Since 2010, Califia Farms has sold a wide variety of plant-based, dairy-free products—including coffee creamers, oat milk, and almond milk—in a range of flavors. After gaining popularity in the U.S., they decided to expand to the U.K. in late 2021. But they faced stiff competition from well-funded, established competitors.

As 2023 approached, Califia Farms set an ambitious goal: to become the No. 1 best-selling brand in their category during the month of January, in conjunction with the annual Veganuary campaign. This meant they needed to accelerate their sales velocity and maintain their growth trajectory as they moved into the new year.

Based on their analysis of different search trends, Tambo found that generic searches for oat milk spiked during January. So, they recommended phasing 50% of Califia Farms’ Q1 2023 budget into January campaigns, allocating 72% of ad spend on the term oat milk and associated words. Tambo also upscaled Califia Farms’ Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Brands video campaigns by 30%, implementing a mix of lifestyle and product images and video assets.

After analyzing category share insights, Tambo allocated 33% of the Q1 budget to actively focus on core competitors. Their strategy included using Sponsored Display to place ads directly on competitors’ product display pages—a move that helped them win the attention of consumers who might be considering other brands’ plant-based products, boosting awareness among their core audience. They also implemented Sponsored Products ads to promote individual product listings.

Using Amazon DSP insights, Tambo noticed a high potential for conversion among women and environmentally conscious audiences. So, in the next phase of the campaign, they decided to remarket to those groups. They then ran a competitive promotion on their core products during January, boosting their visibility using Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Brands video, and Sponsored Display.

Tambo’s strategic efforts paid off: Not only did Califia Farms achieve the No. 1 best-seller rank during Veganuary, but they saw their total year-over-year (YoY) sales increase by 259% for Q1 2023.⁵ The brand also saw a 104% increase in their return on ad spend and a 160% growth in their Amazon Ads sales YoY⁶, with their Subscribe & Save revenue growing by 81% YoY—amounting to more than 50% of their monthly revenue.⁷

Display ads from Amazon Ads include Sponsored Display and Amazon DSP, used by Califia Farms for their growth in this campaign. These offerings help engage audiences where they are, whether that’s shopping or streaming or elsewhere. They can help connect with customers across Amazon properties like Twitch and Freevee, as well as devices like Fire TV and Echo Show, in addition to premium third-party content. Additionally, there are also device ads, which incorporate both display and video creatives on Amazon devices and services.

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