Seven Barrels

Seven Barrels

Marketing, Social Media, Web Design, Branding, AI

Marketing, Packaging, Print Ads, DTC Store Graphics, Large Format Event Graphics

Price:

Price:

$200,000+ USD

Price:

$200,000+ USD

Timeline:

Timeline:

4 Years

4 Years

Timeline:

4 Years

Role:

Role:

Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO

Role:

Fractional CMO

Engagement:

Engagement:

Retainer Contract

Engagement:

Retainer Contract

Project Outcomes & Highlights:

Project Outcomes & Highlights:

10X

Orders & Customer Base

10X

Orders & Customer Base

10X

Orders & Customer Base

40,000,000+

Impressions From Paid Ads & Organic Social

40,000,000+

Impressions From Paid Ads & Organic Social

40,000,000+

Impressions From Paid Ads & Organic Social

3,000,000+

Website Visits Over 4 Years

3,000,000+

Website Visits Over 4 Years

3,000,000+

Website Visits Over 4 Years

$500,000 USD

In Paid Adspend Tracked

$500,000 USD

In Paid Adspend Tracked

$500,000 USD

In Paid Adspend Tracked

4X - 5.2X ROAS

On Adspend AVG

4X - 5.2X ROAS

On Adspend AVG

4X - 5.2X ROAS

On Adspend AVG

50,000+

Newsletter Subs Added

50,000+

Newsletter Subs Added

50,000+

Newsletter Subs Added

Seven Barrels

From $100K to $1.2M annual recurring revenue in 4 years: How I transformed a weekend farmers' market business into a thriving e-commerce empire selling $35 premium olive oils.

Seven Barrels sells luxury olive oil and balsamic vinegar at $35 per bottle, well above industry average. Their products include traditional barrel-aged balsamic from Modena, Italy, and cold-pressed California olive oils with unique flavor infusions across 28 premium varieties. Their target customers are primarily 55+ with disposable income.

Before my involvement, they operated exclusively through farmers' markets, art shows, and festivals. The owners sold face-to-face with no meaningful digital presence despite having quality products.

What started as a simple graphic design project became a 4-year partnership that completely revolutionized their business model. I joined as a freelance graphic designer but quickly expanded to fractional CMO, leading a complete digital transformation across 8+ marketing channels that:

  • Scaled revenue from under $100K to $1M+ annually

  • Overhauled their website, social media, paid ads and email marketing

  • Transformed them from in-person only to a successful e-commerce business

Most agencies won't touch businesses like this—owners in their 60s, customers over 55, and a $35 price point that makes people skeptical. That's exactly why it was the perfect challenge for me.

The success demonstrates how traditional specialty food businesses can effectively transition to e-commerce when strategies are properly tailored to their unique market position and customer needs.

Challenge:

Traditional specialty food business with zero digital presence, targeting affluent 55+ customers who struggle with online shopping, while justifying premium pricing in a commoditized market dominated by $8 grocery store alternatives.

Solution:

Built a complete digital ecosystem tailored for older, affluent customers—from simplified e-commerce design to educational content marketing that justified premium pricing through value demonstration and heritage storytelling.

Services

• Website redesign and maintenance (Shopify)

• Daily social media management (30 posts, 10-15 stories, and 1-2 videos a month)

• Facebook and Google advertising campaigns

• Email marketing strategy and implementation (Klaviyo, Yotpo)

• SMS marketing campaigns (Yotpo)

• Comprehensive branding and design

• Copywriting for all marketing channels

• Project management for external vendors

• Direct-to-consumer graphics and marketing materials

• AI ad generation implementation

• Product photography

Role + Team

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

• Oversaw 3 external agencies during my tenure

• Managed between 1-3 freelancers at various times

• Coordinated with internal employees as the team evolved

Key Phases:

• Social Media Management & Website Redesign

• Launch Of Paid Advertising (Facebook, Google, SMS)

• Scaling and Optimization Of Business Systems

• Scaled annual revenue from <$100K to $1M. (10X increase in sales and customer base over 4 years)

Seven Barrels

From $100K to $1.2M annual recurring revenue in 4 years: How I transformed a weekend farmers' market business into a thriving e-commerce empire selling $35 premium olive oils.

Seven Barrels sells luxury olive oil and balsamic vinegar at $35 per bottle, well above industry average. Their products include traditional barrel-aged balsamic from Modena, Italy, and cold-pressed California olive oils with unique flavor infusions across 28 premium varieties. Their target customers are primarily 55+ with disposable income.

Before my involvement, they operated exclusively through farmers' markets, art shows, and festivals. The owners sold face-to-face with no meaningful digital presence despite having quality products.

What started as a simple graphic design project became a 4-year partnership that completely revolutionized their business model. I joined as a freelance graphic designer but quickly expanded to fractional CMO, leading a complete digital transformation across 8+ marketing channels that:

  • Scaled revenue from under $100K to $1M+ annually

  • Overhauled their website, social media, paid ads and email marketing

  • Transformed them from in-person only to a successful e-commerce business

Most agencies won't touch businesses like this—owners in their 60s, customers over 55, and a $35 price point that makes people skeptical. That's exactly why it was the perfect challenge for me.

The success demonstrates how traditional specialty food businesses can effectively transition to e-commerce when strategies are properly tailored to their unique market position and customer needs.

Challenge:

Traditional specialty food business with zero digital presence, targeting affluent 55+ customers who struggle with online shopping, while justifying premium pricing in a commoditized market dominated by $8 grocery store alternatives.

Solution:

Built a complete digital ecosystem tailored for older, affluent customers—from simplified e-commerce design to educational content marketing that justified premium pricing through value demonstration and heritage storytelling.

Services

• Website redesign and maintenance (Shopify)

• Daily social media management (30 posts, 10-15 stories, and 1-2 videos a month)

• Facebook and Google advertising campaigns

• Email marketing strategy and implementation (Klaviyo, Yotpo)

• SMS marketing campaigns (Yotpo)

• Comprehensive branding and design

• Copywriting for all marketing channels

• Project management for external vendors

• Direct-to-consumer graphics and marketing materials

• AI ad generation implementation

• Product photography

Role + Team

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

• Oversaw 3 external agencies during my tenure

• Managed between 1-3 freelancers at various times

• Coordinated with internal employees as the team evolved

Key Phases:

• Social Media Management & Website Redesign

• Launch Of Paid Advertising (Facebook, Google, SMS)

• Scaling and Optimization Of Business Systems

• Scaled annual revenue from <$100K to $1M. (10X increase in sales and customer base over 4 years)

4-Year Fractional CMO Partnership

5.0

"Working with Nik completely transformed our business from a small farmers market operation making under $100,000 a year to over $1 million in annual revenue.


Over four years, he took us from not online to a thriving online business - redesigning our website, managing daily social media, running all our advertising.


What impressed us most was how he understood our customer base and created marketing that actually worked for them, growing us from 20,000 to over 100,000 customers."

"Working with Nik completely transformed our business from a small farmers market operation making under $100,000 a year to over $1 million in annual revenue.


Over four years, he took us from not online to a thriving online business - redesigning our website, managing daily social media, running all our advertising.


What impressed us most was how he understood our customer base and created marketing that actually worked for them, growing us from 20,000 to over 100,000 customers."

Paul Scott

Paul Scott

Founder & Co-Owner, Seven Barrels

4-Year Fractional CMO Partnership

5.0

"Nikolai has been a great help for Seven Barrels to date and has truly made a difference for our e-commerce through all platforms that he handles for us.


When we started working together, we had very little understanding of digital marketing or how to effectively sell online. He took the time to understand our challenges and customers, then he developed strategies that worked.


Managing our advertising and social media with consistent professionalism, he's helped us increase our online sales 10X what we used to sell, while maintaining the quality and authenticity that our customers expect."

"Nikolai has been a great help for Seven Barrels to date and has truly made a difference for our e-commerce through all platforms that he handles for us.


When we started working together, we had very little understanding of digital marketing or how to effectively sell online. He took the time to understand our challenges and customers, then he developed strategies that worked.


Managing our advertising and social media with consistent professionalism, he's helped us increase our online sales 10X what we used to sell, while maintaining the quality and authenticity that our customers expect."

Mark Moss

Co-Owner, Seven Barrels

Core Problem

Core Problem

Digital Transformation Gap: Seven Barrels was an established business run by owners in their 60s with no understanding of e-commerce or digital marketing, having operated exclusively through in-person sales at art shows, festivals, and farmers' markets for 10 years.


Technological Literacy Barriers: The target customers (55+ with large disposable income) struggled with basic online ordering processes, frequently encountering difficulties navigating the existing website.


Absent Online Presence: The company lacked any meaningful digital footprint—no social media presence, paid advertising, or effective website—severely limiting their market reach beyond physical locations.

Design Objectives

Design Objectives

• Redesign their website by making it simple for older customers who aren't tech-savvy

• Create visuals and messaging that made people understand why a $35 bottle of oil or vinegar was worth the premium price

• Transform the owners' product expertise into punchy, digital-friendly content without losing their authentic voice

• Build extensive easy-to-understand content showing people what to actually do with these products—recipes, pairings, and uses

• Make everything look and feel consistent across website, social media, emails and ads so the brand felt cohesive and premium

Industry Constraints

Industry Constraints

Premium Price Hurdle: At $35 per bottle, customers constantly questioned the price point. We had to keep showing value through design, messaging, and education to justify why the products were worth the premium.


Usage Knowledge Gap: Most people had no clue what to do with balsamic vinegar beyond salad dressing, and thought olive oil was just for cooking. We needed constant education on recipes and applications.


White Label Challenge: Since many products were white-labeled, we lacked deep background information on them. I had to craft compelling stories and brand narratives from limited source material.


Older Buyer Habits: Our 55+ demographic had fixed ideas about these products and established buying patterns. Breaking through those required consistent, strategic approaches rather than flashy marketing tactics.

Key Action Items

Key Action Items

• Built complete digital setup for what was basically just a farmers' market business

• Made super simple interfaces that older customers (55+) could use

• Started marketing across social media, Google, and email marketing

• Created high-end branding that felt consistent everywhere customers saw it

• Sourced tons of recipes and how-to content showing what to actually do with the products

• Kept their authentic voice while making it work for online platforms

• Changed long-established buying patterns through smart, targeted marketing

Website Redesign

Website Redesign

The original Seven Barrels website was built on Shopify but suffered from an outdated design reminiscent of the early 2000s despite being created in 2015. This disconnect between contemporary e-commerce expectations and the existing platform created significant barriers for the target demographic of customers aged 55+.

The redesign focused on transforming the digital storefront while maintaining the Shopify platform foundation. This approach allowed us to leverage familiar backend systems while completely revitalizing the customer-facing experience.

The redesign incorporated updated navigation structures, modernized visual elements, and streamlined purchasing pathways specifically optimized for users with varying levels of technological comfort.

By implementing Shopify's 2.0 theme architecture, we were able to introduce enhanced functionality including integrated social media touchpoints, an intuitive loyalty program, and more sophisticated product presentations that better conveyed the premium nature of Seven Barrels' offerings.

Goals Achieved

Goals Achieved

Enhanced User Experience: Restructured navigation and product display systems with simplified pathways to purchase, reducing abandonment rates among older users


Visual Modernization: Updated design elements to reflect premium positioning while maintaining clarity and readability for the target demographic


Functional Integration: Implemented social media connectivity, customer loyalty program, and improved product imagery to create a cohesive digital ecosystem


Platform Optimization: Leveraged Shopify 2.0 capabilities to improve site performance, mobile responsiveness, and backend management efficiency


Content Clarity: Reorganized product information and educational content to guide customers through the shopping experience with greater confidence


Premium Positioning: Enhanced visual elements to properly communicate the luxury status of products, helping justify the $35 price point through design cues


Old Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

Old Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

Old Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

New Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

New Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

New Homepage (Scroll To See Full Page)

Redesigned Product Pages

Redesigned Product Pages

Redesigned Product Pages

(Scroll To See Full Page)

(Scroll To See Full Page)

(Scroll To See Full Page)

Redesigned Collection Pages

Redesigned Collection Pages

Redesigned Collection Pages

Redesigned Recipe Pages

Redesigned Recipe Pages

Redesigned Recipe Pages

Social Media Management

Social Media Management

Over the four-year partnership with Seven Barrels, I completely transformed their social media presence from inconsistent, amateur content to a professional, strategic channel that supported their premium brand positioning.

I personally produced more than 1,600 social media posts across Facebook and Instagram, focusing primarily on product education, recipe inspiration, and promotional content.

The unique challenge with Seven Barrels' social media strategy was navigating their older target demographic (55+), many of whom were not active social media users.

This demographic reality limited viral growth potential but didn't diminish the importance of maintaining a professional online presence for brand credibility and discovery.

Despite the owners' reluctance to invest in video content—limiting our creative toolkit to static images and graphics designed in Photoshop—we successfully built a consistent content calendar that highlighted product versatility, luxury positioning, and seasonal applications.

The strategy prioritized quality over quantity, with thoughtfully designed posts that reinforced the premium nature of their olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Key Metrics Tracked

Key Metrics Tracked

Posting Consistency: Maintained daily posting schedule across platforms for 4 years (1,600+ unique posts) between 2021 and 2025


Audience Growth: Expanded Facebook following from 0 to approximately 8,000 followers


Instagram Development: Built Instagram presence from 0 to nearly 3,000 followers


Revenue Impact: Tracked over $500,000 in sales directly attributable to organic social media content


Content Focus: Created primarily recipe content, product education, and promotional announcements


Engagement Performance Stats:


• Average engagement rate of 5-8% on daily posts


• Average growth rate of new followers 2-3% per month


• 4.6 Million organic impressions over 4 years without going viral


• Post engagement of 349K over 4 years


• Over 210K link clicks driven organically (no paid ads)

Product Photography

Product Photography

In 2022, I revamped Seven Barrels' product photography to fix a major perception problem—customers were confusing their bottles with wine instead of recognizing them as premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar products.

Working with a limited budget, I personally photographed all 28 flavor varieties in a controlled studio environment with consistent lighting against a white background. Each product was shot in three formats (small bottles, large bottles, and paired combinations), followed by detailed Photoshop retouching to enhance the images and digitally add flavor-specific elements.

The results were immediate and significant—this visual upgrade led to a 50% increase in sales from 2022 to 2023 without changing the actual bottles or products. The new photography created a consistent visual language that worked across their website, social media, and emerging platforms like Facebook Shop and Instagram Store.

Key Metrics Tracked

Key Metrics Tracked

Scope: Shot all 28 flavor varieties in small bottles, large bottles, and paired combinations


Output: Created 150+ professionally retouched product images


Process: Full studio setup with controlled lighting and extensive Photoshop work


Implementation: Updated website catalog, social media library, and e-commerce platforms


Results: 50% sales increase with improved brand perception and product understanding

Old Product Images

Old Product Images

New Product Image

New Product Image

Old Product Images

New Product Image

New Product Image Formatting

New Product Image Formatting

New Product Image Formatting

New Images In Use On Website

New Images In Use On Website

Lifestyle Photography

Lifestyle Photography

Solution

Solution

My transformation of Seven Barrels' digital presence converted them from a farmers' market business to a thriving e-commerce brand through several key strategies:


Digital Infrastructure: Redesigned their Shopify site with user-friendly interfaces tailored to their 55+ demographic, implementing Shopify 2.0, simplified navigation, and integrated loyalty programs.


Visual Identity: Overhauled product photography for all 28 varieties, creating consistent premium imagery that boosted sales 50% through improved presentation alone.


Content Marketing: Created 1,600+ social media posts focused on recipes and usage ideas, addressing the critical knowledge gap about how to use premium oils and vinegars.


Paid Advertising: Developed Facebook and Google ad strategies with clear product visualization and straightforward messaging that maintained a 4x ROAS over four years.


Innovation: Pioneered AI-assisted creative workflows to combat ad fatigue, producing 1,000+ unique ad variations while working within tight budget constraints.


Brand Narrative: Crafted compelling storytelling that justified the $35 price point by highlighting heritage production methods, quality ingredients, and product versatility.

Market Impact

Market Impact

Growth: Scaled revenue from under $100K to over $1M annually within four years


Customers: Expanded from 20,000 to 100,000+ active customers


Digital Presence:

• 8,000 Facebook followers (from zero)

• 3,000 Instagram followers (from zero)

• 35+ million ad impressions


Performance Metrics:

• 50% sales boost from photography refresh

• 4x consistent ROAS on advertising

• $35/bottle premium pricing successfully established


Education Results:

• Shifted consumer understanding of product category

• Positioned Seven Barrels as trusted specialty food resource

• Built loyal customer base despite premium pricing

Key Learnings

Key Learnings

Know Your Audience: Working with a 55+ demographic taught me to ignore trendy marketing advice and focus on what actually works for less tech-savvy customers.


Value Storytelling: A $35 price point works when supported by the right visuals, education and narrative—design justifies premium pricing.


Small Changes, Big Results: Simple improvements (like better product photos) often outperform complete overhauls—that photography refresh alone boosted sales 50%.


Teach, Don't Just Sell: Educational content about how to use specialty products drove more sales than discounts or promotional messaging.


Career Evolution: Growing from designer to fractional CMO happened by consistently solving problems beyond my original scope.


View More Case Studies

View More Case Studies