Small orders leave little room for ad costs
Delivery, packaging and discounts can use up the margin quickly. We judge ads on the real profit per order, not on total sales.
Food & Drink
Ecommerce Marketing Agency for Food & Drink Brands
In food and drink, the first order rarely makes a profit. Repeat orders, gifting seasons and delivery costs decide whether you make money.
The challenges
What breaks first for food & drink brands.
These are not generic channel problems. They are the commercial and customer-behaviour constraints that shape the growth plan for this vertical.
Repeat orders make the profit
Subscriptions, re-orders, bundles and well-timed emails and texts often matter as much as finding new customers.
Gifting seasons bring big peaks
Valentine's Day, Father's Day, Black Friday and Christmas bring huge demand, but only if stock, ads, pages and emails are ready in time.
Some products have advertising rules
Alcohol and other regulated products need extra care on Meta and Google. Following the rules is part of getting results.
Here is how repeat orders pay back one new customer (example, made up):
| One new customer, £8 profit an order | Result so far |
|---|---|
| Cost to win the customer | £20 |
| After the first order | -£12 |
| After the second order | -£4 |
| After the third order | £4 |
| After the fourth order | £12 |
The first order loses £12. The third order pays it back.
How we help
Growth for food & drink has to respect the category.
We work out the profit on each order after delivery and product costs, then plan ads, creative, emails and landing pages around the dates when demand is highest. For brands with repeat orders, email and SMS are what make paying for new customers worthwhile.
Proof
Food & Drink results.
Brands in this industry we have helped grow.
Services
Services we use most for food & drink brands.
The mix changes by brand. These are the services we use most often.
Paid ads
Meta Ads agency for ecommerce brands
We run Facebook and Instagram ads for ecommerce brands. We set the most each sale can cost you, make new ads every week and only raise the budget when the profit is there. Force Wear went from £10k to £150k a month in recurring revenue.
Read service page Paid adsGoogle and YouTube Ads for ecommerce brands
We run Google Search, Shopping, Performance Max and YouTube ads. Your products show up when people search for them, at a cost your margins can afford. Breathe For Change closed $129k of sales from $27k of Google Ads spend.
Read service page Email and SMSKlaviyo email marketing for ecommerce brands
We build and run your Klaviyo email: the automated emails that send themselves (welcome, abandoned basket, post-purchase, win-back) and the campaigns you send each week. The goal is simple: more customers buy a second time.
Read service page Paid adsAmazon Ads agency for ecommerce brands
We run Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads for brands that sell on Amazon and on their own website. Amazon should add profitable sales, not take them from your store.
Read service page WebsiteConversion rate optimisation for ecommerce
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) means getting more of your website visitors to buy. We improve product pages, landing pages and checkout, so every pound you spend on ads brings in more orders.
Read service pageFAQ
Questions food & drink brands ask.
Do food and drink brands need a different approach?
Usually. Smaller orders, delivery costs, shelf life, gifting seasons and repeat orders make food and drink very different from other products.
Can you advertise alcohol?
Yes, within each platform's rules. We plan the ads, audiences and channels that can still sell profitably.
How do you get more repeat orders?
With bundles, subscriptions, re-order reminders and well-timed emails and texts, so the cost of the first order is paid back over several orders.
Which channels matter most for food and drink?
Usually Meta, Google, email and sometimes Amazon. The right mix depends on order size, delivery costs, shelf life and whether people buy as gifts or to re-stock.
Want a plan for your food & drink brand?
Tell us about your brand when you book. Anthony reads it before the call, so you start with your numbers.
- No sales pitch
- No obligation
- You own every account