Offer a supplement subscription in your Shopify shop
A jar of ninety capsules is empty after a fixed time. That makes supplements a good fit for a subscription, as long as the delivery arrives on time and the payment does not get stuck. Loyalo helps supplement brands set up the rhythm, prepaid bundles and payment retries so customers never run out.
Why a supplement subscription stops halfway
Supplements are used daily, often for months. So the subscription runs as long as the rhythm is right. When the new jar comes too early, the jars pile up and the customer cancels. When it comes too late, the customer skips days and loses the habit.
The second cause has nothing to do with the product: a payment that fails. The card expired or the balance was just too low, the delivery does not come and the customer only notices when the jar is empty. Nobody wanted that subscription to stop.
Kinds of supplement subscription
A supplement or vitamin subscription can be more than the same jar every month. These are the forms you can choose from.
| Kind of subscription | How it works | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Refill per pack | The same jar on the rhythm of its contents, for example every 30, 60 or 90 days | Supplements for daily use |
| Several products in one delivery | Products with the same rhythm that a customer orders at once end up in one subscription and are delivered together | Customers who use a fixed combination |
| Prepaid bundle | 2 to 12 deliveries paid at once, with a discount of its own | Customers who want to commit for a few months |
| A box they put together | With the box builder the customer fills a box from your range, one-off or as a subscription | A wide range from which customers combine themselves |
| Trying a second product | A one-off extra with the next delivery, with a discount for subscribers if you like | Subscribers you want to introduce to another product |
How Loyalo solves this
The rhythm of the pack
Create frequencies that match the contents of the jar, in days, weeks or months. The customer chooses in the widget and sees the saving per delivery.
Prepaid bundles
Offer, for example, 3 or 6 deliveries at once, with their own discount. The customer pays once and gets a delivery every month.
A reminder beforehand
A few days before the delivery the customer gets an email. If they still have enough, they skip with one button or move the date.
Payment retries
When a payment fails, Loyalo tries again, by default after 1, 3 and 5 days. The customer gets an email with every attempt.
What your subscriber sees
The portal shows what is coming and when. The customer changes the quantity when their partner joins in, moves the delivery when there is still half a jar left and adds a second product once. None of that requires cancelling.
Starting a supplement subscription: the choices first
Before you set anything up, you decide five things. They determine whether the new jar arrives on time and whether there is margin left.
| Choice | What to look at |
|---|---|
| Which products | Start with the products that are used daily and of which you know how long a pack lasts |
| The rhythm | Derive the frequencies from the contents and the use: 60 capsules at two a day is 30 days |
| The discount | Work from your margin per delivery, after shipping and payment costs. A prepaid bundle gets a discount of its own |
| Failed payments | Set after how many days a payment is retried and which email the customer gets, so a delivery does not go missing unnoticed |
| Payment | By card through the Shopify checkout, or with iDEAL for the first order and automatic collection after that through your own Mollie account |
How a supplement brand sets it up
An example of settings that suit daily use. You set everything up without code and change it while your subscriptions are running.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Frequencies | Every month, every 2 months and every 3 months, with a 10% or 5% discount |
| Prepaid | 3 or 6 deliveries at once, with a higher discount |
| Reminder | An email a few days before the next delivery, with buttons to skip or reschedule |
| Retries | New attempts after 1, 3 and 5 days; just before payday the attempt moves |
| Cancellation reason 'too much at home' | Offer: skip the next delivery or deliver less often |
| Cancellation reason 'too expensive' | Offer: 15% off the next 2 deliveries |
| One-time extras | A second product to try, with a discount for subscribers |
Live in four steps
- Plans per pack sizeCreate a subscription plan with the frequencies that match the contents of your packs, and the discount per frequency.
- Add bundlesSwitch on prepayment for a frequency and choose the number of deliveries per payment: 2 to 12.
- Connect paymentsCard subscriptions run through your Shopify checkout. For iDEAL you connect your own Mollie account.
- Emails and retriesSet the reminder for the next delivery and choose on which days Loyalo retries a failed payment.
What happens when
| Situation | Approach in Loyalo |
|---|---|
| A customer wants to pay three months up front | A prepaid bundle with its own discount |
| A payment fails | New attempts on your schedule, with an email on every attempt |
| The customer's card is about to expire | The customer gets an email beforehand to update their payment method |
| There is still half a jar left | The customer skips a delivery or moves the date |
| Two people use the same supplement | The customer changes the quantity per delivery |
| A customer wants to try another product | Swap within the same plan, or a one-time extra |
| A product is out of stock on the collection day | You choose: collect anyway, wait a few days or skip |
A failed payment should not hold up the delivery
With a subscription on a daily product, every missed delivery is a reason to drop off. So you decide beforehand what happens when a collection fails: on which days Loyalo tries again, and whether the subscription then pauses, stops or stays.
Subscriptions with a payment problem are at the top of your list, with the next attempt next to them. Under Analytics you see which share of the failed payments was paid after all.
Reward those who stay
With the Customer Loyalty add-on subscribers earn points on every delivery. They redeem them on their next delivery, for free shipping or a free product, for example. You can base tiers on the number of orders in the last twelve months, so customers keep their discount as long as they keep ordering. For a review you give bonus points.
Launch checklist
- A subscription plan with frequencies that match your pack sizes
- Prepaid bundles with their own discount, if you want to offer them
- The reminder for the next delivery on, with the number of days ahead
- The schedule for new attempts after a failed payment
- The portal open for quantity, date, address and payment method
- For iDEAL: your Mollie account connected
What it costs
Subscriptions are in every plan: Growth costs € 99 per month up to 250 active subscriptions, Scale € 299 above that. Customer Loyalty, for points and tiers, is an add-on of € 199 per month. You pay nothing per order and try everything free for 14 days.
Frequently asked questions
How do you start a supplement subscription in your online shop?
Choose the products for daily use, derive the rhythm from the contents of the pack, set the discount and put the subscription choice on the product page. Then set up the payment retries and the reminder before each delivery, so a customer does not run out.
Does this work for a vitamin subscription with several products?
Yes. When a customer orders several products with the same rhythm at once, they end up in one subscription and are delivered together. Products with a different rhythm get a subscription of their own.
Can we offer prepaid bundles next to regular subscriptions?
Yes. In the same plan you put frequencies where the customer pays per delivery next to frequencies where they prepay 2 to 12 deliveries, each with its own discount.
What happens when a payment fails?
Loyalo retries on your schedule, by default after 1, 3 and 5 days, and emails the customer on every attempt. For iDEAL that email holds a payment link; with a card the customer updates their payment method in the portal.
Can a customer change the frequency along the way?
Yes. In the portal the customer picks another frequency within the same plan, for example from every month to every two months.
Can a customer take more than one jar per delivery?
Yes. The customer changes the quantity in the portal. You can do it for them in the dashboard as well.
Can I set a minimum term?
Yes. You set a minimum number of deliveries and a notice period of at most a month. When a customer cancels earlier, the subscription stops after the term.
Does this work with Shopify Payments?
Yes. One-off orders and card subscriptions run through your Shopify checkout. When a customer chooses iDEAL, Loyalo collects the next deliveries through your own Mollie account.
Setting up subscriptions for supplements?
See in a demo how bundles, the rhythm and payment retries work for your shop.
Request a demoReady to sell subscriptions inside Shopify?
No per-order fee, no redirect, no hassle. Just native subscriptions.