Kettle & Fire — Innovations in Marketing Drive Success

Founded in 2014, Kettle & Fire is the the category leader in bone broth that's on a mission to make foods that nourish consumers’ bodies and the planet. All of their products are made with 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, free-range or pasture-raised bones that are slow-simmered for 14+ hours to create nutrient-rich broths that are excellent sources of collagen, protein, and other key vitamins and nutrients. 

Kettle & Fire has always been committed to using high-quality ingredients and providing sustainably and ethically sourced food that nourishes consumers. This commitment continues today, as the brand recently launched a first-of-its-kind wild-harvested Venison Bone Broth in collaboration with Maui Nui, made from sustainably sourced Axis Deer. 

We have written about Kettle & Fire before, noting back in the summer of 2023 their ability to scale their efforts effectively, quickly transforming from a DTC brand to one with expanding retailer distribution and burgeoning brand awareness. 

Their initial partnership with Instacart focused on leveraging primarily sponsored product ads on Instacart to support retail from a digital standpoint and increase sales velocities. These efforts proved quite successful and Kettle & Fire landed on the Fastest Growing Emerging Brands List in 2023.  

Building Momentum through Collaboration in 2024

In 2024, Kettle & Fire leaned heavily into co-marketing programs to accelerate its brand presence and build on their successful 2023. Showing great leadership to capitalize on their recent momentum, Kettle & Fire successfully identified several opportunities among the calendar Instacart provided that would be key to reaching their target audience — the Thanksgiving seasonal moment, the ‘soup box’ influencer campaign, and the ‘sick day’ campaign. 

Thanksgiving — Delivering that good for you broth

Seasonal campaigns are a great opportunity for brands to capture consumers’ attention as search volumes and interest spike for relevant products. For Thanksgiving, Kettle & Fire determined their products would be a good fit to attract broth buyers. And they moved quickly to secure their place in the co-marketing campaign. 

The co-marketing campaign involved email sends, push notifications, and premium placements on the homepage and storefront, and drove 101M total impressions. The storefront placement garnered 57% new-to-brand (NTB) sales while the home and email sends had 99% NTB exposure and engagement. 

The co-marketing campaign was successful in standing out to broth buyers, with a 15% increase in search volume during the campaign, compared to the two weeks prior, and a 29% overall increase in search volume compared to the same month a year prior. 

Kettle & Fire showed their savvy by using the campaign to target broth buyers, aligning their products and benefits with the strong consumer association of hearty, nourishing Thanksgiving meals. 

Out of the (soup) box thinking

One of the standout initiatives of Kettle & Fire's partnership with Instacart was its participation in the Soup Box program—a campaign that directly targeted Gen Z through an influencer-driven approach. This campaign hit all the right notes, reaching over 2.5 million potential customers and putting Kettle & Fire products in the hands of 150+ food and lifestyle influencers. These influencers, ranging from foodies to soup enthusiasts, showcased the brand organically through 60+ social media posts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

The results were impressive, generating valuable impressions, extending brand awareness, and introducing Kettle & Fire to a younger generation of consumers. By leveraging social proof and authentic endorsements, the Soup Box campaign demonstrated the power of combining innovative marketing programs with Kettle & Fire’s premium offerings.

Better for you food for your sick day

Another great win for Kettle & Fire was securing the keystone sponsor spot for the sick day campaign. For this campaign, we wanted season, we wanted under the weather customers to think of Instacart for all their sick day needs. It highlighted how Instacart has everything these consumers need to fuel their recovery, like comforting, nutritious bone broths from Kettle & Fire. 

Uncommon success for Kettle & Fire

With a great product and a focus on innovation and forward-thinking marketing strategies, Kettle & Fire compounded their success. Their category share grew significantly in 2024 and sales were up 34%. This cemented their place in the Fastest Growing Emerging Brand List 2024. 

“Instacart has been a great partner for us! It has been a great journey so far and in fact, with strategy, the right support, and fast execution, we became the #1 broth brand,” said Niccolo Gloazzo, Senior Director of Media and Omnichannel, Kettle & Fire. “I truly believe Instacart helps a lot to drive trial and velocity in-store giving brands the possibility to tap into a different audience.” 

Available in over 22,000 stores nationwide and online, Kettle & Fire offers a variety of bone broths, cooking broths, and soups. Learn more at www.kettleandfire.com and follow the company on Instagram.

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