Case study

Cold Skin. Building a new multi-brand destination in one of e-commerce’s most competitive verticals.

Launched
August 2025
Scope
Strategy, assortment, creative, performance
Links
WebsiteInstagram
Woman in a black ribbed top with two silver rings, her hand raised to her face

About

COLD SKIN is a curated multi-brand jewelry store founded by BENCHMARKED. The brand focuses on carefully selected independent designers and positions jewelry as an intentional extension of personal style within the D2C online space.

Challenge

COLD SKIN was built on a clear market gap: there is no dedicated jewelry-focused multi-brand store offering a curated, coherent selection.

Consumers are forced to navigate between individual brand shops or large, unfocused marketplaces without a clear point of view. We saw the opportunity to create a curated destination that brings independent jewelry brands together under one strategic umbrella.

Approach

As a growth-driven agency deeply embedded in the fashion industry, we wanted to apply our own methodologies to a brand we control end to end.

From assortment logic and pricing architecture to content, performance marketing and contribution margin management, COLD SKIN became a live case for structured D2C brand building.

The objective was not just to launch a store, but to create a scalable system. Every product decision, every content asset and every marketing euro is connected to data. COLD SKIN serves as proof that disciplined assortment strategy, clear positioning and margin-focused growth can coexist with strong aesthetics and brand relevance.

Shootings

Close-up of eye and hand wearing a decorative ring

Spring/Summer 2026 · Cape Town

Beach production in Cape Town 

Projects

  1. 01Social media advertising08/2025 – today
  2. 02Newsletter marketing08/2025 – today
  3. 03Product photography06/2025 – today
  4. 04Shopify design03/2025 – 08/2025
  5. 05Brand imagery05/2025 – 07/2025
Woman wearing white shirt and silver earrings.

08/2025 – today

Social media advertising. Ads that create impact instead of over-explaining.

Instagram is our primary acquisition channel. Through social media advertising, we build awareness for Cold Skin, introduce the brand to new audiences, and drive qualified traffic into the shop.

Guided by our philosophy that ads should not over-explain but create impact, we focus on high-end still imagery and strong visual compositions. The jewelry speaks for itself. Instead of overwhelming users with information, we lead with distinctive pieces that capture attention at the top of the funnel. From there, the online shop takes over with a conversion-optimized structure designed to turn first-time visitors into long-term customers.

Cold Skin ad: hand with a stacked silver ring
Cold Skin ad: gold fish charms on a white plate with a knife
Cold Skin ad: sculptural silver ear cuff on a woman’s ear

08/2025 – today

Newsletter marketing. Retention first, from day one.

As a multi-brand store, our strategy was defined from day one: retention first. In this segment, margins are typically tighter than in single-brand models, which makes pure new customer acquisition unsustainable in the long term. Building and activating our own CRM database is therefore a central growth lever.

We implemented a structured Klaviyo setup with all relevant automations, including abandoned cart and checkout flows, welcome journeys, and post-purchase communication. In parallel, we established a weekly campaign calendar with curated product drops, brand highlights, and editorial storytelling. This ensures consistent customer touchpoints, drives repeat purchases, and reduces dependency on paid acquisition.

Cold Skin newsletter introducing the jewelry brand Louis Abel
Cold Skin newsletter with a product grid of rings and earrings
Cold Skin newsletter with a note from the founder

06/2025 – today

Product photography. Directional light, intentional shadows, sculptural clarity.

All product photography for COLD SKIN was produced in-house in our own studio. We defined a distinct visual style built around strong directional light and intentional shadow casting to create depth, material presence, and sculptural clarity.

Instead of soft, flat lighting, we chose a high-contrast setup with neutral backgrounds and generous negative space. This approach emphasizes texture, metallic reflections, and form, resulting in a cohesive, recognizable image language across the entire assortment.

Silver ring with a melting texture
Silver teardrop earrings with hook clasps
Gold ring with a textured double band

03/2025 – 08/2025

Shopify design. A clean digital space where imagery takes center stage.

For COLD SKIN, we developed a fully custom Shopify theme tailored to the brand’s positioning as a curated multi-brand jewelry store. The focus was not on visual noise, but on creating a clean digital space where imagery takes center stage and products can unfold without distraction.

The design follows a reduced, minimalist logic driven by cognitive economy. Clear navigation, restrained typography, and generous white space guide users intuitively through the assortment. Every layout decision was informed by our experience across numerous A/B tests in fashion e-commerce, ensuring that the visual concept supports measurable conversion performance.

The technical implementation was executed in close collaboration with our Shopify partner HEXWHITE. Together, we translated the strategic concept into a scalable, high-performance storefront that combines aesthetic clarity with a robust technical foundation for long-term growth.

Cold Skin homepage with a campaign image and a row of rings and earrings
Cold Skin shop page with gold fish charms on a plate and red cord necklaces

05/2025 – 07/2025

Brand imagery. Hard metal on bare skin.

For COLD SKIN, we defined a visual world that translates the brand name into a sensory experience. The imagery is cool, minimal, and intentionally restrained. We play with contrast: hard metal on bare skin, sharp edges against soft textures, strength meeting vulnerability. The result feels intimate, raw, and quietly powerful.

Jewelry is worn directly on the body. It is personal, tactile, almost emotional. Our imagery reflects that closeness. Close crops, visible skin texture, subtle tension in gestures, and controlled light create a sense of immediacy and presence. The cool color grading reinforces the “cold” aspect, while the human element keeps the brand warm and relatable.

Positioned as a premium multi-brand store, COLD SKIN exclusively curates fine materials such as sterling silver, gold vermeil, and real pearls. The visual language therefore remains elevated and refined. Together with the photographer duo SALLYHATESWING, we created a cohesive aesthetic that feels modern, minimal, and unmistakably Cold Skin.

Woman in a black off-shoulder sweater wearing a silver drop earring
Hand with stacked silver and gold rings against bare skin
Woman wearing layered silver necklaces and a ring
Woman with freckles wearing sculptural silver hoop earrings
Gold hoop earring on a woman’s ear
Woman covering one eye with her hand, wearing a yellow gemstone ring and hoop earrings

More work

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