Key takeaways
- FreshCap's returning customer rate went from 69% to 79%, read from its Triple Whale summary for July to November 2024.
- FreshCap's lion's mane powder reorders after 45 to 50 days, so replenishment was timed to that window and paired with a cross-sell.
- We rebuilt FreshCap's subscription onboarding, renewal reminders and churn saves.
FreshCap sells mushroom extracts on subscription. Many buyers bought once, and subscription churn was high. We timed reorders to the hero product and rebuilt the subscription flows around it. The returning customer rate went from 69% to 79%.
The brand and the problem
FreshCap sells mushroom extracts on monthly subscription, and too many buyers bought once and left. FreshCap Mushrooms sells capsules and powders of Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga, Turkey Tail and more, to adults who take mushrooms as part of their daily routine.
We onboarded FreshCap in May 2024 through the digital brand platform Heyday, the same month as Boka and ZitSticka. The brand wanted more subscriptions for its mushroom extracts.
What we found
FreshCap's hero product has a clear reorder window: lion's mane powder sells again after 45 to 50 days. Retention was low and did not lead to many repeat buyers. The email list had over 41K people on it, and the brand was not sending regular campaigns to them.
What we built
We timed FreshCap's reorders to its hero product, rebuilt its subscription onboarding, reminders and churn saves, and pitched the subscription in every flow.
The subscription offer
Every core flow made the case for subscribing on the savings. Half of the campaigns each month had a section for the subscription.
Reorders timed to the hero product
Lion's mane powder sells again after 45 to 50 days, so we timed FreshCap's replenishment to that window and paired it with a cross-sell that made sense next to it.
Onboarding and renewal reminders
We rebuilt the subscription onboarding and the renewal reminders around the same daily habit.
Cancel and winback
We rebuilt the churn saves. A cancelled subscriber got a follow-up with 25% off to come back.
Lifecycle flows
In 2 months we built 5 core FreshCap automations: welcome, browse abandonment, cart abandonment, incomplete checkout and canceled subscription.
Campaigns, pop-ups and SMS
We planned a monthly campaign calendar around the best-selling products. The tone was conversational and spoke to the reader's pain point. Welcome pop-ups showed visitors what the brand offered them: a solution and a discount. As the list grew, SMS carried the time-sensitive offers.
Results
FreshCap's returning customer rate went from 69% to 79%. It is the store-wide share of returning customers in FreshCap's Triple Whale summary, July to November 2024, and covers every buyer, not only subscribers.
The wider system behind it is in how to scale a CPG brand without paid ads.
Email numbers from the first month
In the first month, we delivered 514K emails, over 2X the month before. Email made $64.89K: $15.35K from campaigns and $49.54K from automations.
- Returning customer rate: 69% to 79%, Triple Whale.
- Campaign AOV: $65.71 to $79.98, 21.72% higher.
- Campaign opens: 13K a campaign on average, with clicks almost double the past average.
- Automation click rate: up 10.82% in 30 days, to 4.20%.
- Unsubscribe rate: down 12.96%.
What you can copy
Find the day your hero product runs out, and send the reorder email just before it.
- Pull the time between first and second order for your best seller. For FreshCap's lion's mane powder it was 45 to 50 days.
- Time the replenishment email to that window, and add one cross-sell that fits next to it.
- Build onboarding and renewal reminders around the daily habit, so the product gets used before the next charge.
- Give a cancel a follow-up with a reason to come back. FreshCap used 25% off.
FAQs
How much did FreshCap's retention improve?
FreshCap's returning customer rate went from 69% to 79%. It is a store-wide Triple Whale number for July to November 2024, so it covers every buyer, not only subscribers.
How did FreshCap get more repeat orders?
Its lion's mane powder reorders after 45 to 50 days, so the replenishment emails were timed to that window and paired with a cross-sell. The subscription onboarding, renewal reminders and churn saves were rebuilt around the same habit.
What changed in FreshCap's subscription program?
The onboarding, the renewal reminders and the churn saves were rebuilt, and every core automation made the case for subscribing. A cancelled subscriber got a follow-up with 25% off to come back.
Which other subscription brands got similar results?
SunMed's month 3 retention went from 61% to 73%, and Boka's month 3 retention from 41% to 63%. Read the SunMed case study and the Boka case study.
Find where your own subscription program leaks
The free Subscription LTV Scorecard finds the leaks in your subscription program. It scores your program on 48 checkpoints across 8 dimensions, from public data, and lands in your inbox within 24 hours.
One email a week on subscription retention: the numbers, the strategy, and what to fix first.
Rahi Jain
Rahi Jain is a subscription LTV specialist who helps $1M to $10M DTC brands reduce subscription churn and maximize LTV on Recharge, Skio, Stay AI and Loop.
More about Rahi
