Plant People's discount code hits Promotions tab

Hey, it's Geb from Email Rev Lab!

At 9:27 PM, I signed up for Plant People's 30% discount.

The pop-up appeared. I chose my solution, entered my email, then gave my phone number. The whole thing looked polished.

Then the email landed in Promotions. Not Primary. Promotions.

Plant People was founded in 2018 by Gabe Kennedy and Hudson Davis-Ross. Both went through serious spinal surgeries in their younger years. Instead of leaning on pharmaceuticals, they turned to mushrooms, herbs, and plant-based remedies to recover. That experience became the company.

They built it from a few thousand dollars in personal savings. Went door to door. Landed features in The New York Times, Forbes, and Vogue. Today, their mushroom gummies sit on shelves at Whole Foods, Erewhon, and The Vitamin Shoppe.

A brand built on lived experience and hard-earned trust deserves an email flow that works as hard as they did.

Right now, it's leaving buyers in the wrong tab.

The pop-up is good. Strong 30% offer. Clean design. The "Choose Your Solution" dropdown is smart personalisation that could power segmented flows.

One problem: the flow asks for email AND phone number across two separate screens before the buyer gets anything. That's two friction points before they've seen a single product recommendation. Some buyers bounced before step two.

The welcome email arrived at 9:27 PM. Same minute I submitted my email. Zero delay.

That timing is solid. The problem isn't speed.

Subject line: "You've got 30% OFF, friend."

Words like "OFF," "discount," and "sale" are confirmed Gmail promotional keyword signals. They're a known contributing factor to Promotions tab routing alongside image-heavy formatting and multiple links. That subject line made Primary placement harder to achieve.

Preview text was also cut off mid-sentence on mobile. Wasted asset.

The welcome email is image-heavy. Multiple product shots, category icon blocks, and a full-width green footer. Gmail treats emails with a high image-to-text ratio as promotional content. That compounds the subject line problem.

The discount code is buried halfway down the email. First-time buyers are scanning for it immediately. If they don't see it fast, some close the tab and move on.

1. Rewrite the welcome email subject line. Strip the promotional language. Try: "Your personalised wellness plan is ready." It signals value without triggering Gmail's filters.

2. Add 150 to 200 words of plain text above the first image block. A short brand story paragraph or a product intro that mirrors the solution the subscriber chose in the pop-up. This improves the image-to-text ratio and signals to Gmail it's a real communication, not just an ad.

3. Move the discount code to the very top of the email. One bold line under the header. Buyers want confirmation their code arrived. Show it first. Everything else comes after.

Welcome emails landing in the Promotions tab can see up to 30% lower open rates compared to Primary inbox placement. That's your highest-converting email going to the tab most buyers check last. (Source: Mailmend Gmail placement analysis, 2025/2026)

Here's what I'm curious about: what's Plant People's current open rate on this welcome email? Because if it's sitting in Promotions for most Gmail subscribers, that number is lying to them.

Plant People built something real. A brand backed by lived experience, not a lab pitch deck. They just need their email infrastructure to match their product integrity.

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.