How a creatine gummy became a $150M subscription | Create Breakdown

Create took the most boring supplement in the gym, creatine.

They put it in a gummy and turned it into a $150M run-rate business, with 100,000+ subscribers and 250 million gummies sold.

But open their help article on how to edit your subscription, and the comments are full of people saying they can’t find a way to cancel.

In a hurry? Watch the breakdown.

Create scored 67.5 out of 100: 38.5 for getting you to subscribe, 29 for keeping you. That puts them third in the series, behind Grüns at 85.5 and Dr. Squatch at 73.

A big thanks to Matthew Holman. The emails and cancel screens below come from The Cancel Page, where he captured Create’s full journey.

What they got right

1. The welcome email asks you to take a quiz.

Every brand sends a welcome. Create’s opens with “Take the quiz, claim $5”.

The quiz asks about taste, format and what you expect. So they know your preferences before you ever think about cancelling, and they can use it in retention and winback.

The email itself comes from Dan, the founder: “Give it about three weeks”, because the first two weeks are when most people stop.

2. The rewards program is built properly.

I’m not a big fan of loyalty programs on top of a subscription. This one is done nicely.

Subscribers earn 3 points per $1, against 2 for one-time buyers. They get a bonus on every consecutive order, free shipping, early access to new products, and a free swap if they don’t like a flavour.

There are milestones at the 3rd renewal and every 6th order.

And on the first screen of your account: a free month of ClassPass, tagged members-only. It ties a gummy to the gym, offline, where the customer already is.

The catch: almost nobody sees it. It isn’t on the product page, in the onboarding emails or in the portal, which is why loyalty scores 5.5 out of 10.

3. The cancel screen knows where you are.

The first screen is a note from the founder. “Before you cancel, can I have 30 seconds?” and “You’re three weeks into something that takes four.”

If the issue is taste, a flavour swap is one click away. It’s one of the best cancel screens we have seen.

4. The winback brings people back with people.

The first winback is a plain text note from Dan. The offer is 45% off, bigger than the welcome discount, where most brands go smaller.

Then “They stopped. They started again.” Real stories from subscribers who left and came back.

Where they lose

5. The FAQ is thin, and you have to hunt to cancel.

For a $150M brand, the subscription FAQ is three short articles. No screenshots, no link to the portal, nothing on how to swap a flavour.

The cancel help sits in an article called “How do I edit my subscription?”, and its comments are people saying they need to cancel.

6. The bundles are a maze.

The bundles page has 11 options: duos, trios, juice bundles, each on a different plan, some running up to 5 and 6 months.

You can’t mix and match your own flavours. A build-a-box with a discount that grows as you add more, like Dr. Squatch, would be simpler.

7. The discount changes depending on where you look.

The badge says 25% off. The cart upgrade says 16%. A bundle says 29%.

The cart upgrade also breaks the plan. Add a 3-month one-time order and upgrade it, and you’re on a monthly plan with 3 packs: $161 today, then $174 every month for a 3-month supply.

Copy three things, avoid one

Put a quiz in the welcome, so you know their preferences before they think about leaving.

Build a cancel screen that knows how far in they are, and puts the swap one click away.

Win them back with people who left and came back, not just a bigger discount.

And don’t make people hunt for how to cancel.

Watch the full Create breakdown

PS. Want your program scored the same way? It’s free, same 48 checkpoints. Get your scorecard

PPS. Get these breakdowns by email over here.

About the author

Rahi Jain

Rahi Jain is a subscription LTV specialist who helps DTC brands maximize their LTV from subscriptions.

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