Nicole Saade on Growing Mietta Leisure: Smart Ordering, Paid Ads, and Using AI for Content
Nicole Saade, founder of Mietta Leisure, creates stylish and comfortable everyday wear for women designed in Melbourne. In this interview, she shares practical insights on agile brand decisions, smart growth channels like paid ads and influencers, and how AI helps small brands produce fresh content without costly photoshoots.
In this edition of the Ecommerce Authority Playbooks series, we dive into how
Mietta Leisure grows, retains customers, and prepares for the future of search in 2026 and beyond.
The interview
1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?
Nicole Saade: I started Mietta because I couldn’t find stylish, comfortable and versatile pieces that suited my everyday life. As a mum of two, I wanted clothing that made women feel confident without sacrificing comfort. That’s what Mietta is all about—elevated essentials designed in Melbourne to help women feel strong, comfortable and confident every day.
2. Since launch, what have been the 1-2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?
Nicole Saade: First thing I would say is if something is not working…Change it, don’t wait to long, procrastinate over it,simply make the necessary change.
2. One of the biggest things also and this can be really hard but make out like you are already at the level you want to be, when you talk about the brand, work on the brand, send emails, social media etc, talk as though the brand is already up there even if it’s not yet!! This helps build a perception, for outsiders looking in, customers about to purchase.
3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?
Nicole Saade: 1. Paid ads for sure is my no1 go to for revenue right now. To make it work effectively look at what other brands in my niche are doing, see what works for them and recreate it in my own way. Also very important with paid ads, don’t let them run to long if they are not performing. Swap them out.
2. Influencers- would be my next channel. Social proof for a new business is really important.. Helps with growth
4. How are you thinking about search in 2026 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?
Nicole Saade: So looking at other brands that are bigger than me, I see how they use AI, so I realised so can I.. small brands trying to scale simply cannot afford to do a photoshoot every month when new pieces come out, or wait for that Influencer that promised you content you still HAvnt received..
So being able to launch a new collection or piece of clothing without having to wait for all that is a game changer in my eyes.
5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?
Nicole Saade: I have found offering giveaways every 3-5 months works well for building this! We did a Mother’s Day one recently and this grew my database over 1000 within thag time frame, people wrote lovely notes to there mothers and it helped draw the emotion out!
Also using the platform klaviyo for all my email flows, email marketing etc helps a lot
Klaviyo take control of sending email flows out to the right segment of people. When the time is right.
6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?
Nicole Saade: I would make sure the products im producing offer a low moq. DO NOT OVER ORDER!!
Majority of online fashion brands don’t make it past 2 years mainly for this reason.
So order smart, order small, if a factory is telling you they can’t, find one that can..
What I would stop doing entirely is waiting for anyone else to tell me what I already know..
ecommerce journey and insights with Leaders Perception’s readers.
Want to share your ecommerce playbook?
If you run an online brand and would like to be featured in a future Ecommerce Authority Playbooks interview,
you can submit your story and details here. It’s 100% free and takes just a few minutes.