Case study 1
Turning an Unexpected Market Insight into a Game-Changing Product
01
The Challenge
Our website was our most profitable sales channel, but rising digital advertising costs—driven by social media algorithm changes—made customer acquisition prohibitively expensive. We needed a new way to drive website sales without relying on paid ads. Through hundreds of direct customer conversations, we uncovered a major unmet need: keto dieters were struggling to find satisfying bread. While they had no issues preparing keto-friendly meals, the craving for good-quality bread remained a pain point. This insight sparked a new opportunity—why not create keto bread?
02
The Obstacles
There was just one problem: we had never made bread before. We had no knowledge of baking, no experience with bread production, and no supply chain to support it. Before diving into an entirely new category, we validated demand by asking our customers how many loaves they would buy weekly. The response confirmed a strong market existed, giving us the confidence to move forward.
03
The Solution
We started, like many do, with Google—experimenting with online keto bread recipes. While we achieved the right nutritional profile, the bread didn’t taste great, and we quickly learned that taste is king.
Realizing we needed expert help, we brought in local bakery freelancers, including professionals from established bakeries. While they improved the process, the results still weren’t good enough to ensure repeat purchases. We expanded further, partnering with bakery labs in the U.S. and U.K. who helped refine the recipe remotely.
However, another hurdle emerged—key ingredients required for the perfect texture and taste weren’t available in the UAE. We scoured global suppliers until we found exactly what we needed, imported the ingredients, and began producing keto bread in-house.
From Kitchen Trials to Full-Scale Production
To ensure product-market fit, we conducted weekly in-house blind taste tests. Every Monday, the team gathered to rank different bread versions—despite having no prior baking experience. After extensive iterations, we finally cracked the recipe and had a bread that met our high standards.
Next came the challenge of commercialization. Making a few samples was one thing; mass production was another. Scaling required overcoming significant manufacturing hurdles:
- We leveraged our local bakery network to source cost-effective, locally made bread machines.
- We hired experienced bakers and began with a manual production process to minimize upfront costs.
- Only after validating demand did we invest in automation.
The results were immediate and game-changing—keto bread sales tripled our website revenue with minimal marketing spend.
The Takeaway
This experience reinforced a key lesson: you don’t need to be an expert in a category to succeed—you just need the right problem-solving mindset. By listening to customers, relentlessly iterating, and leveraging external expertise, we built a thriving new revenue stream from scratch.