Health & Supplements
·
Enterprise
How Applied Nutrition turned a passive loyalty program into a D2C growth engine
215%
higher lifetime value, members vs non-members
215%
higher lifetime value, members vs non-members
215%
higher lifetime value, members vs non-members
215%
higher lifetime value, members vs non-members
76%
higher purchase frequency, members vs non-members
76%
higher purchase frequency, members vs non-members
76%
higher purchase frequency, members vs non-members
76%
higher purchase frequency, members vs non-members
449%
higher annual spend, redeemers vs non-redeemers
449%
higher annual spend, redeemers vs non-redeemers
449%
higher annual spend, redeemers vs non-redeemers
Our customers are earning points every time they shop, and the opportunity we're most excited about is surfacing that value across every channel they're already in. This is only the start of the journey with Smile, and the momentum so far has been fantastic.
Sean McGimpsey
Head of Ecommerce, Applied Nutrition
Our customers are earning points every time they shop, and the opportunity we're most excited about is surfacing that value across every channel they're already in. This is only the start of the journey with Smile, and the momentum so far has been fantastic.
Sean McGimpsey
Head of Ecommerce, Applied Nutrition
Applied Nutrition is a sports nutrition and supplements merchant
Industry
Health & Supplements
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Merchant Size
Enterprise
Smile Features
Points
Referrals
Checkout Extension
Loyalty Hub
Analytics
Integrations
Region
Europe
Applied Nutrition is one of the UK's fastest-growing sports nutrition brands, and a model for what happens when a high-growth business finally activates loyalty it had left running quietly in the background. Smile was already in place, but points were accumulating without activation. As order volume scaled, the team upgraded to Smile Plus and set out to embed loyalty across every channel for a customer base of more than 120,000.
The program already returns 24x on its Smile investment, with members worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members. Now the team is building the next phase: multi-channel activation across email, SMS, and the mobile app, plus a VIP program and first access to product launches.
The Story
From Liverpool startup to £107m sports nutrition brand
Applied Nutrition is a UK-based sports nutrition brand, founded in Liverpool in 2014 by CEO Tom Ryder and now listed on the London Stock Exchange. It sells protein, creatine, and a fast-growing pre-workout range in more than 85 countries, and posted £107.1m in revenue for the year ending July 2025.
The brand's biggest advantage is that it manufactures around 85% of its products in-house at its accredited Knowsley facility. That control lets the team get to market faster than anyone else, whether it's a new flavor or an entirely new line, like the GLP-1 friendly range for customers on a weight-loss journey that was turned around quickly. A dedicated product development team keeps finding gaps in the market and filling them fast.
Growth has been rapid on every front. Applied Nutrition expanded into the US from a Texas base in 2022, secured a Walmart listing alongside major UK grocers, and was named to the Sunday Times Fastest Growing Companies list. Historically a B2B business, it's now investing heavily in direct-to-consumer, and the results are showing.
Quality underpins it all. Applied Nutrition is one of the most tested brands in the category: much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, with regular batch and lab testing that many competitors skip.
The Challenge
Points were piling up with nowhere to go
When Applied Nutrition's D2C team stepped up its focus on retention, Smile was already running in the background, but it hadn't been actively managed or optimized. Because the brand was growing so fast and earning so many returning customers, points had simply been accumulating without activation. Customers were building up balances without really knowing how many points they had, what they were worth, or how to use them.
The wider stack had the same problem. Smile, Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive were each working individually rather than together. In a repeat-purchase category as competitive as sports nutrition, that latent value was a missed lever, both for standing out and for converting one-time buyers into subscribers. Loyalty needed to be woven into every channel, email, SMS, app, and subscription, and it had to scale without adding headcount.
Applied Nutrition's checkout with points earning and checkout extension enabled
The Solution
Wiring loyalty into every channel customers already use
As order volume climbed, Applied Nutrition upgraded to Smile Plus, giving it the integrations, custom earning actions, and analytics depth to run loyalty at scale across a customer base of more than 120,000. Points reward repeat purchases, and newly launched referral rewards give the most loyal customers a reason to bring in the next one.
The focus now is making every channel work together. The team has integrated live points balances into Klaviyo email so customers are reminded of the value sitting in their account, not just sold to, with Attentive SMS next on the roadmap. And rather than competing, Smile and Recharge are being wired to work side by side, using loyalty as a lever to convert one-time buyers into subscribers and lift customer lifetime value.
The program also reinforces the brand's wider trust engine. Applied Nutrition pairs loyalty with coach partnerships, an affiliate network, and ambassador programs that add educational value beyond rewards alone, and rewards the reviews and engagement that strengthen product pages. That trust is earned: the brand rates around 4.7 on Trustpilot and leans on personal service, free gifting, and events to stay close to customers even as it scales.
What the program delivered:
Activated latent loyalty: points balances surfaced across email and SMS so customers act on the value they've been quietly accumulating
Smile Plus upgrade: migrated to Plus as order volume grew, unlocking deeper integrations and analytics for loyalty at scale
Subscription growth: Smile and Recharge integrated to operate as one, converting one-time buyers into subscribers and lifting lifetime value
Referrals live: newly launched referral rewards turn loyal customers into a growth channel, giving them a reason to bring in the next buyer
Multi-channel activation: live points balances integrated into Klaviyo email for personalized, always-on reminders, run without added headcount
The Results
Redeemers spend 449% more than non-redeemers
Applied Nutrition's program now returns 24x on its Smile investment across an engaged base of nearly 27,000 members. Redemption sits at 19%, above the Smile benchmark for comparable merchants, and 94% of orders earn points, so value is actively earned and spent rather than left idle.The impact compounds among the most engaged customers. Members are worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members and buy 76% more often. Redeemers go further still, spending 449% more each year and returning 210% more often than customers who never redeem. Since the team began actively managing Smile alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive, the business has posted its biggest month-on-month D2C growth on record.
Combining all of those channels and actually using their full potential has helped us see the biggest month-on-month D2C growth the business has ever had. If we keep going down this route, our averages are only going to keep growing.
Sean McGimpsey
Head of Ecommerce, Applied Nutrition
The gap between casual shoppers and engaged members is where the program delivers its greatest return. Members who actively redeem points spend roughly 4.5x as much each year and return more than twice as often as those who don't, turning Applied Nutrition's most engaged customers into its most valuable ones.
Day-to-day, the program is light to operate. The team stood up a points page and new earning actions quickly, with hands-on integration support from Smile, and now runs loyalty alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive from one retention playbook. With Smile Plus in place, the roadmap is ambitious: launching a VIP program with perks like free gifting and first access to new product launches, and deepening integrations across Attentive for SMS and Tapcart for the mobile app, so loyalty shows up everywhere customers already are.
210%
higher purchase frequency, redeemers vs non-redeemers
19%
redemption rate — above the Smile benchmark
210%
higher purchase frequency, redeemers vs non-redeemers
19%
redemption rate — above the Smile benchmark
One of the most tested brands in the category
Applied Nutrition pays to verify and regularly batch- and lab-tests its products. Much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, a bar few competitors clear. Paired with a 4.7 Trustpilot rating and genuinely personal service, it's the trust that keeps a fast-growing customer base coming back.
Why Smile.io
Engineered for loyalty at enterprise scale
Smile.io powers loyalty for over 100,000 commerce brands worldwide, including high-growth and enterprise merchants. The platform is engineered for scale, with the integrations, custom activities, and analytics depth required to compound loyalty revenue program-over-program.
Applied Nutrition is a sports nutrition and supplements merchant
Industry
Health & Supplements
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Merchant Size
Enterprise
Smile Features
Points
Referrals
Checkout Extension
Loyalty Hub
Analytics
Integrations
Region
Europe
Applied Nutrition is one of the UK's fastest-growing sports nutrition brands, and a model for what happens when a high-growth business finally activates loyalty it had left running quietly in the background. Smile was already in place, but points were accumulating without activation. As order volume scaled, the team upgraded to Smile Plus and set out to embed loyalty across every channel for a customer base of more than 120,000.
The program already returns 24x on its Smile investment, with members worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members. Now the team is building the next phase: multi-channel activation across email, SMS, and the mobile app, plus a VIP program and first access to product launches.
The Story
From Liverpool startup to £107m sports nutrition brand
Applied Nutrition is a UK-based sports nutrition brand, founded in Liverpool in 2014 by CEO Tom Ryder and now listed on the London Stock Exchange. It sells protein, creatine, and a fast-growing pre-workout range in more than 85 countries, and posted £107.1m in revenue for the year ending July 2025.
The brand's biggest advantage is that it manufactures around 85% of its products in-house at its accredited Knowsley facility. That control lets the team get to market faster than anyone else, whether it's a new flavor or an entirely new line, like the GLP-1 friendly range for customers on a weight-loss journey that was turned around quickly. A dedicated product development team keeps finding gaps in the market and filling them fast.
Growth has been rapid on every front. Applied Nutrition expanded into the US from a Texas base in 2022, secured a Walmart listing alongside major UK grocers, and was named to the Sunday Times Fastest Growing Companies list. Historically a B2B business, it's now investing heavily in direct-to-consumer, and the results are showing.
Quality underpins it all. Applied Nutrition is one of the most tested brands in the category: much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, with regular batch and lab testing that many competitors skip.
The Challenge
Points were piling up with nowhere to go
When Applied Nutrition's D2C team stepped up its focus on retention, Smile was already running in the background, but it hadn't been actively managed or optimized. Because the brand was growing so fast and earning so many returning customers, points had simply been accumulating without activation. Customers were building up balances without really knowing how many points they had, what they were worth, or how to use them.
The wider stack had the same problem. Smile, Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive were each working individually rather than together. In a repeat-purchase category as competitive as sports nutrition, that latent value was a missed lever, both for standing out and for converting one-time buyers into subscribers. Loyalty needed to be woven into every channel, email, SMS, app, and subscription, and it had to scale without adding headcount.
Applied Nutrition's checkout with points earning and checkout extension enabled
The Solution
Wiring loyalty into every channel customers already use
As order volume climbed, Applied Nutrition upgraded to Smile Plus, giving it the integrations, custom earning actions, and analytics depth to run loyalty at scale across a customer base of more than 120,000. Points reward repeat purchases, and newly launched referral rewards give the most loyal customers a reason to bring in the next one.
The focus now is making every channel work together. The team has integrated live points balances into Klaviyo email so customers are reminded of the value sitting in their account, not just sold to, with Attentive SMS next on the roadmap. And rather than competing, Smile and Recharge are being wired to work side by side, using loyalty as a lever to convert one-time buyers into subscribers and lift customer lifetime value.
The program also reinforces the brand's wider trust engine. Applied Nutrition pairs loyalty with coach partnerships, an affiliate network, and ambassador programs that add educational value beyond rewards alone, and rewards the reviews and engagement that strengthen product pages. That trust is earned: the brand rates around 4.7 on Trustpilot and leans on personal service, free gifting, and events to stay close to customers even as it scales.
What the program delivered:
Activated latent loyalty: points balances surfaced across email and SMS so customers act on the value they've been quietly accumulating
Smile Plus upgrade: migrated to Plus as order volume grew, unlocking deeper integrations and analytics for loyalty at scale
Subscription growth: Smile and Recharge integrated to operate as one, converting one-time buyers into subscribers and lifting lifetime value
Referrals live: newly launched referral rewards turn loyal customers into a growth channel, giving them a reason to bring in the next buyer
Multi-channel activation: live points balances integrated into Klaviyo email for personalized, always-on reminders, run without added headcount
The Results
Redeemers spend 449% more than non-redeemers
Applied Nutrition's program now returns 24x on its Smile investment across an engaged base of nearly 27,000 members. Redemption sits at 19%, above the Smile benchmark for comparable merchants, and 94% of orders earn points, so value is actively earned and spent rather than left idle.The impact compounds among the most engaged customers. Members are worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members and buy 76% more often. Redeemers go further still, spending 449% more each year and returning 210% more often than customers who never redeem. Since the team began actively managing Smile alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive, the business has posted its biggest month-on-month D2C growth on record.
Combining all of those channels and actually using their full potential has helped us see the biggest month-on-month D2C growth the business has ever had. If we keep going down this route, our averages are only going to keep growing.
Sean McGimpsey
Head of Ecommerce, Applied Nutrition
The gap between casual shoppers and engaged members is where the program delivers its greatest return. Members who actively redeem points spend roughly 4.5x as much each year and return more than twice as often as those who don't, turning Applied Nutrition's most engaged customers into its most valuable ones.
Day-to-day, the program is light to operate. The team stood up a points page and new earning actions quickly, with hands-on integration support from Smile, and now runs loyalty alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive from one retention playbook. With Smile Plus in place, the roadmap is ambitious: launching a VIP program with perks like free gifting and first access to new product launches, and deepening integrations across Attentive for SMS and Tapcart for the mobile app, so loyalty shows up everywhere customers already are.
210%
higher purchase frequency, redeemers vs non-redeemers
19%
redemption rate — above the Smile benchmark
One of the most tested brands in the category
Applied Nutrition pays to verify and regularly batch- and lab-tests its products. Much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, a bar few competitors clear. Paired with a 4.7 Trustpilot rating and genuinely personal service, it's the trust that keeps a fast-growing customer base coming back.
Why Smile.io
Engineered for loyalty at enterprise scale
Smile.io powers loyalty for over 100,000 commerce brands worldwide, including high-growth and enterprise merchants. The platform is engineered for scale, with the integrations, custom activities, and analytics depth required to compound loyalty revenue program-over-program.
Applied Nutrition is a sports nutrition and supplements merchant
Industry
Health & Supplements
Merchant Size
Enterprise
Region
Europe
Platfrom
Shopify Plus
Smile Features
Points
Referrals
Checkout Extension
Loyalty Hub
Analytics
Integrations
Applied Nutrition is one of the UK's fastest-growing sports nutrition brands, and a model for what happens when a high-growth business finally activates loyalty it had left running quietly in the background. Smile was already in place, but points were accumulating without activation. As order volume scaled, the team upgraded to Smile Plus and set out to embed loyalty across every channel for a customer base of more than 120,000.
The program already returns 24x on its Smile investment, with members worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members. Now the team is building the next phase: multi-channel activation across email, SMS, and the mobile app, plus a VIP program and first access to product launches.
The Story
From Liverpool startup to £107m sports nutrition brand
Applied Nutrition is a UK-based sports nutrition brand, founded in Liverpool in 2014 by CEO Tom Ryder and now listed on the London Stock Exchange. It sells protein, creatine, and a fast-growing pre-workout range in more than 85 countries, and posted £107.1m in revenue for the year ending July 2025.
The brand's biggest advantage is that it manufactures around 85% of its products in-house at its accredited Knowsley facility. That control lets the team get to market faster than anyone else, whether it's a new flavor or an entirely new line, like the GLP-1 friendly range for customers on a weight-loss journey that was turned around quickly. A dedicated product development team keeps finding gaps in the market and filling them fast.
Growth has been rapid on every front. Applied Nutrition expanded into the US from a Texas base in 2022, secured a Walmart listing alongside major UK grocers, and was named to the Sunday Times Fastest Growing Companies list. Historically a B2B business, it's now investing heavily in direct-to-consumer, and the results are showing.
Quality underpins it all. Applied Nutrition is one of the most tested brands in the category: much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, with regular batch and lab testing that many competitors skip.
The Challenge
Points were piling up with nowhere to go
When Applied Nutrition's D2C team stepped up its focus on retention, Smile was already running in the background, but it hadn't been actively managed or optimized. Because the brand was growing so fast and earning so many returning customers, points had simply been accumulating without activation. Customers were building up balances without really knowing how many points they had, what they were worth, or how to use them.
The wider stack had the same problem. Smile, Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive were each working individually rather than together. In a repeat-purchase category as competitive as sports nutrition, that latent value was a missed lever, both for standing out and for converting one-time buyers into subscribers. Loyalty needed to be woven into every channel, email, SMS, app, and subscription, and it had to scale without adding headcount.
Applied Nutrition's checkout with points earning and checkout extension enabled
The Solution
Wiring loyalty into every channel customers already use
As order volume climbed, Applied Nutrition upgraded to Smile Plus, giving it the integrations, custom earning actions, and analytics depth to run loyalty at scale across a customer base of more than 120,000. Points reward repeat purchases, and newly launched referral rewards give the most loyal customers a reason to bring in the next one.
The focus now is making every channel work together. The team has integrated live points balances into Klaviyo email so customers are reminded of the value sitting in their account, not just sold to, with Attentive SMS next on the roadmap. And rather than competing, Smile and Recharge are being wired to work side by side, using loyalty as a lever to convert one-time buyers into subscribers and lift customer lifetime value.
The program also reinforces the brand's wider trust engine. Applied Nutrition pairs loyalty with coach partnerships, an affiliate network, and ambassador programs that add educational value beyond rewards alone, and rewards the reviews and engagement that strengthen product pages. That trust is earned: the brand rates around 4.7 on Trustpilot and leans on personal service, free gifting, and events to stay close to customers even as it scales.
What the program delivered:
Activated latent loyalty: points balances surfaced across email and SMS so customers act on the value they've been quietly accumulating
Smile Plus upgrade: migrated to Plus as order volume grew, unlocking deeper integrations and analytics for loyalty at scale
Subscription growth: Smile and Recharge integrated to operate as one, converting one-time buyers into subscribers and lifting lifetime value
Referrals live: newly launched referral rewards turn loyal customers into a growth channel, giving them a reason to bring in the next buyer
Multi-channel activation: live points balances integrated into Klaviyo email for personalized, always-on reminders, run without added headcount
The Results
Redeemers spend 449% more than non-redeemers
Applied Nutrition's program now returns 24x on its Smile investment across an engaged base of nearly 27,000 members. Redemption sits at 19%, above the Smile benchmark for comparable merchants, and 94% of orders earn points, so value is actively earned and spent rather than left idle.The impact compounds among the most engaged customers. Members are worth 215% more in lifetime value than non-members and buy 76% more often. Redeemers go further still, spending 449% more each year and returning 210% more often than customers who never redeem. Since the team began actively managing Smile alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive, the business has posted its biggest month-on-month D2C growth on record.
Combining all of those channels and actually using their full potential has helped us see the biggest month-on-month D2C growth the business has ever had. If we keep going down this route, our averages are only going to keep growing.
Sean McGimpsey
Head of Ecommerce, Applied Nutrition
The gap between casual shoppers and engaged members is where the program delivers its greatest return. Members who actively redeem points spend roughly 4.5x as much each year and return more than twice as often as those who don't, turning Applied Nutrition's most engaged customers into its most valuable ones.
Day-to-day, the program is light to operate. The team stood up a points page and new earning actions quickly, with hands-on integration support from Smile, and now runs loyalty alongside Recharge, Klaviyo, and Attentive from one retention playbook. With Smile Plus in place, the roadmap is ambitious: launching a VIP program with perks like free gifting and first access to new product launches, and deepening integrations across Attentive for SMS and Tapcart for the mobile app, so loyalty shows up everywhere customers already are.
210%
higher purchase frequency, redeemers vs non-redeemers
19%
redemption rate — above the Smile benchmark
One of the most tested brands in the category
Applied Nutrition pays to verify and regularly batch- and lab-tests its products. Much of its protein is Informed Protein certified and its core range is Informed Sport certified for athletes, a bar few competitors clear. Paired with a 4.7 Trustpilot rating and genuinely personal service, it's the trust that keeps a fast-growing customer base coming back.
Why Smile.io
Engineered for loyalty at enterprise scale
Smile.io powers loyalty for over 100,000 commerce brands worldwide, including high-growth and enterprise merchants. The platform is engineered for scale, with the integrations, custom activities, and analytics depth required to compound loyalty revenue program-over-program.
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