KPTNCOOK
From Focused Iteration to Scalable Growth That Reduced Cost-per-trial by 15% and Increased ROAS by 1338%
CHALLENGE
KptnCook is a fast-growing recipe and meal-planning app with a clear objective: scale its premium subscriber base through paid UA, without losing efficiency.
Despite strong product-market fit, growth momentum was constrained by a narrow channel mix with an over-reliance on Google and Meta. The internal team, due to resource limitations, managed only minimal creative iteration, which affected testing cycles. Lastly, there was a lack of deeper funnel tracking, which resulted in higher unit costs (especially on iOS).
The team partnered with RELUG to rebuild the UA engine, rethinking geo strategy, expanding platforms, systematizing creative, and aligning events for decision-grade data.
LIMITED CHANNEL MIX
MINIMAL CREATIVE ITERATION
SHALLOW FUNNEL VISIBILITY
SOLUTIONS
CHANNEL DIVERSIFICATION
We expanded beyond Meta and Google, adding TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, and IronSource, to unlock untapped audiences, reduce CPM pressure, and de-risk the mix. Platforms were evaluated on trial and subscription performance, not just installs. Notably, on TikTok, Spark Ads consistently outperformed standard ads, and Smart+ Campaigns in France delivered the lowest CPA seen to date, beating manual setups.
FUNNEL-BASED OPTIMIZATION
We rebuilt campaigns around business outcomes, installs, trials, and subscriptions, and implemented custom event tracking for real-time optimization. Early tests showed event-optimized campaigns winning on Android (balancing CPI and CPA), while install-optimized campaigns worked best on iOS to scale cost-efficiently. We also piloted Meta web campaigns; after the learning phase, they became a high-performing iOS lever.
CREATIVE ITERATION SYSTEM
We instituted a weekly testing cadence, new formats, visuals, and messages launched, reviewed, and iterated continuously. Platform-specific learnings, recipe-step carousels on Meta and UGC Spark Ads on TikTok, lifted CTR and trial-start rates; male-targeted tests confirmed the core audience is female, sharpening future targeting and messaging.
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REPLUG stepped in when we were lean and made an immediate impact. Their mobile app marketing experts ran TikTok and Meta performance marketing for us, owning campaigns, targeting, creative copy, and reporting, and we achieved lower cost per trial and CAC, all with punctual delivery and clear communication. Fast start, solid execution, real results.
Head of Marketing
Andrea Raggi
IMPACTFUL CHANGES
IOS EFICIENCY AT SCALE
With iOS investment up +125%, CPI fell –17.5% and trial-start CPA dropped –15.9%, evidence that targeting, creative, and funnel structure worked in sync. iOS ROAS surged +1338%, turning iOS into a dependable growth engine.
ANDROID AS VOLUME LEVER
Android spend increased by +224% by design to widen the top of the funnel; the resulting CPI and CPA increases were an expected, strategic trade-off to accelerate reach and learning velocity.
MULTIPLE GEOS UNLOCKED
France emerged as a top performer: TikTok Smart+ delivered the lowest CPA to date, and Meta France iOS campaigns began to rival, and in some cases outperform, DACH benchmarks.
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