Did you know that more than 84 percent of consumers are more likely to visit retailers that offer customer loyalty programs? More than just a fun way to reward your best customers, loyalty programs are a powerful tool to add to your overall brand strategy.
What Are Loyalty Programs?
Companies use loyalty programs to incentivize customers to return to their stores and/or websites.
There are countless ways a brand can set up a loyalty program depending on its customer base and the brand’s specific goals. For example, some companies use a point system. Others reward their customers based on how much they spend. Other loyalty program incentives include exclusive deals and promotions for members, like early access to sales, sneak peeks of collaborations, and exclusive discounts.
Brand ambassador programs are especially effective at building brand trust, boosting brand awareness and driving sales. To learn more about why every brand can benefit from a brand ambassador program, check out this blog post.
Benefits of Customer Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs, including brand ambassador programs, provide a wide array of benefits, including:
- Improved customer engagement and experience
- Increased customer retention (84% of customers say that they are more likely to stick with brands that offer loyalty programs and 66% say the ability to earn rewards changes their spending behavior)
- Boosted sales and revenue
- Higher customer lifetime value
- Access to first-party data
- Reduced slow seasons
- Better brand reputation
Top Wellness Beverage Loyalty Programs
Wellness beverages are really having a moment right now. Everywhere you look, there’s a new low-sugar or nutrient-packed option. These fresh new brands have a lot of competition, so they need to be especially creative when it comes to customer loyalty programs.
We are impressed by the variety of rewards and program structures that this niche market is producing. So, we selected some of our favorites as examples. Let’s dive into the world of wellness beverages and how they are retaining and rewarding their loyal customers!
Suja Organic
Suja Organic specializes in organic, cold-pressed juice brimming with plant nutrients. Founded in 2012, it’s weathered nearly a decade of high and lows, including more competition every year.
How has Suja survived in an increasingly crowded niche? With a solid brand ambassador program.
Suja’s ambassador program is designed for college and professional athletes, influencers, content creators and nutritionists and dietitians. The program is described as a “non-paid, gifted exchange opportunity for those who have built up an engaged following and are interested in sharing their love for Suja’s mission and products.” Once Suja approves the application, ambassadors receive a free box of juices so they can share the love on social media and via product reviews. The more content created, the more rewards participants earn.
You can tell the program is working; a quick Instagram search reveals nearly 20,000 posts using the #sujajuice hashtag!
To apply, candidates fill out a short form detailing their Instagram username, email address, favorite Suja flavor, whether they’re a college or pro athlete, where they live and the social platform they are the most engaged on.
Recess
A wellness beverage newcomer, Recess manufactures sparkling water and drink powders that are infused with hemp and adaptogens to “calm the mind and lift the mood.” The company is growing quickly, with total business up 300% in a year and eCommerce up 600%.
Colorful packaging, trendy ingredients, and unique flavors like blackberry chai and peach ginger all make Recess an incredibly “Instagrammable” brand. To capitalize on this, the brand offers an affiliate program with a social media focus.
Here’s how Recess’ affiliate program works:
- Interested people fill out an application detailing their personal information, their social media handles, follower count and why they want to join.
- Once approved, the company sends a unique link and code for 15 percent off of beverages and merchandise.
- Affiliates share the code on their social media profiles and earn $10 for every order placed with their code.
Recess affiliates also enjoy other perks, including:
- 20% off site-wide purchases
- Sneak peeks at upcoming brand collabs and new products
- $5 gift cards for each new affiliate referred
Humm Kombucha
The oldest company in this round-up, Humm Kombucha was founded in 2008 in beautiful Bend, Oregon. Since then, founders Michelle and Jamie have transformed Michelle’s homebrew into a national craze!
If you are new to kombucha, it’s a fizzy, fermented tea full of probiotics and potential health benefits. It’s so popular that kombucha tea market value is expected to reach $4.5 billion by 2028 — and Humm is considered a “key player” in the industry’s future.
So, how does Humm compete with global powerhouses like The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo? A thriving ambassador program is part of the answer.
Humm Kombucha brand ambassadors are tasked with:
- Promoting Humm to their social media followers and via word-of-mouth
- Maintaining a public Instagram profile
- Providing unique feedback from their communities to help improve products
- Allowing Humm Kombucha to repost their social media content
In return, they receive the following perks:
- 10% off all products
- A case of Humm Kombucha every quarter
- The inside scoop on new products
- The chance to provide the company with valuable feedback
To apply for Humm Kombucha’s brand ambassador program, click here.
Tea Drops
Ethically sourcing its organic tea products, Tea Drops donates one year of clean water to a person in need with every order. So far in 2021, more than 167,000 people have benefited from this commitment. The company’s mission is to inspire human connection through tea. And it achieves this with help from a robust brand ambassador program
Who is the perfect Tea Drops ambassador? The company recruits existing customers who love the product, are excited to engage with the community of tea lovers, and can help share the mission via “magical tea moments.” There are currently more than 19,400 #teamagic posts on Instagram.
Interested people must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a public Instagram profile with at least 200 followers
- Have a Facebook profile with at least 200 friends
- Be a Tea Drops customer already and genuinely love the product
Once accepted, ambassadors use an online portal to complete activities on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Ambassadors complete at least five activities per month and receive points for each one. Points are then redeemed for ambassador-exclusive rewards and discounts.
VitaCoco
VitaCoco, a popular coconut water beverage, is endorsed by A-list celebrities like Rihanna and Madonna. The Grove, the company’s rewards program, rewards members with CoCoCoins for completing program-related tasks. Examples include:
- 75 CocoCoins for creating an account
- 20 CocoCoins for a video added to a review.
- 10 CocoCoins for visiting the rewards page.
When redeemed online, CoCoCoins have the following monetary values:
- 100 coins = $5 off
- 200 coins = $10 off
- 300 coins= $15 off
- 400 coins= $20 off
The Grove also offers tiers based on coins earned. A member with 75 CocoCoins earns Seedling status, which provides one coin multiplier, free standard shipping and access to exclusive offers. After that, they can aspire to Sprout status with 250 CocoCoins and Coconut status with 1,000 CocoCoins. As members move up tiers, their rewards become more valuable.
To join The Grove, create an account here.
heywell
If you reviewed Oprah’s Favorite Things 2021, you might be familiar with this brand already! The famous list features heywell’s sparkling waters full of adaptogens, antioxidants, and organic caffeine. Ashley and Britt, heywell’s founders, aim to simplify wellness and make it more accessible for everyone.
To help them spread the word, they recruit brand ambassadors who share their values. The program is refreshingly simple, just like their products.
Ambassadors receive a unique code to share with their community, providing 10% off their first heywell order. For every first-time order placed, ambassadors receive a 10% commission on that order. Ambassadors receive commission payments at the end of every month via PayPal.
To apply, fill out the online application. Accepted applicants receive an email with instructions for the next steps.
How BrandChamp Can Help
Are you ready to start reaping the benefits of a customer loyalty program like these wellness beverage brands? We can help. Brandchamp’s streamlined platform is compatible with all kinds of customer loyalty programs, online marketplaces and ecommerce solutions. Our platform helps companies build thriving brands with passionate customers.
Partner with us if you want to:
- Increase ambassador referrals
- Facilitate user-generated content at scale
- Drive social engagement and reach
- Improve customer loyalty
- Measure your ROI with detailed analytics
- Much more!
To launch a brand ambassador program for your brand, or upgrade an existing program, get in touch with us today!
