How CookIN Attracted 1,600+ Leads and Reduced CPL by 43% in Just 3 Months

Hazzel Agency
Jan 6
2 min read

Updated: Sep 19

The Challenge: Building Trust in a Brand-New Market

CookIN is a pioneering app that connects food lovers with professional chefs, delivering restaurant-quality dining experiences right at home whether for a date night, party, or family dinner.

But at launch, CookIN faced three major hurdles:

Lack of Social Media Presence: With no established online identity, the brand struggled to build trust and credibility.
Attracting Chefs: Convincing professionals to leave traditional restaurant roles for a flexible lifestyle was no easy task.
High Cost Per Lead (CPL): Early ad campaigns produced leads, but at unsustainably high costs that limited scalability.

The goal was clear: establish authority, attract chefs, and generate high-quality leads at a sustainable cost.

The Strategy: Trust First, Leads Second

We approached the challenge with a phased plan that balanced credibility, cost-efficiency, and community-building.

Social Media Foundation

Developed engaging content tailored for both chefs and food enthusiasts.
Showcased chef independence, flexibility, and premium dining experiences.
Grew CookIN’s social following to 2,200+ in just two months, creating brand authority before scaling ads.

Why it mattered: Without a credible online presence, ad campaigns often fail. By establishing trust first, we set the stage for profitable lead generation.

Lead Generation Campaign
- Launched targeted campaigns focused on professional chefs.
- Designed ad creatives and copy that tapped into chefs’ aspirations for flexibility, independence, and new opportunities.
Cost Optimization
- Implemented continuous A/B testing and real-time optimizations.
- Reduced CPL to $2.03 within one month — a 43% drop in acquisition costs.
Community & Engagement
- Personalized follow-ups with each lead to foster trust.
- Created a VIP Facebook group to build loyalty, turning interested chefs into a supportive community.

Execution: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

The campaign was not without challenges:

Initial CPLs were high, threatening to strain budgets. But instead of cutting spend, we doubled down on creative testing and data-driven optimizations.
Chefs were hesitant to switch careers. By emphasizing flexibility and independence in messaging, we repositioned CookIN as a career enhancer, not a risk.

Each hurdle became a learning point — sharpening our targeting, strengthening our content, and making the funnel more efficient with every cycle.

Results: 1,600 Leads and Sustainable Growth

In just three months, CookIN’s transformation was clear:

1,600 qualified leads generated
43% reduction in CPL, dropping to $2.03
200+ new leads per week consistently by month 3
A strong community of chefs engaged through personalized outreach and social platforms

CookIN not only scaled but did so cost-effectively, laying the groundwork for a vibrant, chef-driven ecosystem.

Long-Term Impact: A Scalable Chef Community

The results weren’t just about lowering CPL, they were about creating a repeatable growth model.

A strong social presence now builds trust with both chefs and customers.
A proven lead generation strategy can be replicated and scaled into new regions.
A loyal chef community fosters long-term retention and advocacy.

CookIN now has both the credibility and the growth engine to expand confidently.