I can't really give much detail on that particular instance without doxxing myself or the person, but the product was something where, for the most part, it doesn't matter who you buy from, the quality is (supposed to be) the same. There's always a market for it, too, even if demand isn't always high.

Google ad spend is what made the difference. When you've got several companies offering more or less the same product or service and the user just types in "where to buy x", you want to be among the first. They were in that market for YEARS and nobody had heard of them.

But that's just direct advertising mostly to people who are already searching for that product. Indirect marketing works too, even if it's more subtle and harder to measure short term. Several times have I gone to a store when thirsty and craving sugar and grabbed a Coca-Cola or even Pepsi, but I think the last time I got RC Cola was 20 years ago. It's those fucking Christmas ads, you see them every year growing up and then as an adult you no longer watch TV, have adblock on everything, and you STILL instinctively grab one.

Then there's the branding itself as part of marketing. There's a reason energy drinks are shit like red bull, monster, rockstar... They know who they're marketing to.