Hey, it's Geb from Email Rev Lab!
At 1:55 AM, I signed up for Orgain's 20% off discount through their pop-up.
The pop-up asked for my email. I gave it. Then a second screen appeared asking for my phone number.
I skipped the phone step. Within seconds, the screen said: "Emailing You Your Discount Code Now."
Fast delivery. Good sign.
But then I opened Gmail. And there it was. Not in Primary.
Promotions.
That's where the 20% discount code lives. That's where most subscribers will never look.
For a brand built on a story this powerful, that's a problem worth talking about.
The Brand Behind the Email:
Dr. Andrew Abraham founded Orgain in 2008 after surviving a rare form of cancer as a teenager. During treatment, he was handed a conventional nutritional shake loaded with corn syrup and artificial ingredients. It tasted bad and didn't help.
So he blended his own shakes at home using whole organic ingredients. His health improved. Cancer went into remission.
He turned those kitchen shakes into a company. Today, Orgain is the number one plant protein powder brand in the US.
A brand born from real adversity, built on clean ingredients, trusted by millions.
And their welcome email is landing in Promotions.
The Pop-up Test:
The pop-up showed up fast. Clean green design. Big "GET 20% OFF" headline. Simple one-field form asking for email only.
That's good. One ask, clear benefit, low friction.
Then a second screen appeared asking for a phone number.
The heading said: "Why wait for email? Text with us."
Smart idea. But the execution creates a small trust gap. The pop-up promised email delivery. The second screen pivots to SMS before the original promise is even fulfilled.
New subscribers haven't gotten the discount code yet. Asking for a second channel right away can feel like a bait-and-switch.
The Tech Test:
Signed up at 1:55 AM. Email arrived at 1:55 AM.
That's real-time delivery. No delay. Orgain gets this right.
According to Invesp, real-time welcome emails convert at 4.01% vs 0.94% for delayed ones. Orgain is in the right zone here.
The Inbox Test:
The email landed in the Promotions tab, not Primary.
This is the biggest bottleneck in the flow.
74% of subscribers expect a welcome email immediately. They go looking for it. But if it's buried in Promotions, a chunk of them won't find it. They'll assume something went wrong. The discount code impression drops.
Subject line: "Welcome to Orgain 💚 - Open for your 20% discount code."
Functional. Clear. But not built to dodge Gmail's Promotions filter. No personal tone. No question. No pattern interrupt.
The Email Creative Test:
Inside the email, the layout is clean and on-brand. Hero image of products, big green branding, then the discount code CLEAN20 front and center. Good.
Below that, Dr. Abraham's photo with a short "Get to Know Orgain" section. Brilliant. A face, a story, a human behind the product. That builds trust.
Then a rewards program CTA. Solid flow structure.
But the body copy is generic. "Email subscribers are the first to know about new products, limited-time exclusive releases, new recipes, giveaways, email-only promotions, and so much more." Every brand says this.
Orgain has a founding story that most supplement brands would kill for. A cancer survivor who made shakes in his kitchen. That story should be the email, not a small section at the bottom.
The Klaviyo Fix (3 Steps):
Rewrite the subject line to escape Promotions. Make it feel personal. Try: "Your 20% code is inside" or "Hey, your Orgain discount is here." First-person language and no promotional keywords help Gmail route to Primary.
Move Dr. Abraham's story to the top. Lead with the founding narrative before the discount code. One short paragraph. Let subscribers know who they're buying from before you ask them to buy.
Delay the SMS ask. Move the phone number request to Email 2 in the welcome series. Let the first email deliver on its promise. Then, introduce the SMS channel once trust is established.
The Impact:
Promotions tab placement is a silent conversion killer. Most subscribers check Primary first. If the discount code email isn't there, a portion of them assume it never arrived. They don't convert. They don't come back.
Here's what I'm curious about: if Orgain moved this welcome email to Primary, how much would that single change lift their first-purchase conversion rate?
Orgain has a founding story most supplement brands would trade anything for. They just need the email infrastructure to match it.
I send these audits daily because bottlenecks like this can be fixed in one day with the right information.
Want me to audit your Klaviyo account the same way?
Reply to this email, and I'll send you a free breakdown of where your welcome series is leaking revenue.
Geb Vence
P.S. I run Email Rev Lab. We've generated $334k+ for brands by building systems that feel like conversations, not ads. I only work with 3 brands per month. Schedule your call here.