Scratch’s second chapter
Five years ago, Mike Halligan joined Add To Cart from a hotel room during COVID lockdown, sharing how Scratch was disrupting the dog food category with a simple but powerful idea: healthier food, delivered on subscription, built on trust rather than tactics.
Fast forward to today, and Scratch is still grounded in that same philosophy. But behind the scenes, the business has evolved significantly.
In this comeback episode, Mike returns to unpack what’s changed and what hasn’t. From walking away from community and experiential plays that didn’t scale, to embracing Meta as a core growth channel, and building an AI-powered creative system using tools like Claude, this is a candid look at how a modern ecommerce brand adapts over time.
It’s not a story about chasing every new trend. It’s about knowing what matters, doubling down on what works, and using new tools like AI to get sharper at the fundamentals.
Today, we’re discussing…
- Why Scratch remains subscription-only despite the pressure to drive one-off sales
- What happened when Scratch tried to build a dog-owner community and real-world activations
- The moment Mike finally admitted defeat and embraced Meta ads
- The AI workflow Mike built using Claude to analyse reviews and generate ad concepts
- Why Scratch focuses purely on new customer acquisition on Meta
- How AI now helps Mike build internal tools without hiring developers
- Why the next year at Scratch is about calming the chaos and executing better
Chapters
0:00 – Introduction
4:44 – The Scratch Philosophy: Simplicity and Subscription
7:13 – Building Loyalty Through Quality and Trust
12:08 – Adapting Marketing Strategies: From Community to Meta Ads
14:39 – Understanding Customer Acquisition and Retention
17:12 – Creative Strategies in Meta Advertising
19:31 – The Evolution of Ad Formats and Creative Messages
25:19– The Shift From Influencers to Creators
28:49 – Understanding Customer Personas Through AI
36:16 – Navigating Meta’s Ad Landscape
44:37 – Future Possibilities of AI in Business
49:36 – Bushy’s Takeaways
