How to Build a Brand in a Noisy Growth Market

A case study on selling supplements on Amazon 

Supplements are one of the most competitive market categories on Amazon and have seen a surge in sales since lockdown. As an online growth industry, new brands enter the space all the time. Expanding your customer base or launching a new product requires the effective use of all the levers at your disposal. That’s why one leading UK and international supplements brand (who we have agreed to keep confidential) sought the help of Nozzle in October 2020. 

“We have big plans for 2021, with the launch of new products and new markets, and will be relying on Nozzle's team and technology to take our Amazon business to the next level.” — Anonymous Founder.  

When the opportunity is also the problem

This well-known supplements brand faced a conundrum. They wanted to increase market share and build brand awareness in preparation for a slate of new product launches and expansions in 2021. Their goal was to take advantage of the growth in the supplements industry, but this exact opportunity had also amplified an already noisy and competitive market. 

Although established in the UK, EU and US, the company is best known in the UK. The plan was to revamp online sales in the UK first, and then roll out updates internationally with the long-term goal to significantly increase US sales. But with ad budgets limited by tight margins and competitive search terms, it was critical to gain an edge — and that’s where Nozzle’s Activation and Analytics services came into play.  

Nozzle used data to drive strategy  

Nozzle deployed AI-driven analytics to quickly capture detailed insights about supplement customers and products, along with the brand’s existing PPC strategy. Combined with their Amazon PPC experience, “Nozzle was able to automate the extraction of data from multiple sources to help us understand how to target our campaigns far more effectively”, explained Anonymous eCommerce Manager. 

Nozzle first identified core non-branded terms that would be ideal for organic ranking. They then focused ad spend on these terms using dedicated campaigns to optimize placement and improve conversion rates — deploying a full range of ad types and products to maximize real estate on Amazon. This strategy was designed to grow brand awareness while capitalizing on the positive impact that PPC conversions have on the A9 algorithm’s organic ranking decisions in order to drive short- and long-term goals simultaneously. 

Increasing sales and more repeat customers 

“Nozzle helped us not only drive our number one goal of improving our organic ranking, but also provided us with granular insights into our customer's behavior through their analytics product,” shared Anonymous Founder. 

“Ad sales are up over 100%, impressions up 260%, but most importantly our repeat purchase customers are growing.” 

Nozzle was able to improve the efficiency of campaigns while also improving their effectiveness. Using analytics tools to identify and target the best converting and most relevant terms, organic results can be improved while maximizing short-term PPC sales and brand awareness growth. Nozzle is now helping the brand launch both new and existing products — including Vitamin D and Collagen into new markets.  

“In the short time we’ve been partnering with the team at Nozzle we’ve seen some extraordinary results,” said Anonymous Co-Founder. “As I said, 2021 is going to be a big year for us, and Nozzle is a critical part of that outcome and strategy.”