Building a Purpose-Driven Brand: How Asket Scaled Without Chasing Trends (episode 607)
Jonatan Ehn is the Chief Commercial Officer at Asket, a fashion brand that doesn’t think of itself as a fashion brand. With the goal to liberate daily life from clutter and excess. Their men’s and womenswear rangers are sold via their Centra website, and stores in Stockholm & London, that also offer repairs and alterations. Founded in 2015, last year they did £15 million in sales.
In this episode, Jonatan shares how Asket has built a growing eCommerce business by staying true to its mission. He discusses balancing purpose with profit, navigating a major rebrand, and the performance marketing lessons every online retailer can learn from.
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Dive in:
[05:36] Independent Swedish clothing brand model
[08:15] Balancing business goals and ethics
[12:37] Rebranding and closing perception gap
[15:31] Updating brand visuals and identity
[18:22] Identifying marketing strategy issues
[22:38] Focusing on brand discovery strategy
[25:19] Listen to Jonatan’s Top Tips!
Your Purpose Should Strengthen Growth, Not Limit It
Many brands see purpose and profit as competing priorities. Asket has built its business by proving they can work together. Instead of adding sustainability as a marketing message, the company made it the foundation of every decision. That gives customers a clear reason to trust the brand. Jonatan explains why a strong purpose can become a competitive advantage when it’s built into your business model.
A Big Rebrand Doesn’t End at Launch
Launching a new brand identity, website, and store is only the beginning. The real work starts once everything goes live. Asket spent months fixing tracking, optimizing campaigns, and helping both customers and advertising platforms adjust to the changes. Jonatan shares why patience and disciplined testing are essential after any major launch. It’s a valuable reminder that lasting growth comes from continuous optimization, not a perfect launch day.
Test One Thing at a Time to Find What Actually Works
When performance drops, it’s tempting to change everything at once. That usually creates even more confusion. Asket rebuilt its marketing by focusing on one problem at a time, whether it was tracking, creative, campaign structure, or measurement. This method helped the team identify what was actually driving results. It’s a simple lesson that every eCommerce marketer can apply to improve performance.
Modern Ad Platforms Reward Consistency
Today’s advertising platforms rely heavily on machine learning. A major change to your branding or creative can confuse the algorithms and hurt performance, even if the changes are improvements. Jonatan explains how brands can fall into both positive and negative performance cycles with platforms like Meta. Understanding how these systems learn can help marketers set realistic expectations and make smarter decisions during periods of change.
Growth Starts with Brand Discovery
Asket has strong customer loyalty, but that only matters once people discover the brand. Jonatan explains why finding scalable ways to introduce new audiences to your business is one of the biggest growth challenges for direct-to-consumer brands. He shares how Asket is combining paid social, creative testing, and storytelling to increase brand awareness in new markets. If you’re looking for sustainable ways to grow customer acquisition, this part of the episode is packed with practical insights.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Listen to the Acquired Podcast to learn how enduring companies and iconic brands are built for long-term success.
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Invest in SEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) for sustainable, long-term growth, especially as AI creates new opportunities to scale content efforts.
Tool Top Tip
Carbon Top Tip
- Create high-quality products that last longer and help customers consume more thoughtfully.
Interview links
*Thank you to Siri of DEMA for the guest recommendation!
Related Episodes
- Championing Sustainability Through Seasonless Fashion with Lyndie Benson, Bleusalt (episode 434)
- Serving 160k Customers Custom Fit Fashion with Jess Fleischer, Son of a Tailor (episode 456)
- How MUD Jeans Built the World’s First Circular Denim Brand — and What eCommerce Can Learn from It (episode 567)
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