How Dr. Bugs 10x’d Their Business with Flavour Drops, Meta Ads & Killer Retention

Jessie chats with Ruben Posthuma, Head of Sales & Marketing at Dr. Bugs Popcorn, a New Zealand-based brand shaking up the snack aisle with indulgent popcorn made for adults. Ruben shares how the business went from a lifestyle venture to a DTC powerhouse—scaling 10x in revenue—thanks to inventive flavors, smart ad strategies, and clever product development.

We dive into the brand’s monthly flavour drop strategy, UGC playbook, balancing DTC vs. retail, optimizing subscription boxes, and how Dr. Bugs manages to keep CACs low while fuelling consistent growth. This one is packed with gold for food brand operators and marketers alike. 

What we cover in this episode:

• How Ruben helped grow the brand 10x in 7 years
• The strategy behind monthly limited-edition flavour drops
• The UGC-first paid ad engine that fuels Meta success
• How they manage SKU creep without killing margin
• Balancing grocery pricing with DTC offers and bundles
• Subscription product design: why less is sometimes more
• The difference between creators vs. influencers and how they use each
• How content energy > polish for ad performance
• Using product innovation to unlock new consumer “wallet buckets”
• Ruben’s playbook for launching new products & driving retention
• CRO strategies that actually moved the needle
• If Ruben had to double revenue in 12 months, here’s exactly what he’d do

Links & Resources:

• Dr. Bugs Popcorn
• Ruben on Twitter