It sounds challenging, but it’s not impossible to achieve if you are able to execute what upGrowth recommends as the point of action (POA) for achieving growth from four figures to seven figures in a year for a food tech startup.
A food tech startup based out of the middle east approached upGrowth for growth. The problem statement was clear – “We want to grow our business.”
Develop a Growth Strategy That Works
For a food tech brand, upGrowth created a growth strategy that focused on not only digital channels but also customers, processes, and overall experience with the brand on every touch point that matters. upGrowth started with understanding the business, products, pricing, competition, current digital channels and a lot more.
upGrowth believes that growth is achieved through a robust strategy followed by good execution. upGrowth looked at the overall business performance and set a vision of where the startup needs to be within one year with forecasted numbers and aggressive month-on-month growth targets.
A full-funnel growth strategy is important to unlock growth. The full-funnel strategy will include
Acquisition strategy
Engagement strategy
Retention strategy
Referral strategy
upGrowth developed an overall business strategy looking at the competition and market scenarios and current business, supported by channel strategies.
Setting a vision is very important while making strategy; upGrowth aimed for seven figures at the start of the year which sounded impossible at that time but was achieved with great strategy and good execution.
upGrowth not only focused on digital channels and recommended offline channels, which will fuel growth further. The offline strategy was clear; be present where the target audience is present and grab their attention.
Market research and understanding the audience are vital to creating a growth strategy.
Defining the Target Audience and Use Cases
upGrowth understood the target audience by researching digital analytics and interviewing stakeholders such as founders, the customer support team, and the marketing team. Every tool and every team gave minute details about the customers; some examples are:
Customer preferences
Common queries
Buying time
Buying week
Why do they love the company?
Why are they not using the product?
What efforts from the company will customers appreciate?
Location
Age
Occupation
Note that it’s important to back information with data. This will help the company create a growth strategy for each audience and determine what resources and strategies to use for different audiences. The step is essential as this is crucial for creating a channel strategy.
upGrowth also defined the use cases for all product types and audience segments. This helps in creating content and messaging for each audience segment.
A growth strategy is effective if we have audience segmentation and use cases defined for each segmentation, which will help in content, social media, and overall channel strategy. upGrowth recommended targeting different segments with separate communication, resulting in an increased ROAS.
Scaling What Product Works and Focusing on Optimisation of Efforts
When upGrowth started the engagement with the company, we distributed all the efforts among different products. upGrowth categorised the products with sales numbers, and we got a winner. Analytics numbers, website sales numbers, and customer support interviews backed the research. Then an experiment was conducted wherein paid efforts on the highest-selling product were increased. The experiment was successful and increased ROAS. We scaled the experiment and dedicated a majority of the paid growth efforts to the star product.
Earlier, the product, which drove 50% of the sales, started driving 90% of the sales. The company began to be recognised for its star product.
The experiment boosted sales, which led to supply chain and operational errors. Process optimisation, product standardisation, and new product development were some of the efforts initiated post-scaling of the experiment.
Process improvement was a major step the brand needed to sustain its growth.
At upGrowth, we focus on the holistic growth of the business; that’s why process improvements and other strategies were suggested that were not related to digital growth but helped the business grow holistically.
Amazing things can happen with one experiment!
Experimentation with Acquisition and Retention Strategies
upGrowth believes in growth which is a result of conducting thoughtful experiments. upGrowth started an experiment in acquisition channels.
After months of studying the sales numbers, upGrowth observed that sales numbers dip at a particular period every month regardless of the festivals or any other external factors. The same continued despite the increase in the ads budget. upGrowth understood the pattern and did a very bold experiment. The experiment was to switch off ads in the same period when sales take a hit. This was done to understand whether ads affect sales in that particular period and double down on ads when they are effective. We shifted the budget between two date ranges, and the results were mind-blowing!
The food tech company ended up having the highest ROAS for the month ever, the highest sales in a month, the highest sales in one day and the highest number of orders of the hero product in a month. Everything was achieved within a single month.
It was a bold decision to switch off ads when you have big targets. upGrowth exceeded the monthly target by a significant margin.
The same was done in the retention channel. They did not follow segmentation earlier and sent the same emails to all audiences. This was also the case because of the small database. But as the database got bigger, upGrowth started segmentation and sending tailored messaging to the segmented audiences. This resulted in more sales from active customers and reactivating the customers who were not buying earlier.
Conclusion
When upGrowth started to work with the food tech startup, it was a different business. We have come a long way.
The results speak for themselves. In the last 12 months:
Delicut revenue grew more than 700%.
Team size doubled
Introduction of new products
Kitchen processes are automated to make operations efficient.
High-end technology is being used to take custom orders and manage the kitchen.
At upGrowth, we always focus on the overall growth of the business and help our clients as partners.
upGrowth is now planning for further expansion of the business. Interesting times ahead!
Watch: How Food Tech Startups Scale from 4 to 7 Figures in Just One Year
For Curious Minds
A full-funnel strategy provides a complete framework for sustainable growth by addressing the entire customer journey, not just the initial acquisition. This method ensures that once customers are acquired, they are actively engaged, encouraged to stay, and motivated to bring in new users, creating a powerful growth loop.
The upGrowth model emphasizes four critical pillars for this kind of success:
Acquisition strategy: Attracting new customers through targeted online and offline channels.
Engagement strategy: Keeping users active and interested in your products and brand.
Retention strategy: Implementing tactics to ensure customers make repeat purchases and remain loyal.
Referral strategy: Building programs that incentivize existing customers to advocate for your brand.
By nurturing customers at every stage, you build a resilient business that doesn't just spend money to find new buyers but creates long-term value from its existing base. Understanding how these elements work together is the first step toward achieving ambitious revenue goals, such as growing from four to seven figures.
Deeply understanding your audience and defining use cases is the foundation of a successful growth strategy because it allows for highly targeted and resonant marketing. This precision prevents wasted resources on generic messaging and directly leads to a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) by speaking to specific customer needs.
upGrowth combined qualitative and quantitative data to build a comprehensive customer profile. Key data sources included:
Digital Analytics: To understand user behavior, location, age, and other demographic details.
Stakeholder Interviews: Gathering insights from founders, customer support, and marketing teams to learn about common queries, preferences, and reasons for churn.
Sales Data: To identify buying patterns, including popular products and peak purchase times.
This data-backed approach enables precise audience segmentation, which then informs everything from content creation to channel strategy. Discovering why customers love your product, or why they hesitate, provides the critical insights needed to scale effectively.
A strategy focused on a 'star product' consistently outperforms one that spreads efforts evenly because it concentrates resources on a proven winner, leading to exponential returns. This approach minimizes risk and maximizes efficiency, while a diluted strategy often yields mediocre results across the board by failing to capitalize on what customers already love.
The key difference lies in the principle of optimization. upGrowth first identified the client's highest-selling product, which already drove 50% of sales. Instead of treating it as just one part of the portfolio, they conducted an experiment to increase its dedicated paid growth efforts. The success of this test confirmed their hypothesis, leading them to scale the experiment. This focused strategy transformed the product's contribution, making it responsible for 90% of total sales. This data-driven reallocation is far more powerful than simply maintaining a balanced but less impactful marketing mix. To learn more about how this focus can transform your sales figures, explore the full case study.
The most compelling evidence of the strategy's success is the dramatic shift in sales concentration and the overall achievement of seven-figure revenue within a year. By identifying and scaling efforts on a single 'star product,' the company transformed its revenue structure and market positioning.
Initially, this top-performing product accounted for 50% of the company's sales. After upGrowth conducted research backed by analytics and customer interviews, they ran an experiment to dedicate the majority of paid growth efforts to this item. The results were definitive: the star product's contribution soared to 90% of total sales. This proves the effectiveness of data-driven focus over a diversified but less impactful approach. This strategic pivot not only boosted ROAS but also sharpened the brand's identity, making the company recognized specifically for its flagship offering. This case provides a clear blueprint for how to leverage internal data to find and amplify your biggest growth driver.
A food tech startup can replicate this process by systematically combining data analysis with human insights to build detailed customer personas. This foundational work directly improves ROAS by enabling hyper-targeted messaging and channel selection, ensuring your marketing budget is spent on the most receptive audiences.
Here is a stepwise plan based on the upGrowth model:
Consolidate Digital Data: Start by analyzing your website and social media analytics to identify key demographics like age, location, and the times and days customers are most active.
Interview Internal Teams: Conduct structured interviews with your founders, customer support, and marketing teams. Ask about common queries, customer complaints, and what they believe makes customers loyal.
Analyze Sales Patterns: Dig into your sales data to pinpoint which products sell best, what items are frequently purchased together, and identify any seasonal trends.
Define Segments and Use Cases: Group your findings into distinct audience segments and define the primary reason (use case) each segment buys from you. This allows you to tailor communication for maximum impact, leading to the increased ROAS seen in the case study.
This case study provides a clear solution: use data to identify your single best-performing product and concentrate the majority of your resources there. This counters the common mistake of spreading efforts too thin, which often leads to an inefficient use of capital and stagnant growth.
upGrowth solved this problem by first categorizing the client's products based on sales numbers and analytics, which quickly revealed a clear winner. They didn't stop there; they validated this finding with interviews before launching a paid media experiment to amplify the star product. The quantifiable outcome was profound: the product's share of total sales jumped from 50% to 90%. This strategic consolidation of effort not only increased ROAS but also established a stronger brand identity around a recognized, high-demand offering. This example shows how ruthless prioritization, backed by data, is the key to breaking through growth plateaus. Delve deeper to see how this focus was maintained across channels.
Setting an ambitious, data-informed vision serves as a north star for the entire growth strategy, aligning all tactical execution toward a single, measurable goal. It transforms a vague desire for growth into a concrete target, motivating teams and providing a benchmark for success.
For the food tech client, upGrowth established a vision of reaching seven figures in revenue at the very beginning. While this seemed impossible at the time, it was grounded in an analysis of the market and the business's potential. This vision was then broken down into aggressive month-on-month growth targets. Every subsequent decision, from channel selection to product focus, was evaluated against its ability to contribute to this overarching goal. This vision-led execution ensures that short-term experiments and long-term strategies are always cohesive and purposeful. The achievement of this goal underscores that a clear, ambitious target is not just motivational but a critical component of strategic execution.
Food tech companies that rely exclusively on digital channels risk hitting a growth ceiling and missing valuable opportunities to build deeper brand loyalty. An integrated online-offline approach is now essential because it creates a more resilient and multi-dimensional relationship with the target audience.
The upGrowth strategy explicitly included recommendations for offline channels with a clear mandate: be present where the target audience is and grab their attention. This acknowledges that customer lives are not confined to screens. An integrated model allows a brand to:
Build trust and authenticity through physical presence.
Reach segments of the audience that may be less active online.
Create memorable brand experiences that digital ads cannot replicate.
As digital advertising becomes more crowded and expensive, the ability to connect with customers across multiple touchpoints will be a key differentiator. The future of growth lies in creating a cohesive brand experience that flows seamlessly between the digital and physical worlds.
To diagnose issues and unlock growth, the first priority should be a deep dive into your existing data to find your 'star product' and define your core audience segments. This internal focus on optimization is more effective than immediately chasing new, unproven channels or products.
Based on the upGrowth playbook, here is an initial action plan:
Analyze Product Performance: Systematically review sales numbers and website analytics to identify which product generates the most revenue and engagement. This will reveal your potential 'star'.
Conduct Audience Research: Combine analytics with interviews of customer-facing teams to understand who your best customers are and why they buy from you.
Run a Focused Experiment: Instead of a complete overhaul, conduct a small-scale experiment. Increase paid efforts on your top product for a defined period and measure the impact on ROAS.
This diagnose-and-test methodology allows you to make data-backed decisions and focus your resources where they will have the greatest impact, setting the stage for successful scaling.
This example directly challenges the idea that diversification equals safety by demonstrating that focused concentration can generate far greater returns and build a stronger brand identity. While diversification can mitigate risk in a stable portfolio, for a startup seeking exponential growth, it often leads to a fatal lack of impact.
The food tech company's success illustrates the power of the 80/20 principle in action. By identifying the 20% of their product line that was driving the majority of results and doubling down, they achieved outsized gains. The conventional approach would have been to continue allocating budget across all products, resulting in slower, incremental growth. The shift from 50% to 90% in sales contribution from one product proves that a bold, data-backed bet on a winner is a more effective growth lever than a timid, balanced approach. This case provides a compelling argument for why startups should prioritize depth over breadth in their marketing efforts.
Qualitative insights from internal teams provided the essential 'why' behind the quantitative data, enabling the creation of marketing messages that truly resonated with customers. This human context is crucial for moving beyond generic ads to communication that addresses specific pain points and motivations.
By interviewing founders, customer support, and marketing teams, upGrowth uncovered nuanced details that analytics alone could not provide. These included:
Customer Preferences: What specific features or ingredients customers mentioned most often.
Common Queries: The recurring questions or points of confusion that indicated gaps in communication.
Reasons for Loyalty: The emotional drivers behind why customers loved the company.
Barriers to Purchase: Why some potential customers were not converting.
This information allowed for the creation of separate communications for different audience segments, directly leading to an increased ROAS. Learn more about how these insights were woven into the channel strategy in the full article.
upGrowth solved this by establishing a bold, specific, and measurable vision at the outset, which served as a unifying goal for every strategic and tactical decision. This prevents the common problem of disjointed marketing efforts by ensuring that all activities are evaluated based on their contribution to a single, ambitious outcome.
The process began by setting a revenue target of seven figures within one year, a goal that immediately clarified the required scale of growth. This wasn't just a hopeful number; it was supported by an analysis of the business and market, and it was broken down into aggressive month-on-month targets. This goal-oriented framework ensured that every experiment, from focusing on the star product to developing offline channels, was a deliberate step toward that vision. By starting with the end in mind, the strategy gained a level of focus and coherence that is often missing when goals are vague or non-existent, proving that a clear vision is a prerequisite for exceptional execution.
Focused on providing measurable results with minimal effort, Adarsh is a growth expert, constantly next-levelling his expertise. He is an experienced and trusted asset with extreme analytics skills.
Analysis for strategizing to hit an all-time high and keeping track of the growth. Targeting long-term growth jo returns rukne na de.
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