How Venchi scaled US affiliate revenue by +27% while cutting partner costs by 40%.

The Challenge

Venchi, an Italian premium chocolate and gelato brand founded in 1878, has spent the past four years expanding its US presence. Positioned as authentic Italian chocolate and gelato brand, Venchi operates in a highly competitive market where standing out across digital channels requires both precision and creativity.

While the affiliate program was already generating revenue, partner investment had grown over time, creating an opportunity to improve efficiency while continuing to scale results. Gen3 was tasked with strengthening the affiliate marketing channel as a key growth driver for Venchi’s US expansion, with two primary objectives:

• Increase revenue, orders, and brand visibility in the US market.
• Improve program efficiency by optimizing partner investment.

The challenge was to deliver strong performance without sacrificing exposure across key discovery platforms or disrupting valuable publisher relationships.

The Gen3 Approach

To support Venchi’s continued US growth, Gen3 implemented a performance-led optimization strategy designed to scale revenue while significantly improving cost efficiency. Rather than simply increasing investment, the team focused on refining the publisher ecosystem and aligning spend with partners driving the strongest results.

Key actions included:

• Strategic Partner Recruitment. Expanded the affiliate ecosystem by recruiting new high-impact publishers aligned with Venchi’s premium positioning.
• Publisher Portfolio Optimization. Conducted a performance review of the existing partner base to identify opportunities to scale results within current partnerships.
• Commission & Cost Structure Optimization. Reviewed and restructured legacy commission models and placements to better align costs with measurable performance outcomes.
• Holiday Gift Guide Strategy. Supported a product sampling campaign with mass media outlets, increasing inclusion in high-impact Christmas gift guides during the key gifting season.
• Continuous Performance Monitoring. Ongoing analysis of traffic, conversion, and publisher performance ensured the affiliate channel remained both scalable and highly efficient.

The Results

The strategy delivered strong YoY growth while dramatically improving program efficiency, reinforcing affiliate as a key channel supporting Venchi’s US expansion.

• +27% revenue growth YoY, accelerating the brand’s US market momentum.
• +35% increase in orders YoY, reflecting both stronger traffic and improved conversion.
• +25% increase in clicks, expanding brand discovery across premium publisher placements.
• +8% improvement in conversion rate YoY, demonstrating better-qualified traffic from optimized partners.
• +115% increase in ROAS, more than doubling the program’s return on investment.
• 40% reduction in partner costs, significantly improving overall program efficiency.
• Expanded media coverage through strategic holiday gift guide placements, amplifying brand visibility during peak gifting season.

By combining strategic partner optimization, performance-driven investment, and seasonal brand amplification, Gen3 transformed Venchi’s affiliate program into a highly efficient growth engine, delivering more revenue, more orders, and stronger returns at a significantly lower cost, all while supporting the brand’s continued expansion in the US market.

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