Marketing & E-commerce Executive

Vape Dinner Lady

Global FMCG / E-commerce · Dec 2021 — Jul 2024

Scaling a global vape brand to category leadership.

First £1m year in the UK D2C e-commerce channel, while group revenue scaled from £15.67m to a £41.87m peak.

Dinner Lady is one of the UK's most recognised vape brands, shipping to 90+ countries. I joined a fast-moving e-commerce team in December 2021 and took ownership of channel strategy, affiliates and international go-to-market until July 2024. On the owned side, the UK D2C e-commerce channel passed £1m in revenue for the first time — driven by a rebuilt website experience, sharper merchandising and a lifecycle programme that turned first-time buyers into repeat customers. Alongside that, the Italy launch became the single biggest group growth lever: Companies House filings show group revenue moving from £15.67m (FY21) to £24.03m (FY22) and peaking at £41.87m (FY23). A major fire at the group's facility in 2024 disrupted supply and reset revenue in the years that followed.

Engagement details

Period: Dec 2021 — Jul 2024
Role: Marketing & E-commerce Executive

International LaunchE-commerceAffiliatePaid MediaCRM & Automation

Tools & platforms

ShopifyWebgainsSemrushDotdigitalGA4Power BI

The challenge

Where we started.

Scale a fast-moving consumer brand across multiple international markets while building a defensible affiliate and retention engine — without leaning on discount-led growth that erodes brand equity.

Integrated strategy

How we approached it.

01
Italy as the growth engine
Built the Italian market from launch to category leadership — site, paid, PR and distribution wired together so demand and supply scaled in lockstep.
02
One north-star strategy across channels
Aligned brand, performance, CRM and affiliate around shared revenue and LTV targets — no more channel silos.
03
Dashboards over decks
Live revenue, attribution and cohort dashboards so the team could make weekly decisions on real signal.
04
Affiliate as a compounding asset
Designed an affiliate program engineered for partner LTV — recruiting, tiering, creative and payout rules built to scale.

Execution

What we shipped.

Grew the UK D2C e-commerce channel past £1m in revenue for the first time.
Rebuilt the website experience — homepage, navigation and product pages — for clarity and conversion.
Designed and executed the Italy go-to-market — site, paid, PR, distribution.
Reached #3 vape brand in the Italian market within months of launch.
Launched and managed the affiliate program end-to-end — recruitment, onboarding, creative, payouts.
Forged strategic partnerships with major retailers and creator networks.
Rebuilt email and SMS lifecycle in Klaviyo to drive repeat purchase.
Ran the Vapitaly 2024 stand in Verona — the Italian market's flagship event — with B2C and B2B customers on the stand, automated email comms and a social media activation driving footfall.

Deliverables

What was handed over.

Italy market launch
Integrated channel strategy
Affiliate program design & operation
Email & SMS lifecycle (Klaviyo)
Performance dashboards & attribution
Brand partnerships & PR

Results

The numbers.

£1m+

First £1m year in the UK D2C e-commerce channel

£15.67m → £41.87m

Group revenue FY21 → FY23

+167%

Revenue growth across my tenure

Vape brand in Italy

Group revenue — Dinner Lady Fam Ltd

Companies House filings, financial year ended 31 May.

£15.67m

FY21

£24.03m

FY22

£41.87m

FY23

£26.88m

FY24Fire

£23.16m

FY25

I was at Dinner Lady from December 2021 to July 2024. Revenue grew from £15.67m (FY21) to a £41.87m peak in FY23. In 2024 the group was hit by a fire, which disrupted supply and stock availability and is reflected in the FY24 and FY25 figures. Group revenue is separate from the UK D2C e-commerce channel, which passed £1m for the first time during my tenure.

Website transformation

Before & after.

We rebuilt the storefront experience around clarity and conversion — the same work that helped take the UK D2C channel past £1m for the first time.

Home page

Rebuilt experience

Cluttered category tiles and competing promos gave way to a clearer hierarchy: fewer, sharper entry points, stronger merchandising of best sellers and a single obvious next step for new vapers.

Product page

Rebuilt experience

Product detail was restructured around buying decisions — strength selection, stock and delivery reassurance above the fold, with features, specs and reviews organised into tabs instead of one long wall of copy.