How a Lunch Meat Brand Changed Category Behavior and Drove Sustained Retail Velocity
Increase in Measured Prepackaged Lunch Meat Sales
of Deli-Counter Shoppers Became New-to-Brand Customers
Purchases Per Month
Expanded Into Previously Unpurchased Portfolio Items
THE OPPORTUNITY
A lunch meat brand wanted to grow its share of the prepackaged lunch meat category by influencing two established shopper behaviors.
The first opportunity was competitive conquest: winning customers who regularly purchased other prepackaged lunch meat brands.
The second was format conquest: introducing shoppers who historically purchased lunch meat from the deli counter to a convenient prepackaged alternative.
The brand partnered with Swish Commerce to determine whether one relevant, full-size product experience could change those behaviors, generate repeat purchasing, and create sustained growth across its broader portfolio.
The objective was not simply to produce trial. It was to win share, shift category behavior, and build lasting retail velocity.
THE SWISH APPROACH
Swish used Stater Bros. first-party purchase data and real-time basket signals to identify two priority audiences:
- Shoppers frequently purchasing competitive prepackaged lunch meat brands
- Shoppers historically purchasing lunch meat from the deli counter who had not previously purchased the featured brand
Each audience represented a different growth challenge.
Competitive buyers already understood the prepackaged format but needed a reason to switch brands.
Deli-counter shoppers had an established format preference and needed a compelling reason to adopt a prepackaged product.
Swish added full-size products directly to qualifying online grocery orders and managed the campaign end to end, including audience qualification, real-time order matching, product placement, customer communication, and closed-loop purchase measurement.
There were no digital opt-ins, rebate forms, or separate fulfillment steps.
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
From Trial to Category Behavior Change
The campaign tested whether a relevant physical product experience could change not only which brand customers purchased, but also how they shopped the category.
For competitive prepackaged buyers, the product created a direct opportunity to switch.
For deli-counter shoppers, it introduced a new format without requiring them to change behavior before experiencing it.
Swish then measured whether recipients purchased the brand, how frequently they returned, and whether they expanded into additional products across the portfolio.
The path from trial to growth was clear:
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
Increase in Measured Prepackaged Lunch Meat Sales
The campaign contributed to a 36% increase in measured prepackaged lunch meat sales. More importantly, the elevated sales trend was sustained for more than six months, supported by strong repeat purchasing among converted customers. The result was not a short-lived promotional spike. It reflected a durable change in purchasing behavior within the category.
of Deli-Counter Shoppers Became New-to-Brand Customers
Among targeted shoppers who historically purchased lunch meat from the deli counter, 42% became new-to-brand customers after trial. This result demonstrated that Swish could influence more than brand choice. The campaign helped convert shoppers from one purchasing format to another.
Purchases Per Month
Converted deli-counter shoppers continued purchasing the brand’s prepackaged lunch meat at an average rate of 2.2 times per month. That repeat frequency showed that the shift toward prepackaged lunch meat continued well beyond the initial trial.
Expanded Into Previously Unpurchased Portfolio Items
The campaign also generated a meaningful portfolio halo. Approximately 37% of new-to-brand customers went on to purchase additional products from the brand’s portfolio that they had never purchased before. These purchases were truly incremental. The sampled product became an entry point to broader brand discovery and greater household penetration.
Four Drivers of Retail Velocity
The campaign generated sustained growth through four connected behaviors:
Competitive Conquest
Swish gave shoppers purchasing competing prepackaged brands a direct reason to switch.
Format Conversion
Traditional deli-counter shoppers discovered and adopted a prepackaged alternative.
Sustained Repeat Purchase
Converted deli shoppers returned an average of 2.2 times per month, maintaining sales momentum after trial.
Portfolio Expansion
More than one-third of new-to-brand customers began purchasing additional products they had never previously bought.
Together, these behaviors created more than a successful sampling campaign. They produced measurable, sustained category and portfolio growth.
Why the Campaign Worked
Swish removed the barrier betweenestablished shopper behavior and a new product experience.
Competitive buyers could evaluate adifferent brand without actively seeking it out. Deli-counter shoppers couldexperience a prepackaged alternative before deciding to change how they shoppedthe category.
The full-size product created thediscovery moment. Closed-loop purchase data revealed whether that experiencechanged future behavior.
VALUE FOR STATER BROS. MARKETS
The campaign helped Stater Bros. turn first-party shopper intelligence into sustained category growth.
The program enabled the retailer to:
- Increase measured prepackaged lunch meat sales
- Sustain higher sales for more than six months
- Convert deli-counter shoppers into prepackaged buyers
- Generate frequent repeat purchasing
- Drive incremental sales across additional portfolio items
- Create relevant product discovery without disrupting the shopping experience
The retailer benefited not only frombrand switching, but also from broader category participation and incremental portfolio purchasing.
CONCLUSIONS
The lunch meat brand set out to increase its share of the prepackaged category by winning competitive buyers and converting traditional deli-counter shoppers.
Through Swish Programmatic Sampling, the campaign contributed to a 36% increase in measured prepackaged lunch meat sales, with the elevated trend sustained for more than six months.
It also converted 42% of targeted deli-counter shoppers into new-to-brand customers, who continued purchasing at an average rate of 2.2 times per month.
The impact extended across the broader portfolio, with 37% of new-to-brand customers purchasing additional products they had never previously bought.
This is the power of Merchandise as Media: using one relevant physical product experience to win share, change category behavior, and unlock sustained growth across a brand portfolio.
FEATURED RESULTS
About Swish
Swish Commerce is the Programmatic Sampling platform transforming Merchandise into Media.
Swish enables brands and retailers to add the right full-size product to the right customer order at the right time using retailer first-party data and real-time basket signals.
Unlike traditional sampling, Swish makes product trial targeted, automated and measurable—helping brands acquire new customers, drive repeat purchases and build retail velocity while enabling retailers to create discovery, category growth and incremental revenue.
Right basket. Right product. Right time