The Client
Feast Source is a US online store for restaurant takeout packaging: deli containers, compartment meal-prep containers and microwaveable noodle bowls, sold by the case. We built their Google Ads from scratch in 2023, which brought in $120K+ in ad revenue in 13 months.
Their buyers are restaurant owners and food businesses who reorder the same containers again and again. A store that shows up for the exact size and style they need wins a repeat customer.
"7 orders in the launch month. 100+ a month by December 2023."
The Challenge
Google Ads for restaurant packaging is a price-driven, product-by-product market:
- Thousands of near-identical products. A 32 oz deli container and a 64 oz deli container are different searches, different buyers and different margins.
- Big competitors. Restaurant-supply giants and marketplaces show up on the same searches.
- A brand-new account. The campaigns started with no purchase history for Google's bidding to learn from.
- Bulk orders. Products are sold in cases of 90 to 240, so a single order is worth far more than a typical online basket.
What We Built
1. Purchase Tracking With Order Values
We counted the store's website purchases with their order values as the conversion, so the campaigns bid on revenue.
2. Performance Max as the Core
A main Performance Max campaign and a second Performance Max campaign for product categories, both bidding to maximize conversion value.
3. Shopping and Search Alongside
A Shopping campaign for the product feed and a Search campaign for high-intent product searches, so the store appears both in product listings and in text ads.
4. A/B Tests on Bidding
We ran A/B tests on the Search campaign and the main Performance Max campaign, comparing maximize conversions with maximize conversion value.
5. Daily Optimization via Ad Campaign Concierge™
Every campaign was reviewed daily through our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ system: search terms, product performance, negatives and budget moved to the campaigns selling best.
The Results
- $120K+ in ad revenue from 790+ orders, August 2023 to August 2024.
- About 3.6x ROAS on $35K+ of ad spend.
- Best month: December 2023, $25K+ in ad revenue from 100+ orders.
- Nationwide demand: California, Texas, New York and Florida led by spend.
Key Takeaways
- Track revenue, not just orders. Bulk orders vary widely in value, so the campaigns bid on order value.
- Let Performance Max carry the catalog. With hundreds of container sizes, Performance Max found the buyers for each one faster than keyword lists could.
- Test the bidding. A/B tests showed which bid strategy suited each campaign before the budget moved.
- Restaurant buyers reorder. A takeout packaging store earns from the same customer again and again, which makes a steady return on ads worth building.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ROAS can a food packaging store get from Google Ads?
Feast Source's campaigns returned about 3.6x: $120K+ in ad revenue from 790+ orders on $35K+ of ad spend, August 2023 to August 2024.
How quickly does a new Google Ads account start selling?
The first orders came in the launch month, August 2023. By September the campaigns were bringing in 55 orders a month, and by December 100+.
Is Performance Max a good fit for a packaging store?
It was the core of this account. Our main Performance Max campaign took about half the budget and drove most of the orders, with a second Performance Max campaign for product categories and Shopping and Search alongside it.
Where do takeout container buyers come from?
All over the United States. California, Texas, New York and Florida were the biggest states by spend, which suits a store that ships restaurant supplies nationwide.
About This Campaign
E-commerce Google Ads for a restaurant packaging store, built with our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ optimization system.
Industry: E-Commerce (Restaurant Takeout Packaging) Platforms: Google Ads (Performance Max, Shopping, Search) Location: United States (nationwide shipping) Account Duration: August 2023 to August 2024. The engagement has ended.
Ad revenue and orders are the store's website purchase conversions recorded in Google Ads for our campaigns, August 2023 to August 2024. A second purchase action from the Google sales channel app, which recorded many of the same orders, is not added on top. Spend covers our campaigns only. All amounts are in US dollars and rounded down.