Evive Nutrition Brand Manager Amaël Proulx on taking the States by storm

After revolutionizing healthy eating in Canada with their unique frozen smoothie cubes, Evive Nutrition last year expanded into the US.

We caught up with Brand Manager Amaël Proulx to find out how Attest helped the subscription brand get to know their new target audience and, ultimately, stand out in a more crowded market.

How big a role do subscriptions play in your business model?

Our subscription model is very important since it was what enabled us to pursue our mission, which is to make healthy eating more accessible. Currently, we have about half our members purchasing our products online, while the other half purchase our products in-store. We’re grateful to be available in over 3,000 stores across Canada, as well as about 50 retailers in the US. However, over the last two years, we’ve truly seen the importance of offering our members the option to receive their nutritious breakfast smoothies and meals delivered straight to their doorstep with free shipping. 

What are the biggest challenges facing subscription businesses at the moment?

Currently, our biggest challenge is explaining the flexibility of our model to our members. Lots of subscription businesses are making it hard for their customers to modify their subscription plan, which is not the case with Evive. We want our members to get access to our products when they want and need them. The flexibility of our model makes the forecasting process a bit more difficult, especially for our operation team in charge of inventory management at all of our four facilities.

How did you know it was the right time to expand Evive into the US market?

It was always a dream of ours to expand not only throughout Canada but in the US as well. Evive was born in 2015, and so after five years, we felt confident that it was time to test our products in this new territory. With 295 million more people living in the US than in Canada, there’s just so much opportunity to have our easy, quick, and nutritious products discovered. We expanded with the blue ocean strategy, meaning nobody is doing exactly what we’re doing in the US, so we wanted to capitalize on our innovation and uniqueness with our cross-sales channels. 

How has the research you carried out with Attest expanded your knowledge of US consumers?

The surveys we’ve conducted through Attest have really helped us in many ways. We were able to validate many of our assumptions when it comes to our communications. We also had the opportunity to A/B test some of our content that we use for ads, social media, etc. One of the most valuable learnings also had to do with the types of flavours this new territory found the most appealing, as well as the communications on our packaging.

How have you adapted your positioning/messaging to cater to the US market?

First, we took the opportunity to share the information we obtained from the surveys internally to our team members so that we’re all on the same page. Second, we compiled a presentation for our content creation team so that they can keep in mind these differences when creating new content for the US. We also have a clearer understanding of how Americans may perceive our concept and so we’ve adapted our approach when it comes to explaining the how-to process. Another significant learning that we’ve implemented was which value propositions to highlight in this new market. We’re also in the midst of launching a completely revamped website in both territories, so we definitely applied all our learnings to this project.

What’s next for Evive? What will you be focusing on in Q4 and beyond?

One thing’s for sure – we aren’t lacking any new exciting projects! We have four main business priorities for Q4. The first is operational excellence. As we’ve continued to expand, so have our operations team. Second, we’re optimizing financial planning and control. Third, we’re reminding ourselves to focus less on selling, and more on branding. Last but not least, we’re doubling down on our innovation – something that has always been a priority and a part of what we do best is to create and launch amazing new products that positively impact the lives of consumers. Definitely stay tuned for new Evive products within the next few months!

In your view, what’s the outlook for subscription businesses in 2022 and what must brands do to survive and thrive?

In order to keep thriving, our outlook is to always innovate, not only in terms of products but also in terms of our business model, such as providing new programs like rewards and referral programs. Brands must be more customer-centric than ever and demonstrate that they’re attentively listening and catering to customers’ needs and interests. Showing appreciation for your clients’ loyalty is also extremely important, and there are many ways companies can do this, such as offering exclusivities and special merchandise. 

Being proactive has been successful for us, and we’re enjoying activating the discussion with our members on their experience, new product development etc. It’s essential to be flexible and quickly adaptable in order to keep offering something that’s unique. Lastly, knowing your numbers is also essential. Capitalize on the subscription model to spend more on first-time purchases, and then be creative on how to retain customers.

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