Quick Summary

#300 → #1 Best Seller in 5 months. 38% → 26% ACoS. 18% B2B revenue from $0. 5.5x ROI.

Key Takeaways

• Climbed from #300 to #1 Best Seller in a subcategory with 340+ competing ASINs
• Reduced ACoS from 38% to 26% by eliminating broad-match waste and redirecting to high-intent commercial kitchen keywords
• Captured Amazon Business (B2B) orders for the first time, with 18% of revenue now from procurement buyers
• Secured the "100+ bought in past month" badge, a critical trust signal for B2B bulk buyers
• Expanded into Canada and Mexico, building a three-country North American operation
• Estimated 5.5x ROI on engagement fees ($35K in fees → ~$192K in incremental revenue and operational savings)
• Reclaimed 50+ hours per week of the founder's time for strategic growth

About the Client

Niche: Commercial Kitchen Equipment

Revenue: $5.8 Million

Team: Founder-led, family business with in-house manufacturing

Founded by a family with two decades in commercial kitchen repair, Sarah saw the same problem over and over: equipment failures that shut down operations and killed profits. She started engineering commercial-grade prep tools that deliver professional performance at prices independent restaurants, food trucks, and caterers can actually afford. She grew to $5.8M with zero outside funding, serving the working kitchens that depend on reliable, field-serviceable equipment every day.

What Was Holding the Brand Back?

Great products, wrong strategy. Sarah's equipment was built better than most of the competition — but Amazon didn't know that, and neither did the buyers searching for it.

"Our equipment is built heavier and lasts longer than half the products above us. The operators know it. But when a procurement manager searches Amazon Business, we don't show up."

• Invisible in the Category: Rank #300 out of 340+ ASINs. The top 5 had Best Seller badges and were getting all the clicks. Sarah was buried on page 3.
• Ad Dollars Going to the Wrong Buyers: 38% ACoS. Over a third of PPC spend was on broad consumer keywords that attracted homeowners, not the commercial buyers who actually purchase this equipment.
• B2B Buyers Couldn't Find Her: No business pricing, no quantity discounts, no commercial classification fields filled in. Procurement managers using Amazon Business filters couldn't see the products at all.
• Sarah Was the Bottleneck: Cases, PPC, listings, inventory — all on her. 50+ hours a week on tactical work while a distribution deal and two new product lines sat untouched.

Hands-on Audit: Key Findings

We inspected every ASIN, dissected every PPC campaign, benchmarked against the top 20 competitors, and audited Amazon Business eligibility. 57% of ad spend was either wasted or underperforming. Zero investment in ranking, B2B, or brand defense.

1. Ranking Bleed: Organic rank declining for 6+ months. The top 5 competitors all had Best Seller badges, each capturing 3-5x Sarah's organic impressions.
2. Ad Spend Leakage: 35% of PPC budget on broad consumer terms like "kitchen gadgets", attracting home cooks instead of commercial buyers. Zero spend on high-converting commercial kitchen terms.
3. Amazon Business Blind Spot: No business pricing. No quantity discounts. Empty commercial classification fields. B2B buyers couldn't discover the product through business-specific filters.
4. Listing Quality Gaps: Feature-heavy, benefit-light copy. No application photography showing commercial kitchen use cases. No comparison charts. Zero mention of certifications, motor specs, or NSF ratings.
5. Social Proof Deficit: Review velocity crawling. No Vine enrollment. Competitors had 2-3x the reviews and more verified business buyer reviews.

How Did ALFI Approach the Turnaround?

The Growth-First Playbook

1. Diagnose & Benchmark: Full-catalog audit across PPC, keywords, listings, reviews, Amazon Business setup, and competitor positioning.
2. Profit-First Roadmap: ACoS reduction and B2B capture before scaling spend. Every initiative sequenced so each win funded the next.
3. Rapid Execution: Changes deployed in days. Weekly ASIN-level reviews. Full operational takeover so Sarah could focus on growth.

Deep Dive 1: From #300 to #1: Owning the Category

Invisible to Best Seller

In this subcategory, the top 5 positions capture roughly 65% of organic sales. At rank #300, Sarah's products were functionally invisible.

Key Stat: Starting rank: #300 in a 340+ ASIN subcategory | Target: #1 Best Seller

90-Day Action Plan: Audit, Optimize & Dominate

1. Competitor & Keyword Deep-Dive: Mapped the top 20 competitors. Identified the 20% of keywords driving 80% of subcategory sales. Built a priority matrix separating commercial buyer terms from residential consumer terms.
2. Listing Overhaul: Built for B2B Buyers: Rewrote all titles, bullets, and backend keywords with commercial buyer language. Added load capacities, material grades, NSF certifications, and compatibility specs. Commissioned application photography and refreshed A+ content with comparison charts.
3. Amazon Business Activation: Configured business pricing and quantity discount tiers. Populated commercial classification fields, uploaded spec sheets, and enabled Request a Quote. Made the entire catalog discoverable through Amazon Business filters.
4. PPC Restructure: Profit First: Killed broad consumer campaigns. Launched exact-match sprints targeting high-intent commercial kitchen terms. Built dedicated campaigns for Amazon Business keywords. Shifted 40%+ of spend to terms converting at 3-5x the old rate.
5. Review Acceleration & Badge Capture: Enrolled hero ASINs in Amazon Vine. Orchestrated deals during peak traffic to trigger velocity signals. #1 Best Seller badge captured.

Results: #1 Best Seller & B2B Revenue Unlocked

The ranking flywheel kicked in: better rank → more impressions → more conversions → higher velocity → better rank.

• #1 - Category Rank (Up from #300)
• +19.2% - Revenue Growth (In 5 months)
• -12pts - ACoS Reduction (38% → 26%)
• 18% - B2B Revenue (From $0, net new)

Deep Dive 2: International Expansion & Operational Freedom

Single Market, Founder Bottleneck

Sarah's entire revenue flowed through a single US marketplace. She was the bottleneck for every operational decision.

Key Stat: 0 international marketplaces → 3 North American markets live

90-Day Action Plan: Expand & Liberate

Diagnosed what was blocking scale: market concentration, founder dependency, and missing infrastructure.

1. Launch Canada (.ca): Localized content with metric-first specifications, CAD pricing strategy, and Amazon Business pricing for Canadian commercial buyers. PPC tailored to lower competition density.
2. Launch Mexico (.com.mx): Professional Spanish localization. Fulfillment infrastructure and pricing accounting for cross-border fees. Unique keyword opportunities in the less competitive Mexican market.
3. Full Operational Takeover: All day-to-day Amazon operations across three marketplaces: cases, listings, PPC, inventory, reviews, and compliance. Sarah went from 50+ hours/week to a single 45-minute strategy call.
4. Unified Reporting Dashboard: Single dashboard pulling Seller Central, Sellerboard, and finance data across all three marketplaces. Real-time profitability by ASIN, by marketplace, by channel.
5. Weekly Strategy Reviews: Structured 45-minute check-ins replacing ad-hoc firefighting. Performance vs. plan, budget reallocation, competitive moves, and B2B pipeline.

Results: 3 Markets & 50+ Hours Reclaimed

Sarah redirected her time toward strategic growth, closing a distribution partnership and developing two new product lines.

• 3 - Marketplaces (US + CA + MX)
• 5.5x - Est. ROI on Engagement (~$5.50 per $1 fee)
• 50+ - Hours Reclaimed (Per week for Sarah)
• ~$192K - Est. Incremental Value (Revenue + ops savings)

Bringing It All Together

We took Sarah's brand from invisible to category leader — synchronizing listings, PPC, Amazon Business, reviews, and international expansion so every piece compounded.

• #300 to #1 Best Seller in a 340+ ASIN commercial kitchen equipment subcategory
• ACoS cut from 38% to 26% — every dollar of revenue became more profitable
• Amazon Business activated from $0 — 18% of revenue from B2B buyers
• "100+ bought" badge creating a self-reinforcing trust flywheel
• Canada and Mexico launched, diversifying across three countries
• 40%+ of PPC restructured from consumer waste to commercial kitchen buyer intent
• Full operational takeover across all three marketplaces
• Founder freed to close distribution deal and develop two new product lines

Client Testimonial

"Five months ago I was spending my nights answering Seller Central cases. Now I'm #1 in the category, our B2B orders are growing every month, and I just signed a distribution deal I'd been putting off for a year. The other agencies wanted to run my ads. ALFI understood my business."

- Sarah, Founder & CEO, Commercial Kitchen Equipment Manufacturer

We Get in the Trenches with You.

Why Commercial Kitchen Brands Choose ALFI

• Weekly 1:1 Strategy: ASIN-level profitability, competitive positioning, and B2B pipeline review. No generic reports.
• Built for Commercial Kitchen Brands: We know the difference between a consumer keyword and a procurement keyword. Your listings and PPC target the buyers who actually drive revenue.
• Accountability & Speed: Changes live in days. Full transparency. Month-to-month after initial engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions