How a Nicotine Therapy Brand Scaled New-to-Brand Growth on Walmart Connect

This nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) brand offers gum and lozenges designed to help adult consumers manage cravings and quit smoking. Competing against established category leaders, the brand operates in a high-cost, trust-driven environment where performance depends on capturing high-intent shoppers and converting them efficiently.

The Challenge

The brand entered Walmart in a difficult position.

The nicotine replacement therapy category is dominated by established players with aggressive bidding strategies and strong search visibility. From launch, cost per click was high, competition was intense, and early efficiency was difficult to maintain.

During the initial ramp period, Total Advertising Cost of Sale (TACOS) remained elevated, and sales volume was still developing as the brand worked to establish relevance. At the same time, the client set ambitious growth targets—requiring not just scale, but a clear path toward improved efficiency.

The challenge was to win visibility against entrenched competitors while ensuring that growth translated into sustainable performance.

Why Quartile

In this category, more spend does not guarantee better results.

The competitive baseline is already high, which means efficiency depends on how precisely investment is allocated. The brand needed a strategy that could identify high-intent opportunities, prioritize them effectively, and avoid wasted spend.

Quartile provided a structured, performance-led approach.

By combining continuous keyword expansion with real-time performance validation, Quartile ensured that spend followed conversion signals. At the same time, competitive conquesting allowed the brand to reach shoppers already searching for alternatives—capturing demand where it was most valuable.

This approach enabled the brand to grow by being more targeted, not more aggressive.

The Solution

Quartile implemented a coordinated strategy focused on capturing high-intent demand and scaling with discipline.

A collaborative keyword roadmap formed the foundation. High-value search terms were identified, tested, and scaled based on performance, ensuring expansion remained grounded in data.

Competitive conquesting played a central role. Campaigns targeted competitor-branded and high-intent category queries, allowing the brand to intercept shoppers actively evaluating options.

To strengthen visibility, additional formats such as Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Video were introduced, supporting presence across multiple points in the search journey.

As performance improved, the strategy shifted toward controlled scaling. Budget allocation followed clear efficiency guardrails, ensuring that increased volume did not dilute returns. Over time, this created a system where growth and efficiency improved together.

Results & Impact

The strategy delivered strong, measurable outcomes:

• 34% higher total sales than forecast, exceeding planned growth expectations  

• Efficiency outperformed forecast assumptions, with stronger-than-expected ROAS and TACOS in key months  

• Sustained high performance at scale, maintaining strong return levels during peak periods  

• 66% of orders driven by new-to-brand customers, validating successful competitive acquisition  

These results demonstrate that in competitive categories, precision drives performance. By focusing on high-intent demand and disciplined scaling, the brand achieved both growth and efficiency.

Ongoing Value & Future State

With a strong performance foundation in place, the brand is positioned for continued expansion.

Quartile continues to refine keyword strategy, optimize competitive coverage, and expand full-funnel capabilities. This ensures the brand can maintain efficiency while unlocking additional growth opportunities over time.

What began as a challenging launch has become a scalable and repeatable growth model.