Since moving from Tapcart to Appbrew, we’ve seen a huge lift in both performance and flexibility. There’s been a noticeable shift in conversions, engagement has skyrocketed, and our users are loving the new experience. The Appbrew team has been proactive, responsive, and truly brand-first in their approach. We’ve never felt more supported or more excited about what’s next.
FFS Beauty is the UK’s first women’s razor subscription brand, redefining the personal care industry with a focus on premium, sustainable, and customisable shaving and beauty products. Built on a strong direct-to-consumer model, FFS empowers customers with high-quality, refillable razors and a seamless subscription experience.
Founded by Des McManus, a tech-savvy entrepreneur with a strong background in eCommerce and scaling DTC brands, FFS quickly gained traction by identifying a gap in the market: the lack of affordable, planet-friendly beauty routines designed specifically for women.
Under Des’ leadership, FFS scaled to serve hundreds of thousands of customers, built a loyal subscriber base, and earned recognition for its thoughtful design and exceptional customer experience.
But as the brand matured, it needed more than just a sub-optimal mobile app, it needed performance, flexibility, and a platform that could support its core revenue engine: subscriptions.
The Challenge
Despite running on Tapcart’s enterprise plan, FFS Beauty felt boxed in. The platform’s rigid structure couldn’t accommodate the level of polish, performance, and customization the brand required to grow its subscription-driven business.
- Lack of Flexibility: Tapcart offered a templated experience that didn’t match the FFS vision. The brand wanted to innovate, and the existing app builder was limiting.
- Frustrating UX for Subscribers: Users had to log in twice to manage their subscriptions, a major friction point in a business model where convenience is everything.
- Poor App Performance: Speed, UI fluidity, and feature depth weren’t meeting customer expectations, hurting engagement and conversion.
- Service Frustrations: Slow support and limited collaboration left FFS feeling like they were building in a vacuum, with no strategic guidance.
Des and the FFS team knew they needed a partner who could do more than ship an app- they needed someone to bring the brand to life without compromise, especially when that brand relies on recurring revenue and subscriber trust.
The Solution
From the very first interaction, Appbrew aligned with FFS Beauty’s pace, ambition, and obsession with customer experience. The migration from Tapcart was seamless, and within weeks, Appbrew delivered a fast, flexible, and brand-first app designed to elevate subscriptions and long-term customer value.
In Des McManus’ words:
“It’s rare to find a tech partner that combines world-class functionality with world-class service, but Appbrew is exactly that.”
Here’s how Appbrew made a difference:
Native Subscription Experience
With native subscription experience, FFS customers can now manage their subscriptions directly within the app - updating delivery preferences, skipping shipments, or modifying plans with ease. What previously required multiple logins is now a smooth, native experience. This upgrade not only reduced friction but also improved retention and boosted recurring revenue.
Full Creative Control
Appbrew moved FFS out of rigid templates and into a fully customizable design system, letting the brand shine with bespoke fonts, visuals, and flows tailored to the subscriber journey.
Faster, Smoother User Experience
App speed and responsiveness were significantly improved, reducing friction and bounce rates. Native feel, modern UI, and a seamless single sign-on experience made managing subscriptions intuitive.
Support That Feels Like Partnership
Every feature request, question, or idea was met with thoughtful responses and real solutions, something FFS had never experienced with a platform before.
Custom Features That Drove Results
Product Engraving on PDP
Customers can now personalize razors with engraving, adding emotional value to the product and boosting AOV.
Native Blogs Integration
FFS’s rich editorial content is embedded in the app, driving engagement and educating users about beauty and sustainability.
Klaviyo Integration
With real-time event syncing, FFS runs automated push campaigns and email flows, including abandoned cart recovery and subscription renewals, directly from the app.
Keys to Success
- 2x Conversion Rate on App
The app converts 2x better than the previous Tapcart-powered experience. - 9x Higher Engagement Time
Users are spending significantly longer in-app, browsing, managing subscriptions, and discovering products. - 47% Signup Rate on the App
Nearly half of all app users are signing up, enabling better personalization, improved retargeting, and stronger long-term revenue. - 2.7% D30 Retention
The app’s 30-day retention rate is 2.7%, compared to just 0.1% on the web, marking a 27x improvement in customer stickiness.
Why FFS Beauty Chose Appbrew
FFS didn’t want a cookie-cutter mobile experience—they wanted performance, polish, and flexibility to serve a subscription-first audience.
With Appbrew, they got all these:
- A brand-first app that reflects their identity
- Polished subscription experience for their users
- Brand-specific features that drive real business impact
- A proactive success team that collaborates like an in-house partner
Appbrew Didn’t Just Improve the App. It Elevated the Entire Customer Journey.
From a great subscription experience to personalized onboarding and in-app education, FFS now delivers the kind of consistency that wins trust and long-term subscribers.
If your brand has outgrown the template phase and you're ready to build a high-performance app channel that powers retention and revenue, Appbrew is ready to help.
