Case study · Instagram Ads · Saudi Arabia

Instagram Ads in KSA for a Luxury Honey Retailer: From Wasted Budget to 3.95× ROAS

A Saudi luxury honey brand was spending 19K SAR a month on Instagram with minimal sales. AlGurus rebuilt the targeting and the creative, and found that Reels about Saudi beekeepers were the brand’s best salesperson.

Luxury artisanal honeyRiyadh, Jeddah, DammamInstagram AdsSalla storeLuxury Brands Digital Marketing Agency in KSA

Build a plan like this Watch the campaign replay

Replay availableCase file · May 2025

76,612 SAR

revenue from Instagram ads

3.95×ROAS

640orders

19,397 SARad spend

Watch the campaign replay7 stops, from the starting point to the result

Results at a glance

A luxury honey retailer in Saudi Arabia came to AlGurus spending 19K SAR a month on Instagram with minimal sales. We replaced its broad targeting, tested new creative and moved the budget to the placement that sold. In the results reported for May 2025, 19,397 SAR in ad spend returned 76,612 SAR from 640 orders: a 3.95× ROAS, 98% above the low end of the 2.0–2.5× premium food average. Reels alone returned 4.05× and generated 86% of revenue.

Meta Ads Manager results by placement, 1 to 31 May 2025: Instagram Reels 566 purchases worth 66,150.39 SAR from 16,335.70 SAR, Stories 58 worth 7,913.60 SAR and Feed 16 worth 2,548.50 SAR. — Results by placement · May 2025

ROAS: 3.95×vs 2.0–2.5× premium F&B average
Revenue: 76,612 SARMay 2025
Orders: 640Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam
Ad spend: 19,397 SARbefore: 19K SAR a month, minimal sales
Reels ROAS: 4.05×86% of revenue
Wasteful spend: −83%after the targeting overhaul

01 · The challenge

A luxury brand paying to reach bargain hunters

The retailer sells luxury artisanal honey online across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. It was already investing in Instagram: about 19K SAR a month. The problem was what that money bought. Clicks came in, sales did not, and the people clicking were not the people who pay a premium for honey.

Bleeding budget

Prior campaigns spent 19K SAR a month with minimal sales to show for it.

Low-quality traffic

Generic targeting attracted bargain hunters, not luxury buyers, so even good ads reached the wrong people.

A ROAS gap

Premium food and beverage brands average 2.0× to 2.5× ROAS. The account was far from it.

02 · The strategy

Emergency fixes in two phases

ObjectiveTurn ad waste into profitable online sales from Saudi Arabia’s luxury food buyers.

We did not ask for more budget. We changed what the existing budget was spent on: first the creative, then the audience.

Phase 1

Creative A/B testing

Two Reels (hive-to-jar storytelling with Saudi beekeepers; luxury gifting unboxings with Arabic narration) and two Collection ads (gold-accented seasonal gift sets; health-benefit carousels).

Phase 2

Targeting surgery

The broad “honey” interest was replaced with luxury gourmet foods, organic wellness and Saudi royalty gifting. Lookalikes were built from the top 1% of premium food buyers.

Phase 3

Geo-fencing

Ads were fenced to Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, Jeddah’s Corniche and Dammam’s premium areas, where luxury food gifts are bought.

The interest change was the single biggest fix. “Honey” is what everyone searches; “Saudi royalty gifting” describes the buyer this brand actually wants.

03 · Execution, replayed

Press play: a turnaround in seven stops

Drag the timeline or press play. Each stop shows what we did and the number it moved, and the results board fills as you go.

7 / 7

Starting point

19K SAR a month, minimal sales

The retailer sells luxury artisanal honey online in Saudi Arabia. Its Instagram campaigns spent about 19K SAR a month and brought very few orders. The traffic was there; the buyers were not.

Bleeding budget: 19K SAR a month with minimal sales
Low-quality traffic: bargain hunters, not luxury buyers
Premium F&B average ROAS: 2.0–2.5×

Monthly spend before

19K SAR

with minimal sales to show for it

Phase 1 · Reels test

Two stories about the same honey

We tested two Reel ideas: where the honey comes from, and what it feels like to give it.

Version A: hive-to-jar storytelling with Saudi beekeepers
Version B: luxury gifting unboxings with Arabic narration

Winner

+27%

beekeeper storytelling outperformed the gifting Reel

Phase 1 · Collection test

Gift sets and health benefits

Two Collection ad variations put the products in a shop window inside Instagram, one for gifting and one for wellness buyers.

Version A: seasonal gift sets with gold-accented packaging
Version B: health benefit-focused carousels

Metric it moved

4.2×

higher conversion rate than the brand’s previous generic ads

Phase 2 · Targeting

Out with “honey”, in with luxury buyers

The old campaigns targeted the broad “honey” interest, which reached shoppers looking for the cheapest jar. We replaced it with interests that describe a luxury buyer.

Removed: broad “honey” interest
Added: luxury gourmet foods, organic wellness, Saudi royalty gifting
Lookalikes of the top 1% of premium food buyers

Metric it moved

−83%

of wasteful spend eliminated

Phase 2 · Geography

Geo-fenced to where the buyers are

Within the three main cities, ads were fenced to the areas where luxury food gifts are bought.

Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter
Jeddah Corniche
Dammam’s premium areas

Gift orders

62%

of orders were corporate or Ramadan gifts

Gifting drove most orders.

Budget · By placement

The money follows Reels

With each placement reporting its own return, the budget went where it earned most: Reels first, then Stories, with Feed kept small.

Reels: 16,335.70 SAR spend, 4.05×
Stories: 2,164.75 SAR spend, 3.66×
Feed: 878.03 SAR spend, 2.90×

Reels ROAS

4.05×

the best-returning placement

Reels4.05×

Stories3.66×

Feed2.90×

May 2025 · Result

76,612 SAR from 19,397 SAR

On a budget close to what had been wasted before, the account now returned 3.95 riyals for every riyal spent.

640 orders
76,612 SAR revenue
3.95× ROAS vs 2.0–2.5×

ROAS

3.95×

vs a 2.0–2.5× premium F&B average

This campaign3.95×

Premium F&B avg (top)2.5×

The live case reports results for May 2025 and describes the work in two phases (creative, then targeting); the stops follow that order, not exact dates.

Spending on Instagram without the sales?

A 30-minute strategy call. We look at your targeting and placements and tell you where the waste is.

Build my plan WhatsApp us (opens in a new tab)

04 · The results

Reels carried the account to 3.95×

Results as reported for May 2025. The 2.0–2.5× range is the premium food and beverage average quoted in the case, not a before figure.

Return on ad spend

Campaign vs premium F&B average

98% above the low end

3.95×

2.5×

2.0×

ROAS by placement

Reels > Stories > Feed

Reels 4.05×

Reels4.05×

Stories3.66×

Feed2.90×

Where the revenue came from

Share of revenue

Reels

Reels brought 566 orders and 66,150.39 SAR.

Every placement returned more than the category average, but Reels were in a different league: 16,335.70 SAR of spend produced 66,150.39 SAR. The beekeeper story did the selling, outperforming the gifting unboxing by 27%. Gifting still mattered to buyers: 62% of orders were corporate or Ramadan gifts.

Results vs benchmarks (May 2025)
Metric	Result	Industry benchmark
ROAS	3.95×	2.0–2.5× (premium F&B)
Revenue	76,612 SAR	N/A
Orders	640	N/A
Ad spend	19,397 SAR	N/A
Reels	16,335.70 SAR spend · 566 orders · 66,150.39 SAR · 4.05×	N/A
Stories	2,164.75 SAR spend · 58 orders · 7,913.60 SAR · 3.66×	N/A
Feed	878.03 SAR spend · 16 orders · 2,548.50 SAR · 2.90×	N/A

Platform screenshots

Proof from the platforms

Real screenshots from the ad, analytics and store accounts behind this case. Client names and account details are not shown. Open any screenshot to see it full size.

Meta Ads ManagerResults by placement · May 2025

05 · What we learned

Three lessons for premium food brands in KSA

Fix the audience before the budget

Replacing one broad interest with luxury-buyer interests eliminated 83% of wasteful spend. More money on the old targeting would only have bought more bargain hunters.

Origin beats packaging

Saudi beekeepers on camera outperformed luxury unboxings by 27%. Provenance is what makes premium honey premium.

Let placements earn their budget

Reels (4.05×) > Stories (3.66×) > Feed (2.90×). Reporting by placement showed where each riyal should go.

When this playbook fits

You spend, but sales are thin. The fix is often targeting, not creative volume or budget.

Your product has a story. Origin and craft content works well in Reels for premium food.

Gifting drives your calendar. Plan creative for corporate and Ramadan gifting, which made 62% of orders here.

Services used

The team and tools behind this case

Instagram AdsAccount turnaround and placement budgets Meta AdsInterest overhaul, geo-fencing, top 1% lookalikes Reels ProductionBeekeeper and unboxing Reels in Arabic Paid Ads AuditFinding the 83% of wasteful spend

Platform & partners

Google PartnerPremier 2026

MetaBusiness Partner

ShopifySelect Partner

SallaPartner

Built by a Google Premier Partner, Meta Business Partner, Shopify Partner and Salla Partner agency in Amman: $28M+ in ad spend managed, 75+ Shopify stores delivered, 120+ brands served. Google Premier Partner: Top 3% of Google Partners in the World.

FAQ

Questions about this case

What ROAS did the honey retailer reach on Instagram in Saudi Arabia?

3.95× in May 2025: 76,612 SAR in revenue from 19,397 SAR in ad spend and 640 orders. The premium food and beverage average quoted in the case is 2.0× to 2.5×.

Why were the old campaigns losing money?

They targeted the broad “honey” interest, which attracts bargain shoppers rather than luxury buyers. Replacing it with luxury gourmet foods, organic wellness and Saudi royalty gifting, plus geo-fencing and top 1% lookalikes, eliminated 83% of the wasteful spend.

Which Instagram placement worked best for honey?

Reels: 4.05× ROAS, 566 orders and 86% of revenue. Stories returned 3.66× and Feed 2.90×.

What creative sold luxury honey in KSA?

Hive-to-jar storytelling with Saudi beekeepers. It outperformed the luxury gifting unboxing Reel by 27%, and Collection ads converted at a 4.2× higher rate than the brand’s previous generic ads.

Do you run Instagram ads for Saudi brands on Salla?

Yes. This retailer sells on Salla, and we also run multi-platform campaigns for Salla stores, as in our Salla honey case study.

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