Challenge

A lean team juggling different content needs

As a lean startup with just five team members, Swoon faced a common but expensive problem: they needed completely different types of photography to succeed. Amazon and retail channels required one approach, while social media and brand building demanded another. This created more work & internal inefficiencies: 

"I would hire somebody for my ecomm photoshoots and then hire somebody for the social photoshoots," explains Alex Casey, Director of Digital at Swoon. "That's kind of how we've always worked."

This split approach was draining resources and creating inconsistencies. Working with photographers across California, Austin, and New York meant high costs, travel expenses, and limited flexibility. When shoots didn't meet expectations, Swoon was stuck with expensive content that didn't represent their brand.

"When we worked with our really large photographers, it's always like pulling teeth trying to say, 'this is the style we want,' because they have their own unique style," Casey notes.

With eight different flavors in their portfolio and a unique brand look and feel, Swoon needed partners who could adapt to their specific vision.

Solution

Unified approach with one partner

Swoon discovered soona while searching for Amazon-specific photography, but quickly realized they'd found something bigger: a team that could bridge the gap between ecommerce and lifestyle content in single, efficient shoots.

"To be able to find a team that can do both lifestyle and product photography at the same time has been a huge blessing," says Casey. "Now it feels like we're getting movement out of our ecommerce photography."

The collaboration process transformed how Swoon approached content creation. Instead of managing multiple vendor relationships, Casey could work directly with soona's stylists to plan comprehensive shoots covering their entire portfolio. When they wanted to capture eight unique flavor profiles, soona's team helped break down exactly what props, angles, and setups would bring each product to life.

"Your team was really able to sit down and take each individual photo we want in a silo and say, 'this is what we need to execute this exact look and feel,'" Casey explains.

The partnership proved especially valuable for Swoon's Green Tea launch. Where other photographers had pushed back on complex prop requirements or movement shots, soona embraced the challenge.

Outcome

Launch success and sustainable growth

The results spoke immediately through Swoon's Green Tea performance. Expected to sell 80 units in their first month online, they instead sold 180 units, more than doubling their goal, and sold out completely within three months. They expected the success to come from retail sales but it was coming from digital ads using soona content.

"Those ads we actually had to take down for the summer,” Casey recalls. "We've relaunched those ads and they're crushing it again."

The visual content created with soona directly powered this success. “We were able to launch ads alongside the product that had beautiful movement and really unique photography that made the flavor of the green tea come to life, and that’s what scaled it immediately."

Beyond launch metrics, the partnership delivered operational transformation:

Efficiency Gains: Instead of coordinating separate photographers for ecommerce and lifestyle content, Swoon now captures both content types with soona, dramatically reducing time and budget requirements.

Team Extension: With just five employees, soona functions as an extension of Swoon's lean marketing team, handling everything from model coordination to prop sourcing and post-production feedback.

Platform Integration: All content; retail shots, lifestyle photography, and ecommerce images live in one accessible platform where Casey can provide feedback, make edits, and download assets for immediate use.

Creative Capabilities: Movement shots, hand models, and video content that was previously impossible or prohibitively expensive became standard deliverables.

Where Swoon Uses Their soona Content:

• Amazon listings and Amazon Fresh stores

• Target, Kroger, Walmart retail partnerships

• Whole Foods (nationwide launch)

• Thrive Marketplace, Gopuff, Instacart

• Website and social media advertising

• Email and SMS marketing campaigns

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"I can literally look and feel the flavors in the images," Casey reflects on their latest full-portfolio shoot. "I'm really excited to launch them, I think they're going to crush."

The partnership proved that even lean startups can achieve premium content quality and scale efficiently with the right creative partner. For Swoon, soona became more than a photography service—it became the scalable creative engine powering their expansion across major retail channels.

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