Cutting out the agency added 32% more subscribers for a leading UK meal-kit brand

The challenge

A UK-based recipe kit company had built a strong brand around high-quality, affordable meals, but the meal-kit market was getting crowded fast. Growing the subscriber base meant competing harder for the same audiences, and the team knew that chasing sign-up volume alone wasn't a viable strategy. Subscribers who cancelled after the first trial period were expensive and unsustainable. The company needed more trial starts, yes… but they needed the right kind: consumers likely to subscribe, engage, and stay active for at least six weeks.

The solution

Fluent added rewarded inventory to the company's customer acquisition mix, connecting the brand with millions of engaged UK-based consumers already open to discovering and trying new subscription offers. Spanning more than half a dozen owned and operated digital properties, Fluent gave the company meaningful reach beyond its existing channels, without the complexity of adding more third-party partners.

First-party data collected across Fluent's owned portfolio helped sharpen audience targeting toward consumers more likely to subscribe and stay. The teams also ran creative testing across landing pages and price points, building a clearer picture of what moved new audiences from discovery to sign-up. 

Direct media buying supplemented the company's existing social efforts, giving the acquisition strategy more surface area without more moving parts.

Why it worked

Rewarded inventory created a natural discovery moment for a product that's easy to understand and genuinely useful in everyday life. Better audience targeting improved both conversion and retention. And working directly with Fluent, rather than through an agency, gave both teams more room to test and optimize together.

The result

Sign-up volume increased 32% compared to working through an agency. The campaign delivered more than 73,500 trial starts at a 29.23% average conversion rate. And 40% of new subscribers acquired through rewarded inventory remained active at the six-week mark.