How Philadelphia Whipped Turned Trial Into Portfolio-Wide Retail Velocity
of Conversions Were Incremental New-to-Brand Customers
Purchases Per Month
Average Measured Customer Value Within Three Months
From the Highest-Value New Customer
THE OPPORTUNITY
Philadelphia Whipped had an opportunity to do more than introduce shoppers to a new product.
The brand wanted to acquire incremental customers, inspire new dipping and snacking occasions, and determine whether trial of Philadelphia Whipped could create sustained purchasing across the broader Philadelphia Cream Cheese portfolio.
Philadelphia partnered with Swish Commerce to place full-size product directly into the online grocery orders of highly qualified Stater Bros. shoppers and measure the purchasing behavior that followed.
The objective was not simply to generate awareness. It was to turn product experience into measurable, long-term retail velocity.
THE SWISH APPROACH
Swish used Stater Bros. first-party purchase data and real-time basket signals to identify shoppers with a strong likelihood of adopting Philadelphia Whipped.
The campaign prioritized customers who:
- Had not previously purchased Philadelphia Whipped
- Purchased cream cheese or relevant adjacent dairy products
- Purchased chips, crackers, fresh produce, or other products associated with dipping occasions
- Demonstrated basket behaviors aligned with the product’s versatility
Full-size Philadelphia Garlic & Herb Whipped Cream Cheese was then added directly to qualifying online grocery orders.
There were no digital opt-ins, rebate forms, or separate fulfillment steps. Swish managed the campaign end to end, including audience qualification, real-time order matching, product placement, customer communication, and closed-loop purchase measurement.
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
The Garlic & Herb variety gave shoppers a new way to experience Philadelphia Whipped—as a dip, not only as a spread.
Swish then measured whether recipients purchased Philadelphia Whipped, how often they returned, how much value they generated, and whether the experience influenced purchases across the broader Philadelphia portfolio.
The campaign created a measurable path from trial to portfolio growth:
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
of Conversions Were Incremental New-to-Brand Customers
Among customers who purchased after trial, 78% were incremental new-to-brand buyers who had not previously purchased Philadelphia Whipped. This demonstrates that the campaign was not simply capturing existing demand. It introduced the product to new households and converted that trial into measurable customer acquisition.
Purchases Per Month
Customers who converted purchased Philadelphia products an average of approximately 3.5 times per month. The campaign did not generate a single follow-up transaction. It created sustained purchase frequency and helped establish Philadelphia as a recurring part of the household basket.
Average Measured Customer Value Within Three Months
The sampled audience generated an average of approximately $16 in measured customer value within the first three months following trial. This early return demonstrates how quickly a relevant full-size product experience can begin producing incremental sales.
From the Highest-Value New Customer
The strongest new customer generated approximately $270 in purchases within 12 months of trial. That customer’s behavior illustrates the compounding value of Programmatic Sampling: one precisely targeted product experience can become the beginning of a long-term purchasing relationship.
New Usage Occasions Emerged
Many converting households purchased Philadelphia Whipped alongside chips, crackers, and fresh produce.
This supported the campaign’s goal of expanding the product beyond the traditional spread occasion and positioning it as a versatile dipping and snacking product.
Velocity Expanded Across Legacy Philadelphia SKUs
The most important result extended beyond the sampled product.
Customers who received Philadelphia Whipped also increased purchases of legacy Philadelphia Cream Cheese SKUs, creating a measurable halo across the broader portfolio.
Philadelphia Whipped became the entry point, but the value extended across the master brand.
Four Drivers of Retail Velocity
The campaign generated growth throughfour distinct behaviors:
Incremental Customer Acquisition
Swish introduced Philadelphia Whipped tohouseholds that had not previously purchased the product.
Frequent Repeat Purchasing
Converted customers returned an averageof 3.5 times per month.
Compounding Customer Value
The audience generated measurable valuewithin three months, with the strongest customer reaching $270 in purchaseswithin one year.
Portfolio-Wide Expansion
Trial of Philadelphia Whipped alsoincreased velocity for legacy Philadelphia Cream Cheese SKUs.
Rather than treating sampling as aone-time awareness tactic, Philadelphia used its merchandise as a measurableacquisition and portfolio growth channel.
Value for Stater Bros. Markets
The campaign also created value for Stater Bros. Markets by turning product discovery into incremental purchasing across multiple parts of the basket.
The program helped Stater Bros.:
- Introduce shoppers to relevant products and usage occasions
- Increase future purchase frequency
- Generate incremental sales across multiple Philadelphia SKUs
- Create basket-building opportunities for chips, crackers, and produce
- Deliver a differentiated ecommerce experience
- Unlock measurable value from first-party purchase data
The result was more than a successful product trial. One product experience created a ripple effect across the Philadelphia portfolio and complementary categories throughout the store.
CONCLUSIONS
Philadelphia Whipped became more than the featured product in a sampling campaign. It became the entry point to broader household adoption of the Philadelphia brand.
Through Swish Programmatic Sampling, the campaign acquired incremental new-to-brand customers, generated an average purchase frequency of 3.5 times per month, produced measurable customer value within three months, and drove a halo across legacy Philadelphia Cream Cheese SKUs.
This is the power of Merchandise as Media: using one physical product experience to create discovery, change purchasing behavior, and generate measurable velocity across an entire 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