Chris Johnson, maker of the patented Rapid Ramen Cooker, was featured on Shark Tank in 2013. Shortly after, he built a successful B2B company with products in retail stores nationwide. But Chris wanted to expand into the D2C market but faced troubles when trying to build a brand on Amazon. Ultimately, Chris was an early shark tank brand that was good at B2B but unable to crack the Amazon B2C system.
Despite his past success, Chris had little success building his brand on Amazon using other tools and agencies. By 2018, he was ready to call it quits with the platform.
Lab 916 was founded by sellers who started their Amazon journey in 2014. Over the years, we’ve learned the ins and outs of selling on Amazon. We share our strategies with clients to help them succeed as well.
Amazon is constantly changing, and so is Lab 916. We developed proprietary systems, processes, tools, and teams to handle any of our client’s business needs for Amazon.
Most systems, tools, and agencies don’t evaluate their customers and clients as if it is their own business – we do. We assess many data points that cannot be collected without a thorough understanding of selling on Amazon and the eventual problems that will arise, whether known or unknown.
Our system and team can thoroughly evaluate all the various Amazon data, understand the business goals, and, more importantly, know what the business is capable of on Amazon.
Our system helps the business get all cylinders firing in a process rooted in actual Amazon experience and substantiated by historical modeling of almost every Amazon problem.
In short, we are masters of helping brands succeed on the platform. Our proprietary systems and processes still require a level of speculation (ex. attribution beta ads) but do this in a way where risk is mitigated and precautions are always taken.
After understanding Chris’ needs, Lab 916 devised an agile 5-year Amazon plan. We executed the first phases from 2019-2021, and the account grew tremendously. During this time, we optimized listings so they were retail-ready. We also resolved brand name technical issues that allowed us to create a storefront and utilize Sponsored Brand ads properly.
As the brand presence on Amazon grew, we focused on improving Amazon Ads. The brand started starting more robust sales, but profitability was still suffering. Lab 916 recognized that Chris needed to overcome other challenges, particularly struggles with bad reviews that were resulting from sellers on the buy box selling old products.
We had to help the business undergo a behavioral change in how to sell and grow on Amazon. We first dove into the metrics and KPIs to ensure our decisions and ideas were all data-driven.
Next, we set about learning about the business and various departments. We needed to understand the ability of Chris’ company to expand its product line. We also determined the ideal marketing efforts to grow Amazon traffic and the best selling price for Rapid Brands.
Once we evaluated all these variables in our system, we devised an agile plan of attack with various options for course correcting depending on the data we received back.
Our plan included a strategy to improve the IPI score and get FBA storage limits increased. This ensured that products would be in-stock. We also used Amazon Transparency to control buy boxes and preserve the brands’ professional image.
Customer data allowed us to understand what pack sizes and colors would meet customer demand.
With Lab 916’s approach, Rapid Brands was able to boost net margins by over 38 percent. The company increased its average selling price from $11.58 to $13.72 and improved average sales per order by 15 percent.
The brand’s Amazon payout went from $602,428 to $774,925 – a 28 percent increase. Net ROI also went up by over 75 percent.
Through our efforts, we created a website for Rapid Brands, got an IPI score over 400, and were successful in increasing storage limits. Lab 916 also helped Chris build an influencer network to promote products.
Through innovative processes, Rapid Brands grew. In 2018 monthly sales averaged $40K/month and were unprofitable. However, by 2022, the brand was very profitable and averaging $145K/month.
At Lab 916, we have built a system that helps brands navigate the complex Amazon sellers’ platform. By leveraging the right tools, companies are able to boost their presence and sales, leading to higher profitability and margins.
In this case, we worked with a brand already building a reputation outside of Amazon but was struggling to see success on the e-commerce platform. With a comprehensive review of company practices and capability, combined with various data and customer feedback, we were able to help Rapid Brands boost profitability and cultivate loyal customers.
If you’re looking to build a brand and increase your Amazon sales, let us help you. Contact Lab 916 today.
We bring our clients real-world experience in product branding, storefront and product listing management.
We bring our clients real-world experience in product branding, storefront and product listing management.
