Case Study: Dale’s Raw Foods achieves multimillion-dollar growth and 80% repeat sales with Shopify

How a Broke Fitness Trainer Accidentally Created a Multimillion-Dollar Business Without Advertising

Dale’s Raw Foods started when personal trainer Dale Buchanan accidentally created a plant-based protein bar to recover from intense workouts. Penniless and inexperienced, he launched with a bare-bones WordPress/PayPal site and made bars in his kitchen after a disastrous contract-kitchen run left products spoiled—forcing long hours, sleepless weekends, and no advertising budget.

Dale doubled down on product quality and repeat-purchase economics, upgraded to Shopify Plus, and followed a five-step growth plan: build a best-in-class, replenishable product, optimize the ecommerce experience, use irresistible BOGO/discount offers, and grow an email list (plus a quick mobile-checkout fix via merchant support). The outcome: a multimillion-dollar business with 80% of sales from repeat customers (avg. $110/order), strong conversion lifts (BOGO ~30%, discounts ~22%), and a move into a new $500,000, five-times-larger production facility—achieved without paid ads.

Dale’s Raw Foods

Dale Buchanan

Dale’s Raw Foods