Meal subscriptions have taken the food business by storm. Today, there are multiple options for meal subscriptions for all kinds of cuisines and diet preferences.
However, not all subscription businesses succeed. Those that are planned well and leverage the advantages of digital technology, tend to outdo the traditional subscription businesses.
In this blog, we look at the Shopify subscription strategy of frozen meal subscription by Fresh Chef.
If you’re looking for tips and Shopify subscription strategies for your business, get started with reading this blog.
What is the Fresh Chef Frozen Meals subscription?
Fresh Chef Frozen Meals is a frozen meal food brand. The New Zealand-based brand offers meals that are made with fresh ingredients and frozen at the peak of freshness, keeping nutrients and flavors intact. The brand offers one-time purchases as well as subscriptions.
Meals bought through subscriptions provide price benefits to customers. Apart from that, this Shopify subscription strategy focuses on convenience, flexibility, and customer satisfaction. The brand offers meals that cater to multiple diet types, including vegetarian, non vegetarian, vegan, and combos.
Fresh Chef Frozen Meals Shopify subscription strategy breakdown & takeaways
The food subscription market is projected to grow from USD 6.19 billion in 2025 to USD 11.78 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 9.63%. This rise in the market is also leading to increased competition within brands in the industry. Among the many brands that have got their subscription models right, is Fresh Chef. We dissect the brand’s subscription model features and share takeaways that you can apply to your Shopify subscription strategy.
1. A dedicated page for subscriptions
The Shopify website of Frozen Chef has a dedicated page for subscriptions. This page includes all the details about its subscription plans, how to place orders, among other details.
Having a dedicated page or space makes it easy for customers to find information and leads to a better customer experience. Believe it or not, but this simple Shopify subscription strategy can make a huge difference to customer experience. Moreover, it is also a way for brands to show that their program is an important part of their business.
2. Offers three subscription tiers to choose from
Fresh Chef offers three different frozen meal subscription tiers to choose from. The three tiers are based on the number of meals – 6, 8, and 16 meals. Here are some of the positives from this format:
- Keeping the number of subscription tiers minimal and simple makes it easy for customers to choose. It keeps away decision fatigue
- Features of the three plans remain the same; only the number of meals change. This makes it easy for customers to choose a plan
- The pricing of the three plans differs. Plans with 8 and 16 meals have discounted pricing. The price benefits are mentioned under each plan
3. Detailed information on shipping
The page also includes detailed information about shipping.
Proper shipping and logistics is as important as the quality of products in subscription models. Delayed deliveries or damaged products can lead to poor customer experience. It can also increase the churn rate.
To ensure seamless shipping and transparency, Fresh Chef frozen meal subscription shared detailed information on the subscription page. The brand shares details about:
- The shipping calendar for the current month
- Days when deliveries are available and not available
- Holidays and rural shipping availability schedule
- Delivery timing
- Cut off timing
- Names and details of courier companies
4. Flexibility features
Flexibility is essential because it allows customers to tailor the subscription experience to their requirements. This Shopify subscription strategy leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Around 17% of customers say flexibility and 32% say convenience are factors that lead their subscription sign-up decision.
Fresh Chef frozen meal subscription allows customers a high level of flexibility. Customers can change, skip, or cancel subscription delivery when they want to. Customers can simply go to the Shopify store’s ‘Manage My Subscription’ function to make these changes.
Apart from this, subscribers can also choose their delivery frequency from every 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks. Additionally, subscribers can also add a note with their orders, driving more customization and personalization.
5. Easy cancellation policy
Subscriptions have a high rate of cancellation due to many factors, including, subscription fatigue caused by too many subscriptions, increasing fees, rigid policies, etc. Having an easy cancellation flow and policy is a critical factor.
As customers sign up for long-term associations, they prefer to have easy cancellation if they wish to discontinue their subscription plan. Fresh Chef has made cancellation easy for subscribers.
A dedicated page for cancellation policy shares the following details:
- Cancellation via website and email
- Changes to meals
- Order cut off day
- Default recurring
6. Multiple meal options
The Fresh Chef offers multiple meal options for subscribers to choose from. This ensures different subscriber segments’ requirements are met and the brand can cater to a wide range of customers. Brands must set up Shopify subscription strategies to cater to multiple customer segments.
For instance, the brand offers veg only, veg and meat, seafood, and other options. Each frozen food option comes with a detailed description and meal label, including ingredient details.
When subscribers have many options, it keeps their subscription experience exciting. They can try new products in every delivery and keep boredom and monotony away. Boredom is another reason customers cancel subscriptions after a while.
7. Mobile optimized subscription experience
In a survey, 73% web designers said non-responsive design is one of the key reasons why visitors leave websites. With an increase in mobile commerce, customers expect a seamless mobile experience. Hence, eCommerce brands should keep mobile users in mind when designing their subscription site.
Fresh Chef has a mobile optimized website, which enhances its subscription experience. The images, text, layout, and speed are optimized for mobile screens, which helps the brand attract traffic from mobile users as well.
8. Discount on higher tier subscription plans
One of the biggest advantages of signing up for subscriptions is discounted pricing. For brands, this is an effective marketing tactic. And Fresh Chef ensures it lets customers know about the discounts it offers.
From the three meal subscription options, two offer discounts, mentioned against the original price one would pay if bought individually. This is a great Shopify subscription strategy to attract subscribers.
Key takeaways from Fresh Chef Shopify subscription strategy
In this section, we put together key takeaways based on the points discussed above. These takeaways can give you an overview of how to plan your Shopify subscriptions.
Ensure cohesiveness and consistency
Plan your subscription program strategically before starting off. Ensure you use an efficient Shopify subscription app that allows you to have a comprehensive set of features, such as discounts and integrations.
Prioritize clarity and simplicity
Clear information, easy UX, and quick access to information can enhance your Shopify subscription strategy. It gives a good experience to customers, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty rates.
Keep a customer-focused approach
Customers like brands that focus on them, understand them, and personalize their experiences. Fresh Chef ensures customer-focus by building trust via features such as transparent shipping information, clear communication, etc. Moreover flexibility and easy cancellation procedure, too, leads to a better customer experience.
Integrate an efficiency subscriptions app
With new and advanced digital features, eCommerce brands are not only competing with product quality, but also the digital experience of subscribers. This is possible because of intuitive subscription apps, such as Appstle Subscription App.
Create an attractive value proposition
Factors such as a wide range in the inventory, such as multiple meal options; tiered pricing structure and visible discounts; and mobile optimization ensure a seamless experience and attract customers.
Create sustainable revenue
Fresh Chef Shopify subscription strategy demonstrates how a well-designed subscription model can provide sustainable revenue, reduce churn, and maximize convenience for customers. By addressing your customers’ pain points, you can set up a successful subscription model.
Get started with your Shopify subscription strategy
The above frozen meals subscription strategies can help you give you tips and cues for your Shopify business. However, you may not want to apply all the strategies at one go. Rather, you could try out different strategies and identify the ones that work well for your business goals and customer preference.
To set up these strategies and automate your subscription business, you will have to partner with an efficient Shopify subscription app, such as Appstle Subscriptions.
Appstle Subscriptions App provides advanced features, including discounts, marketing, tiered subscription plans, 1-click checkout, efficient subscription management tools, and more.
With Appstle, you can ensure easy third-party app integrations, multiple payment options, and achieve higher customer engagement rates. Moreover, Appstle’s 24x7x365 customer service ensures your Shopify store is always on.
Install Appstle Subscription App on your Shopify store today!
