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Ritual's $250M Customer Growth Strategy
Paid Search Strategy, Podcast Ads & Micro-Influencer Campaigns
Dev Chand
June 08, 2025 • Reading Time: 8 minutes
In partnership with
Hey friends 👋
Welcome back! Before we get into the case study, here's a quick update for you.
Starting next week, I'll test new content by sending a second, much shorter email later in the week. I have endless amounts of tactical notes from my day to day which I think you’ll find useful.
It will cover one simple framework, insight, and an AI prompt that you can read and use in under 3 minutes.
Keep an eye out, and as always, hit that reply button with your thoughts/ideas.
The Case Study
Ritual didn't just sell vitamins in a $50B supplement market filled with snake oil promises; they built a $250M empire by weaponising radical transparency when every competitor was hiding behind "proprietary blends" and dubious health claims.
What you'll discover in today’s edition:
Educational first Google ads approach
Micro-influencer army that built 2M customers without mega-influencer costs
How they partnered with over 700 podcasts
Enjoy 👇
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PAID SEARCH
Education Led Google Ads
A massive part of Ritual’s paid ads mix is unsurprisingly Google ads. It captures high-intent traffic who are more likely to convert at higher rates.
They like to educate their customers first, heavily leaning into an advertorial-style landing page while plugging in their offer.
They understood that the supplement industry's biggest problem wasn't competition, it was consumer distrust.
By positioning themselves as educators rather than sellers, they bypassed skepticism entirely.
Their landing pages didn't just convert visitors; they converted skeptics into believers.
While competitors continue to fight over on Meta, Ritual created a strong paid search strategy.
To justify their first approach to education, they have a good understanding of their customer lifetime value, likely based on the average subscription length.
From my research, I found that:
Their AOV is between $30-$35
LTV is $735 across 23 months
When you know a customer will generate $735, you can afford to educate them first.
How you can apply this:
1. Map your customer's knowledge gaps
2. Create educational landing pages for each product benefit
3. Run search ads targeting "what is [ingredient/benefit]" queries
4. Measure education-to-subscription conversion rates
5. Scale winners ruthlessly.
INFLUENCER STRATEGY
Micro-Influencer Education Network
Instead of chasing mega influencers or celebrities, these guys built an army of 5K-50K follower wellness micro-influencers who actually used and understood their products.
They focused on authentic education content. Not discount codes and flash sales. Their TikTok became a vitamin education platform where customer questions became content opportunities.
It worked because they focused on relevance instead of reach. Their authentic content outperformed polished content because it felt like advice from a knowledgeable friend, not an ad.
It also created a multiplier effect. The UGC content and real-world events created a feedback loop that naturally established expertise before Ritual pushes customers towards a purchase, building trust that competitors simply can’t buy.
How you can apply this:
1. Identify 20 micro-influencers in your niche with engaged wellness audiences
2. Offer product + modest fee for educational content (not promotional posts)
3. Create content guidelines focused on education over selling
4. Repost the most authentic reviews to your feed
5. Track performance with custom discount codes
6. Double down on highest-converting creators.
PODCAST STRATEGY
High Impact Podcast Interviews and Ads
Most brands throw money at podcast ads and hope something sticks. Ritual took a completely different approach, and the results speak volumes. They did this by appearing on podcast shows in the form of interviews and buying ad slots.
Instead of generic sponsorship reads, they built authentic relationships with over 700 podcast creators across health, true crime, parenting, and comedy. What they found was that podcast audiences were much more engaged and trusted their host’s recommendations.
Founder Katerina Schneider didn't just buy ad spots. She also appeared as a guest on high-impact shows, sharing unscripted conversations about the brand's story and values.
To make sure they smartly executed this, they made sure that she only went on podcasts where the host was aligned with Ritual’s core values, then let the authentic storytelling do the heavy lifting.
When a trusted host has a genuine conversation with a founder, it doesn't feel like an ad; it feels like a recommendation from a friend.
After executing on this strategy, Ritual found that customers acquired through podcasts showed 20% higher lifetime value compared to their average!
They not only gained more customers, but also better ones who stayed longer and spent more money.
“Podcast listeners appear to be pretty loyal customers of our brands.”
— Justin Fredlender, Ritual’s VP of Growth
How you can apply this:
1. Define who your ideal customers are and what they like.
2. Find podcasts with audiences that match your customers.
3. Arrange for hosts to read your ads or do interviews.
4. Create authentic messages with a special offer for listeners.
5. Run the ads and track sales using unique codes or links.
6. Check which podcasts and ads perform best.
FINAL TAKE
WRAP-UP
Ritual turned the supplement industry's biggest weakness into its competitive advantage.
Education First → Google ads that informed instead of convinced. When your LTV is $735, you can afford to teach before you sell.
Micro Over Mega → 5K-follower wellness creators outperformed celebrities because authentic expertise beats borrowed attention.
Relationships Over Ads → 700+ podcast partnerships weren't about buying spots - they were about earning trust that converted skeptics into premium customers (gaining a 20% higher LTV).
Their growth strategy prioritised acquiring better customers while reaching more people.
Let me know how you found this breakdown below, and thanks for reading!
Talk Soon!
Dev 🤙
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