Rip Van is the current market leader in low sugar sweet snacks in the US. Over the last decade, they’ve built an omnichannel distribution strategy starting with their first invention: Rip Van Wafels, the world’s first low sugar stroopwafel containing 80% less sugar than the leading cookie brands in the US. More recently, leveraging their low sugar dough and filling technology, the company has built a platform of snacks including sugar wafers, sandwich cookies, and layered cookies. 

The Challenge

Right Side Up spoke with Rip Van to better understand their products, customers, and strategy to date, as well as the challenges they were facing. We knew they needed a COVID-proof strategy to boost their sales, so we recommended expanding their efforts on Amazon.

The Solution

We helped launch their Rip Van store page on Amazon, write and publish optimized product listings, build a sample program to increase trial, and develop an advertising strategy, both on Amazon and off-Amazon on sites like Facebook and Google. The right combination of all of these elements empowered them to rise in the product rankings from the day they went live.

[.c-comment-study-wrapper][.cc-mb-20]“We've developed a way to predict where the market is going and what people are searching for using Amazon's data. A few weeks ago, we launched a new product that’s selling ~100K units/month, up from zero. And we’re launching 46 products next year using trends in data.”[.cc-mb-20]Matt Altman, GM of Ecommerce Marketplace Practice, Right Side Up[.c-comment-study-wrapper]

Since we weren’t able to offer free product trials directly through Amazon, we turned to Facebook. We developed a sampling program to provide new customers with a coupon on Facebook to try Rip Van Wafels on Amazon. We targeted highly relevant customers who were likely to make repeat purchases, and activated ~5k samples. Since Amazon still considers these sales, and since everything you see in Amazon’s search results pages is tied to how many units the product listing sells per day, the program took all of Rip Van’s products to the top of search by Day 10—a key factor in finding success on Amazon.

In order to take on top cookie brands, we developed a unique advertising strategy. We opted for outside-the-box ad placements on Amazon and employed DSP ads targeting past purchasers of competitors. We also took advantage of the Whole Foods ad placements that had recently become available; there were fewer products listed on Whole Foods compared to Amazon, and therefore more opportunities for exposure available. It’s worth noting that even though Rip Van only sold single packets of their product through Whole Foods, 12% of those Whole Foods customers loved the product so much they turned to Amazon for future purchases, where they were able to order in larger quantities.

The Impact

From 2019 to the end of 2021, Right Side Up helped Rip Van scale their Amazon business by 20x, from $0.5M to $10M+ in sales.

[.c-comment-study-wrapper][.cc-mb-20]“Right Side Up was instrumental in helping kickstart and scale our brand on Amazon. Their ability and foresight on how to scale a brand on Amazon is best in class.”[.cc-mb-20]Rip Pruisken, CEO and Co-Founder, Rip Van[.c-comment-study-wrapper]

[.c-tip-wrapper]Interested in igniting sales on Amazon or another ecommerce marketplace?[.c-text-wrapper] Get in touch, we'd love to chat.[.c-text-wrapper][.c-tip-wrapper]