Hey, it's Geb from Email Rev Lab!
At 10:03 PM last night, I signed up on NeoCell's site. I gave them my email. I gave them my phone number too. The pop-up asked for both.
At 10:14 PM, the welcome email hit. Eleven minutes later. And the SMS? Never came.
That gap isn't just annoying. It's a conversion problem.
The Brand Bridge
In 1998, Al Quadri founded NeoCell, looking for a way to help his son recover from a severe knee injury. He developed a proprietary collagen extraction method, launched Super Collagen, and built what NeoCell's own homepage now calls the #1 Beauty Supplement Brand.
Nearly three decades. A founder-driven origin story built on real need. Science-backed formulas that earned a spot in Whole Foods and Sprouts. And in September 2024, an acquisition by Piping Rock Health Products to carry the brand into its next chapter.
That's a serious legacy. But legacy doesn't close the browser tab when a buyer's waiting 11 minutes for a discount code that's sitting in Promotions instead of Primary.
The Pop-up Test
The pop-up fires immediately on page load. Clean design, branded pink CTA button, 15% off promise. So far, so good.
Here's the issue. After submitting your email, it asks for a 6-digit SMS verification code. That's a two-step opt-in. Every extra step between "I'm interested" and "I'm subscribed" costs you signups. According to Omnisend's benchmark data from over 1.24 billion form displays, the average pop-up converts at 2.1%. Two-step flows drag that number down further.
They're also collecting phone numbers, but sending no SMS. That's a broken promise baked right into the form.
The Tech Test
Eleven minutes is a long time. Most buyers decide in the first few minutes whether to keep shopping or bounce. According to GetResponse data, a welcome email that arrives after the decision window has closed is already working uphill.
The SMS trigger appears to be completely inactive. The form collects a phone number and then does nothing with it. That's a dead channel sitting on top of a friction-heavy opt-in.
The Inbox Test
Subject line: "Welcome! Your Exclusive Offer Awaits 🎉- Unlock Your Offer." The emoji is doing a lot of lifting here. But the bigger problem is where it landed: the Promotions tab.
74% of new subscribers expect a welcome email the moment they sign up. NeoCell arrives 11 minutes late, in the wrong tab, with a subject line that reads like a promo blast rather than a personal welcome.
The Email Creative Test
The email design is clean and on-brand. Big 15% off graphic, product recommendations, rewards program CTA. The structure is solid.
The problem isn't the creative. It's everything that happens before the email arrives. By the time it gets there, some buyers have already moved on.
The 3-Step Klaviyo Fix
Fix the welcome email trigger. In Klaviyo, go to your Welcome Series flow and check the trigger filter. If the flow is set to fire on "Subscribed to List" with a time delay, remove the delay entirely. Set it to send immediately on trigger. Real-time sends convert at a documented 4.01% vs. 0.94% for delayed sends (Invesp data). That's a 327% gap.
Activate the SMS flow or remove the phone field. If SMS isn't live yet, either build a basic welcome SMS in Klaviyo's SMS flow builder (one message, the discount code, sent immediately) or strip the phone number field from the pop-up. Collecting data you don't use erodes trust and wastes a signup.
Rewrite the subject line for Primary tab placement. Drop the emoji and the generic "Exclusive Offer" framing. Try: "Your 15% off code is here, [First Name]." Personal. Direct. Less promotional in Gmail's eyes.
Most supplement brands see their welcome email open rates drop when the email lands late in the Promotions tab. NeoCell's 1998 founding story earns them the click once. The email infrastructure has to earn it too.
Here's what I'm curious about: if NeoCell activated their SMS channel today, how much of that two-step friction would convert into a second touchpoint instead of a lost signup?
NeoCell has been building collagen trust since 1998. They just need an email infrastructure that matches 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 and I’ll send you a free breakdown.
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.