile traffic share
    Engagement length
The work

How the engagement unfolded

  1. Presale Shopify Basic scope + stripped-down Dawn intake

    Discovery

    Scoped the presale Shopify build on Shopify Basic (the founder explicitly corrected a Plus spec). Set vanilla JavaScript only as the technical constraint from intake. Took Dawn as the base and stripped it down rather than building up from a bloated theme. Set 95 to 98 PageSpeed Insights as the mobile target up front, given over 90% expected smartphone traffic and a Bay Area launch.

    • Shopify Basic
    • Vanilla JS only
    • Stripped Dawn base
    • Mobile-first 95 PSI target

  2. Presale catalog: one cart-enabled SKU + locked anchor + locked future sets

    Catalog wiring

    Wired the presale catalog to a deliberate hierarchy. One SKU is purchasable: the two-tin set, sold at a price that makes the per-unit economics work and removes the shipping objection. A one-tin anchor SKU is visible but locked, holding the per-unit anchor price on the page. The three-tin and four-tin sets are visible but locked, signaling the post-launch range without diluting the presale buy path.

    • One purchasable SKU
    • Locked anchor pricing
    • Locked future sets
    • Single buy path during presale

  3. Zip-code-gated DoorDash + GPL fulfillment integration

    Fulfillment integration

    Integrated a Shopify zip-code app to surface DoorDash same-day delivery only inside the Bay Area launch zone, with a $15 cap split (buyer covers $10, brand covers $5). Wired fulfillment through GPL's San Francisco fulfillment center. The store does not expose DoorDash anywhere it cannot honor delivery at launch.

    • DoorDash same-day delivery
    • Zip-code Shopify app gate
    • GPL San Francisco fulfillment
    • Bay Area launch zone only

  4. Dual-QR retention loop + Snowball influencer portal + Klaviyo email

    Retention + influencer stack

    Built the dual-QR retention loop into landing pages. QR1 (inside the tin lid) points to a friend-share page that gives the friend a $5 incentive and nudges them toward the two-tin set so the per-unit and shipping math works. QR2 (back of the tin) points to a one-click reorder page. After the third QR2 scan, the page personalizes its offer against the observed purchase cadence (example: a 55-day cadence buyer gets a 12-month subscription at the 55-day interval).

    Integrated Snowball for the influencer member portal and Klaviyo for email. Ingredient sub-pages were structured so paid search can land on a specific ingredient with its own CTA back to the purchasable set.

    • Dual-QR landing pages
    • Friend-share + reorder flows
    • Snowball influencer portal
    • Klaviyo email
    • Ingredient sub-pages for paid search
Project overview

What we built

A presale Shopify storefront for an odorless, temperature-stable tallow skincare brand launching first in the Bay Area. The science is a proprietary purification process: 6 ingredients, 0% water content, usable from 3C to 40C, with the fatty acid profile of human sebum. The founder is based in Germany. The Bay Area is the launch zone with Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Germany on the post-launch roadmap.

The Shopify build runs on Shopify Basic with a stripped-down Dawn theme as the base. Vanilla JavaScript only. No jQuery, no library, no framework. The PageSpeed Insights mobile target is 95 to 98. The presale catalog hierarchy is enforced: one two-tin set is purchasable, one one-tin SKU sits as a locked anchor, and the three-tin and four-tin sets are visible but locked. Fulfillment is wired through GPL's San Francisco center with DoorDash same-day delivery surfaced only inside the launch zip codes.

In their own words

(Testimonial TBD. Vault identifies the founder but permission to publish is open. No post-launch metrics: the storefront is a presale build.)

A presale Shopify Basic storefront for an odorless, temperature-stable tallow skincare brand. Founder is based in Germany. US launch in the Bay Area is the first market, with Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Germany on the roadmap. The science is a proprietary purification process (odorless, usable from 3C to 40C, 6 ingredients, 0% water).

Stefan Tallow teamFounder
The challenge

What was holding them back?

Over 90% of expected traffic is smartphone. The storefront has to convert on first swipe. A standard Shopify theme with a typical app stack is too heavy. The presale catalog needs a deliberate hierarchy of purchasable, anchor, and locked SKUs. Same-day delivery must only appear to buyers in launch zip codes. Retention has to live on the packaging through two laser-engraved QR codes per tin, not just in email.

  1. 01

    Presale storefront has to convert on mobile in seconds, not on a bloated theme

    Expected traffic is over 90% smartphone. The presale launch has to convert on first swipe. A standard Shopify theme with a typical app stack is too heavy. The PageSpeed Insights target was set at 95 to 98 from intake. Vanilla JavaScript only. No jQuery, no library, no framework.

  2. 02

    Presale catalog needs a deliberate hierarchy of purchasable, anchor, and locked sets

    Only one SKU should be purchasable during presale: the two-tin set whose per-unit math and shipping math work. The one-tin SKU has to remain visible for anchor pricing. The larger sets need to be visible but locked so the post-launch range is signalled without diluting the presale buy path. Standard Shopify product pages do not enforce this kind of locked-state hierarchy out of the box.

  3. 03

    Same-day delivery only works inside a launch zone, not everywhere

    DoorDash same-day delivery should appear only to buyers inside the Bay Area launch zip codes. Surfacing the option anywhere outside that zone creates a fulfillment promise the brand cannot keep at launch. Shopify out of the box does not gate a delivery option by zip code.

  4. 04

    Retention has to live on the packaging, not just in email

    Each tin carries two QR codes. QR1 inside the lid triggers a friend-share flow when the buyer opens the tin. QR2 on the back is the one-click reorder path that sits on a bathroom shelf for months. After the third QR2 scan, the landing page has to personalize its offer to the observed purchase cadence per buyer.

Before / After

Before and after

Before

After

Funnel collapse: we removed a full page from the path to purchase.

Solutions

What we built to fix it

Each fix maps to a specific lift in the funnel.

  • Vanilla-JS stripped-Dawn build sized for the 95+ PageSpeed target

    Dawn taken as the base and stripped down. No jQuery, no library, no framework. Minimal Liquid. Lazy loading. Minified JS and CSS. Only critical scripts above the fold. PageSpeed Insights target of 95 to 98 on mobile. No video on the storefront at all; video lives on TikTok and Instagram and traffic is sent there instead.

  • Three-state presale catalog: purchasable, anchor, locked

    Catalog wired to a deliberate hierarchy. Two-tin set is the only Add-to-Cart SKU during presale. One-tin SKU is visible but not purchasable, holding the per-unit anchor price on the page. Three-tin and four-tin sets are visible but locked, signaling the post-launch range without diluting the single presale buy path.

  • Zip-code-gated DoorDash + GPL fulfillment for the launch zone

    Integrated a Shopify zip-code app to surface DoorDash same-day delivery only inside Bay Area launch zip codes. Cap of $15 per delivery is split with the buyer covering $10 and the brand covering $5. Fulfillment runs through the GPL San Francisco fulfillment center. Buyers outside the launch zone never see a delivery promise the brand cannot honor.

  • Dual-QR retention loop + Snowball + Klaviyo + ingredient SEO sub-pages

    QR1 on the inside of the tin lid triggers a friend-share landing page that gives the friend a $5 incentive and nudges them toward the two-tin set so the per-unit and shipping math work. QR2 on the back of the tin is the one-click reorder path. After the third QR2 scan the landing page personalizes its offer to the observed purchase cadence per buyer, with cadence-based subscription as the resolution path.

    Snowball runs the influencer member portal. Klaviyo handles email. Six ingredient sub-pages are structured so paid search can land on a specific ingredient with its own CTA back to the purchasable set.

The stack

What it was built on

Tools picked for the job, not for the resume.

  • Shopify Basic
    Platform
  • Stripped Dawn base
    Theme
  • Vanilla JavaScript only
    No jQuery, no library, no framework
  • DoorDash same-day delivery
    Zip-code-gated launch zone
  • Shopify zip-code gating app
    Delivery option surface control
  • Snowball
    Influencer member portal
  • Klaviyo
    Email
  • GPL San Francisco fulfillment
    Decentralized fulfillment
How we engineer performance

Speed is a revenue lever, not a vanity score

Every Muscled build is engineered to the same standard. The numbers below are the published industry benchmarks we design against, not stand-ins for any one client's figures.

conversions per 0.1s of load-time improvement on ecommerce sites.

+8.4%

SRC: DELOITTE / GOOGLE

conversion rate for stores loading under 2s, vs the ~1.4% Shopify average.

2.4%

SRC: SHOPIFY PERFORMANCE DATA

conversion lift per 1s of mobile load-time gained, where 90% of traffic lives.

+10-20%

SRC: SHOPIFY MOBILE BENCHMARKS

// OUR PERFORMANCE GATE we don't ship unless field Core Web Vitals hold: LCP ≤ 2.5s · INP ≤ 200ms · CLS < 0.1 (p75, mobile)

Capability surface

The techniques behind a build like this

95+ PageSpeed mobile-first storefront

  • Vanilla JS only
  • Stripped Dawn base
  • 95-98 PSI target
  • No jQuery, no library, no framework
  • Minimal Liquid
  • Lazy loading
  • Minified JS + CSS
  • Critical scripts above the fold only
  • No video on storefront

Three-state presale catalog

  • One purchasable SKU
  • Locked anchor
  • Locked future sets
  • Two-tin set as the only Add-to-Cart
  • One-tin SKU as anchor price
  • Three-tin + four-tin visible but locked
  • Single buy path during presale

Zip-gated same-day delivery

  • DoorDash inside launch zip codes
  • Zip-code Shopify app gate
  • GPL San Francisco fulfillment
  • $15 delivery cap
  • Buyer covers $10, brand covers $5
  • No DoorDash surface outside launch zone
  • Decentralized fulfillment

Dual-QR retention loop + influencer + email stack

  • QR1 friend-share landing page
  • QR2 one-click reorder page
  • Cadence personalization on 3rd scan
  • Laser-engraved QR codes per tin
  • Friend $5 incentive + two-tin nudge
  • Reorder thank-you offer
  • Snowball influencer portal
  • Klaviyo email
  • Ingredient sub-pages for paid search
Storefronts

One build. Multiple markets.

Same theme code across markets, with localized pricing, currency, and region-specific content routed automatically.

  • United States — Bay Area launch zone

    Presale storefront (public URL pending launch)
    • Shopify Basic
    • Vanilla JS only
    • Stripped Dawn
    • DoorDash zip-gated delivery
    • Dual-QR retention loop
    • Snowball influencer portal
    • Klaviyo email
    • Mobile-first 95 PSI target
    United States — Bay Area launch zone screenshot
    Served from the same Shopify Markets build. Dedicated capture not included.
Full build · sections

Every section, built mobile-first

The full build is many numbered sections, each designed for the phone first. The rail below shows a sample. Scroll horizontally to step through.

The results

What the work delivered

Each number is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

PageSpeed Insights target for the presale storefront
95-98 PSI

Vanilla JavaScript only. No jQuery, no library, no framework. Stripped-down Dawn base. Minimal Liquid. Lazy loading. Minified JS and CSS. Only critical scripts above the fold. PageSpeed Insights target: 95-98 on mobile, which was set up front because expected traffic is over 90% smartphone.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

DoorDash delivery surfaced only in qualifying zip codes
Zip-gated

DoorDash same-day delivery is offered only to buyers in Bay Area launch zip codes. A zip-code Shopify app gates the delivery option so the rest of the country never sees a fulfillment path the brand cannot honor at launch. Customer pays $10 toward a $15 cap; the brand pays the $5 difference.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

Two laser-engraved QR codes per tin
Dual QR

Each aluminum tin carries two QR codes. QR1 is laser-engraved on the inside of the lid and triggers a friend-share landing page with a $5 incentive nudging toward the two-tin set. QR2 is on the back of the tin and points to a one-click reorder page that personalizes its offer after the third scan, using observed purchase cadence.

SRC: Discovery call (vault transcript), 2026-01-01

Ready to ship yours?

Let's talk about what you want to ship.

A presale Shopify Basic build for an odorless tallow skincare brand. Vanilla JavaScript only and a stripped Dawn base sized for a 95+ PageSpeed Insights mobile target. Three-state presale catalog hierarchy. Zip-code-gated DoorDash same-day delivery. Dual laser-engraved QR landing pages on the tin for friend share and cadence-aware reorder. The kind of build where retention lives on the packaging, not just in email.

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