From Scrappy Challenger to Category Leader: How Shameless Pets Outperformed Bigger Brands on Amazon

Overview

Shameless Pets is a standout in the competitive pet treats space, offering high-quality, functional treats that pets love and pet parents trust. With 71 SKUs ranging from dog dental sticks to cat treats and training bites, the brand combines fun, wellness-focused formulations with bold, playful packaging that gets noticed on the digital shelf.

Prior to working with Incrementum Digital, Shameless Pets was generating over $250K/month on Amazon in addition to retail sales, but faced challenges scaling further in a saturated market. With limited ad budgets, rising CPCs, and Vendor Central restrictions, they needed a smarter strategy to stay competitive against legacy players like Greenies and Temptations, and unlock the next stage of growth.

The Challenge

Shameless Pets was looking to grow its monthly Amazon revenue beyond $250K while maintaining efficiency in a rapidly saturating market. However, the brand faced several key challenges:

  • Rising CPCs in the pet treat category, with core keywords like “dog dental treats” reaching $4–$6

  • Limited ad budget, making it difficult to scale without overshooting TACoS targets

  • High competition from dominant brands occupying top organic and paid placements

  • Vendor Central limitations, including restricted access to key tools like the Search Query Performance report

These barriers made it difficult for Shameless Pets to compete effectively, even with a strong product lineup and existing customer base.

The Approach

CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE & KEYWORD ISOLATION

Built exact-match campaigns by SKU to control spend at the keyword level, and isolated high-performing terms to maximize budget efficiency and ranking impact.

PLACEMENT OPTIMIZATION

Used placement modifiers to boost bids on top-of-search and rest-of-search placements that were driving strong conversion, while deprioritizing underperforming product page placements.

NEGATIVE KEYWORD STRATEGY

Conducted weekly negation of poor-performing search terms to eliminate waste and improve campaign efficiency over time.

AUTO & CATEGORY REINVESTMENT

Scaled only the auto and category campaigns that demonstrated consistent returns, using performance data to guide reinvestment.

COMPETITOR CONQUESTING

Launched targeted campaigns against competitor brands to increase visibility in high-intent shopper journeys and drive incremental share-of-voice.

Our Results

#2 Best-Seller in the dog dental sticks category on Amazon, gaining major share in a high-CPC subcategory

Consistent MoM Sales Growth across all pet treat lines, including dental, training, soft, and cat treats

TACoS Maintained Below 25%, ensuring profitable scaling despite heavy competition

Keyword Rankings Improved across strategic search terms, reducing reliance on paid ads

Conversion Rates Increased through smarter placements and strategic reinvestment

Brand Visibility Boosted via Sponsored Brand and Display campaigns, strengthening top-of-funnel presence