How Once Upon a Farm's DTC Ads Grew Its Retail Business | Harness the Halo 2/6
DTC Podcast · with Jennifer Berglund · September 3, 2026 · 44 min
Summary
Once Upon a Farm leveraged DTC ad spend to surprisingly boost their retail business, demonstrating a powerful "halo effect." This episode breaks down how to measure and attribute success when lower-funnel DTC media drives significant uplift in retail channels. Learn how to build a case for upper-funnel advertising, navigate cross-channel attribution challenges, and educate internal teams on the true ROI of your marketing efforts beyond direct DTC conversions.
Key takeaways
Recognize that lower-funnel DTC ad spend can create a "halo effect" for your retail business; don't limit success metrics to direct DTC conversions.
Implement robust measurement strategies like matched-market holdout testing to quantify the incremental impact of your media spend on both DTC and retail channels.
Educate internal stakeholders that ROAS isn't just a simple KPI, but a nuanced metric, especially in a multi-channel environment where ad spend in one channel can drive sales in another.
Strategically integrate upper-funnel advertising (e.g., TV, streaming, YouTube) with geo-testing to prove its effectiveness and build an "always-on" media strategy.
Be wary of traditional retail metrics like "new to brand," as they may not fully capture the influence of your broader marketing efforts across different retailers.
To Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupOnce Upon a Farm did $85.4 million in Q2, up 42% year over year, and reached 6.2% of US households against 5.0% a year earlier. Some of that growth traces back to a campaign that was never supposed to produce it. They were running lower-funnel media to their own site, a clean shop-now call to action, the kind of campaign you judge by tomorrow's site revenue. What moved was the retail business. Instacart got more efficient. Programs with accounts picked up momentum. Jennifer Berglund has spent the years since trying to see that effect properly instead of guessing at it, and now she is watching paid search at one retailer lift sales at another, and that's where Keen is worth its weight in premium baby food. If you run growth at a brand moving into retail: this is the episode about what happens to your job when the sale stops closing anywhere you can see it, and what you measure instead.If you own the media budget: Jennifer walks through how a one month TV test in 2021 turned into always-on upper funnel, including the matched-market holdout testing she used to defend it before she had a model.What they get into:The early signal: lower-funnel DTC media running, and the retail business taking off insteadThe finding out of Keen that surprised her most, paid search at Kroger or Target showing an effect on a different account entirelyWhy she treats ROAS as an education problem inside the company rather than a KPIThe trap in "new to brand" at a retailer, and why she takes it with a grain of saltHow she built the case for TV: 2021 test, then TV plus social plus out of home, then geo tests against comparable holdout markets, then always-onStreaming TV and YouTube, and Brad on buying top of
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Recognize that lower-funnel DTC ad spend can create a "halo effect" for your retail business; don't limit success metrics to direct DTC conversions.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Implement robust measurement strategies like matched-market holdout testing to quantify the incremental impact of your media spend on both DTC and retail channels.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Educate internal stakeholders that ROAS isn't just a simple KPI, but a nuanced metric, especially in a multi-channel environment where ad spend in one channel can drive sales in another.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Strategically integrate upper-funnel advertising (e.g., TV, streaming, YouTube) with geo-testing to prove its effectiveness and build an "always-on" media strategy.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Be wary of traditional retail metrics like "new to brand," as they may not fully capture the influence of your broader marketing efforts across different retailers.
