Landing Page Tests Demand

A breakdown of how Justin Mares validated and launched Kettle & Fire bone broth by testing market demand before creating the product.

Initial Market Research & Validation

• Identified market gap through personal experience at CrossFit
• No existing bone broth products readily available in stores
• Had personal interest/conviction in health/wellness space
• Decided to test market demand before product development

Landing Page Testing Process

• Created basic landing page using Unbounce
• Paid $5-10 for basic logo on Fiverr
• Initially named "Bone Broths Co" (later rebranded to Kettle & Fire)
• Set price point at $29.99 per box
• Invested $500 in initial ad spend

Traffic Generation Strategy

• Ran ads across multiple platforms:
  • Facebook Ads
  • Google AdWords
  • Bing Ads (noted as particularly cost-effective at the time)

Initial Results

• Generated $2,000 in sales within first month
• Projected potential for:
  • $200-300k annual revenue
  • $100-150k annual profit
• Used these metrics to validate business viability

Early Customer Management

• Emailed all initial customers about 6-9 month product delay
• Offered two options:
  • Full refund
  • 50% discount with future delivery
• Auto-refunded non-responsive customers

Product Development Phase

• Contacted 500+ manufacturers
• Connected with manufacturer through Mark Cuban introduction
• Required $120k initial production run
• Minimum order of $30k
• Product had 2-year shelf life

First Year Results

• Achieved $2.8M in sales
• Secured Whole Foods distribution within 6 months
• Gained national rotation in Whole Foods following year
• Success driven by influencer mention catching Whole Foods buyer attention