Case Study•Pet Food / DTC

Wilsons Pet Food

DTC Pet Food Brand

Engagement: Ongoing

+212%

Revenue growth

+112%

Contribution margin

+83%

Customer LTV increase

Ongoing

Partnership

Problem

Wilsons is a DTC pet food brand whose economics depend on repeat purchase. Subscriptions had stopped growing, so acquisition cost was being carried by first orders that could never justify it on their own.

The question was not how to buy more revenue. It was whether the account was buying the kind of customer the business actually needs.

Evidence

All traffic was being treated the same. One-time browsers and subscription-ready buyers received identical bidding and messaging, so the account had no way to pay more for the customer worth more.

The product feed was built around product names rather than the way owners search: by breed, by condition, by specific dietary need. Whole pockets of high-intent demand were simply not being matched.

Decision

Judge the account on lifetime value rather than first-purchase ROAS, and accept a worse-looking day-one number in exchange for a better second order.

Brand messaging and product positioning were deliberately left alone. The problem was in channel strategy, not in the proposition.

What changed

Campaigns restructured around buyer intent, separating browsers from subscription-ready customers.

Product feed rebuilt around breed-specific and condition-specific search language.

Optimisation targets moved from one-off purchases to subscription sign-ups.

Budget allocated against contribution and cohort value rather than blended account ROAS.

Result

Revenue grew 212% year on year, contribution margin after COGS and shipping rose 112%, and subscription cohort lifetime value increased 83%.

The LTV figure is client-reported from their own subscription data, not modelled inside the ad platform.

What we learned

In a subscription business, the first order is a down payment rather than the result. Once the account was allowed to pay properly for a subscriber, the economics that looked broken turned out to be fine.

This account was rebuilt around buyer intent and cohort value rather than blended ROAS. If you want to understand how that kind of management fits together, the agency overview covers Search, Shopping and Performance Max under one brief.

"To be honest I have also tended to be slightly cynical about PPC agencies, mainly because there tends to be a gap between your needs and theirs. However, working with Jude Luxe was different. Chris, Gee and the whole team do genuinely care about your business and give you more support than you should expect. More than this they are genuinely very switched on, of course about PPC but also about wider business. Couldn't think of a reason not to try them out."

Craig Wallace, Owner, Wilsons Pet Food