Legendary Foods Sees 160% Increase in First Time Subscription Revenue with Retentio & Stay AI

Together, Retentio & Stay Fuel Record Subscription Growth 

Legendary Foods is among the top-growing protein snack brands across the US, driving never before seen formats and excitement to a category that is hungry for innovation. Their dedication to health and wellness goes hand in hand with their commitment to providing nutritious, better-for-you snacking.

Working alongside our friends at Retentio, Stay AI launched Legendary Foods’ first-ever subscription program, and together, we have witnessed incredible month-over-month growth. Legendary Food’s approach to their subscription program has always been rooted in simplicity and intentionality, ensuring that every aspect is clear and straightforward for the customer. By setting a strong foundation first, they are able to minimize confusion and maximize engagement, making sure that each step the customer takes is purposeful and intuitive.

This focus on a seamless user experience has been key to the program’s success. By thinking cart-backwards and understanding the customer journey, we’ve implemented features that not only showcase Stay AI’s technical capabilities but also ensure that the user experience is always at the forefront. 

Legendary had a goal to hit the 1,000 subscriber mark within the first year of implementing the program. With the help of Retentio and Stay, this goal was achieved in significantly less time than anticipated.

“The great thing about working with Stay & Retentio is that we can scale and evolve in phases – at our own pace. While there’s tons of bells and whistles that we can add – we’re going at a tempo that ensures we’re delivering the best experience at all times. I’ve seen other companies set up a subscription program and layer in tons of complexity. While their heart is in the right place, it gets massively hard to manage and feels incredibly clunky. Nobody wins when that happens, and it’s super hard to walk back.” – Greg Tetzlaff, VP of Marketing

The key to their subscription success has been leveraging a fully-branded Customer Portal, a tempting Add-on Carousel, and several on-site subscription optimizations including buy box widgets, upsells, and a clear, easy to understand subscription landing page.  

After careful analysis on the subscription interface, the team at Legendary Foods was intentional on leaning into an ultra clean subscription program and clear discount messaging. By protecting their subscription program with the utmost care, Legendary Foods maximizes user experience, financial impact, and keeps their valuable subscribers happy for the long haul. 

Together, Retentio and Stay implemented a full funnel one-time purchase to subscription strategy across Legendary Foods’ customer experience. For instance, Stay was able to upgrade their ReBuy-powered PDP to expand on the Smart Cart that allows customers to realize their savings by upgrading to subscription directly in the cart (along with the ability to change frequency) using a widget that nudges one-time purchasers to try a subscription instead – and all the perks that come with it.

After clicking on the upgrade to subscription call-to-action, customers are given the opportunity to change frequency directly in the cart: 

Driving One-time Purchasers (OTPs) to Subscription with Retentio’s Email Strategy

 

In the last 180 days, first time sub revenue is up 160%. This increase is partially driven from further optimization and use of Stay’s feature set and huge push for one time purchasers to subscription within email marketing campaigns leveraging subscribe & save banners, segmentations with Quick Actions, nurturing one time purchasers via post purchase flows, and the use of package inserts alongside direct mail to reach currently unengaged buyers.

Overall brand returning customer rate is up +75% since Legendary Foods started using Stay AI & Retentio. 

How’d we do it?

(1) Stay AI Software Integration

 

Quick Actions: As Legendary Foods continues to optimize subscriber interactions and reduce churn, the team uses Quick Action blocks that allow current subscribers to easily add items to their next box, increasing subscriber AOV. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the user experience, and the team is excited to roll out these features as part of their roadmap.   

“When it came to our subscription program, we set out to keep the experience simple and clear to the customer. If a customer is going to commit to subscribing to our products – it’s our job to make sure that we earn that commitment with zero friction and clear value. Things like quick action buttons, automated flows for critical actions, and (most importantly) making sure that the subscription discount was special were our non-negotiables. Candidly, it’s what WE would want in an experience, and that was our north star.” – Greg Tetzlaff, VP of Marketing

Automated Notifications + Cancel Flows: Our automated notifications and cancel flows are designed to enhance subscriber retention and engagement. These flows include a clear call-to-action to rejoin subscription in the cancellation email, encouraging customers to reconsider. Additionally, dunning prevention emails are sent to address any payment issues, helping to maintain active subscriptions and reduce churn. This strategic approach ensures that every opportunity to retain subscribers is maximized, keeping the user experience smooth and uninterrupted.

(2) Post-Purchase Nurturing with Tailored Messaging for OTPs vs. Subscribers

 

Automated Post Purchase Flow: Implemented a robust post purchase flow, segmenting subscribers from non-subscribers to continue to push one time purchasers to subscription while simultaneously sending content to current subs to maximize their subscription and encourage add-ons.

(3) Focus on OTPs to Subscription Push

 

One Time Purchasers to Subscription Push: Mirroring their site where Legendary Foods strongly promotes their subscription program with hero images, scrolling text and CTAs to subscribe, Retentio implemented varied subscription banners within weekly campaigns to drive first time subscriptions directly from prospective campaigns, contributing to a 160% increase in first-time subscription revenue over the last 180 days. Subscription blocks yielded a high percentage of total clicks, proving their effectiveness in engaging current prospects and one time purchasers.

Here are some subscription block examples with high % of total clicks:

Package Inserts and Direct Mail: Use of package inserts with QR codes to drive subscription is a big initiative for Legendary Foods. Retentio plans for direct mail postcards to further engage subscribers who have previously purchased but have been inactive on email for 60 days (aka “zombies”). The team plans to reach this zombie audience with direct mail as a new channel alternative to email. 

The strategic partnership between Retentio and Legendary Foods, alongside Stay AI’s cutting-edge subscription management tools, has revitalized subscriber growth and engagement. Targeted email marketing strategies—encompassing subscription-specific blocks, quick actions, highly nurturing post-purchase flows and even new channels such as direct mail —are delivering measurable improvements in subscriber retention and overall customer satisfaction.

Interested in working with Retentio and Stay AI to launch your subscription program? Contact us.