Cadence went from 30% to 75% subscription opt-in by betting on gifts over discounts

Cadence is an electrolyte hydration brand built for goal-oriented individuals — athletes, endurance competitors, and anyone with a health target they’re chasing. From cans and sachets to gels, fuel mixes, and bars, the brand’s product line is designed around the idea that consistency is the only thing that produces results. 

Challenge

A year into building their DTC business, 30% of Cadence customers were opting into subscription at checkout. Internal data showed that a subscriber was worth three and a half times what a one-time purchaser generated, making subscription growth the most powerful lever the business had.

But the existing offer wasn’t attracting the right subscription behavior. A 30% first-month discount stepping down to 15% recurring created a predictable price cliff, and some customers were subscribing specifically to capture the cheap first order before cancelling.

“

A year ago we were at about 30% opt-in at checkout. Looking into the data I saw quite quickly that a subscriber was worth about three and a half times what a non-subscriber was worth. That became my immediate priority.”

Matty MartinHead of Marketing, Cadence

Solution

Cadence’s answer was gift-led, not discount-led. Rather than competing on percentage-off, the team built the subscription value proposition around physical merchandise — starting with a free branded cap offered with every first subscription. The economics worked in their favor: the unit cost of the cap was lower than adding another 5% off the order. And it converted in a way discounts simply didn’t.

The offer launched on Black Friday and took opt-in from 30% to 75% overnight. Cadence kept it running as their always-on acquisition strategy. But getting customers subscribed was only half the problem.

To retain them, Cadence structured their subscriber journey around a single insight: if a customer reaches their fourth order, they’re likely to stay for the full year. That became the target. Free gifts were added to orders two and three to maintain momentum through the early renewal window. Pre-order reminder communications told subscribers what was coming next and reinforced the gift on its way. A 30-to-90-day results roadmap set expectations at days 15, 30, and 90, linking product efficacy to continued use.

Recharge gave the team the infrastructure to execute: milestone-based rewards flows, dynamic subscription pricing with seamless first-order discounts, and a cancellation deflection flow that gave them a real lever on churn for the first time.

“

Whenever I have an idea of something I want to implement, I’ll go to someone on the Recharge team and they’ll let me know what’s already in place to build it properly. Using the rewards flow and the dynamic pricing has been insanely useful.”

Matty MartinHead of Marketing, Cadence

Results

Cadence now converts 75% of new customers into subscribers, more than double where they started. Subscribers generate 3.5x the revenue of one-time buyers, and the retention mechanics built around the first four orders are holding: customers who hit that milestone stay.

Subscriber volume has grown 8.8x in the 18 months since launching on Recharge. With a dedicated head of retention now in place and the team actively refining offer structures, cancellation flows, and mid-cycle engagement, the infrastructure is catching up to the acquisition engine. The goal is $100M in revenue. The subscription base is how they get there.

“

Retention is the fuel that enables you to acquire customers at scale. Getting your payback in a good spot by making each customer worth as much as possible early — that’s what enables you to spend more to acquire the customer in the first place.”

Matty MartinHead of Marketing, Cadence