The one-tub problem
A lifter sees a creator's ad, buys a 2 lb tub of chocolate peanut butter whey, and finds it chalky. He finishes it because he paid for it. Then he goes back to the brand he used before.
The brand paid to acquire him, and on a low-margin first order that acquisition probably lost money. It did not lose him on quality or price. It lost him on one flavor, and nobody asked.
Sports nutrition customers buy often when it works: protein, creatine and pre-workout are used on every training day. That is why the case study above is about frequency. Getting a customer to 3.4 orders a year means solving flavor fit, timing reorders to how often they train, and running enough fresh creative to keep finding new buyers.
Flavor variety and bundles
Flavor is the product in this category. Our flows and offers treat it that way.
- Make trying flavors cheap. Sample packs or single-serve sticks as a first order, or a "pick two flavors" small-tub bundle. The first purchase should not be a bet on one flavor.
- Ask which flavor they liked. About 10 days after delivery, a one-tap email asks the customer to rate the flavor. The answer is written to the Klaviyo profile as a favorite flavor, or a flavor to avoid.
- Recommend from the rating. The reorder email leads with the flavor they rated highest. A customer who disliked a flavor sees the closest alternative, not a coupon for the same thing.
- Launch flavors to the right people. A new fruit flavor goes first to customers who rated fruit flavors well. Chocolate fans hear about it later, if at all.
Bundles here are stacks, built by goal:
| Goal | Stack | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Build strength | Protein, creatine, pre-workout | Customers who bought any one of the three |
| Endurance | Electrolytes, carbohydrate fuel, recovery protein | Customers who said they run, ride or swim |
| Lean out | Protein, low-calorie pre-workout, electrolytes | Seasonal, in the lead-in to summer |
Replenishment by training days, not calendar days
A daily supplement runs out on a fixed date. A tub of protein does not. A 30-serving tub lasts 30 days for someone who has a shake every day, and about seven weeks for someone who trains four days a week and only uses it after training.
So we ask. The post-purchase flow asks how many days a week the customer trains and when they use the product. That answer sets the expected run-out date, and the reminder lands about a week before it. Customers who skip the question get the brand's own median time between orders for that tub size, taken from Shopify.
Creatine works differently again: one small scoop a day, every day, so it behaves like a daily supplement and the reminder follows the serving count. One account can need three different reminder rules.
Training cycles and season timing
Fitness goals follow the year, and so does demand. We build the campaign calendar around when training goals start, and segment by goal so each group hears about its own season.
| Moment | Lead-in | Angle |
|---|---|---|
| New year goals | Late December | Starter stacks for new and returning lifters |
| Summer cut | Spring | Lean-out stacks, high-protein low-calorie options |
| Race season | A few weeks before major spring and fall races | Fuel and electrolytes, race-day plans |
| Team preseason | Before school and league seasons | Recovery, hydration, team and coach orders |
| Off-season build | After a season ends | Mass-building protein, creatine |
The goal property comes from the quiz, the post-purchase question or the products bought. A customer who buys electrolytes and carbohydrate fuel is an endurance athlete whether or not they told us.
Subscription vs one-off
Subscriptions suit some sports nutrition products and fail on others.
- Good fits: protein and creatine for people who use them on every training day. Offer a flavor swap on each shipment so the subscription does not lock in flavor fatigue.
- Poor fits: stimulant pre-workouts that many people cycle on and off, and seasonal fuel products. Pushing these into a monthly plan creates cancellations and complaints.
- Flavor explorers: customers who rarely buy the same flavor twice. They respond to new-flavor drops and bundles, not subscriptions.
The case study's frequency came from LTV-focused Klaviyo flows across both types of buyer, not from forcing everyone into a subscription. We decide the mix by product, from order data.
Athlete and creator UGC at high frequency
The case study ran high-frequency UGC ads. In sports nutrition the feed is crowded with similar gym content, so a winning ad wears out quickly and the next one has to be ready.
Our creative formats for this category:
- The scoop and shake. A real gym floor, a real shaker, and the mix test. Does it clump?
- The honest taste test, with the first sip on camera.
- "What I take before training," with the product as one part of a real routine.
- A coach or dietitian reading the label, explaining protein per serving, sweeteners and what the numbers mean.
- Athletes in their own sport. A runner, a climber and a powerlifter each sell to their own crowd. We brief creators by sport, not just by follower count.
Each week we test new concepts, then add new hooks to the winners and move them into scaling campaigns. Creators who disclose a paid relationship clearly keep the brand on the right side of the FTC endorsement rules, and we check that before an ad runs.
Claims and banned substances
Sports nutrition products are mostly sold as dietary supplements in the US, so the structure/function rules apply: "supports muscle recovery" describes a function, while claims about treating or preventing disease do not belong in an ad. Performance numbers in ads ("add 20 lbs to your bench") need evidence, and a single creator's results are not it.
Athletes in tested sports have one more question: will this cause a failed test? Third-party programs answer it. NSF Certified for Sport says it tests for 290 stimulants, narcotics, steroids, diuretics, beta-2-agonists, masking agents and other substances. If a product carries a certification like this, we make it visible in ads aimed at competitive athletes. If it does not, we keep those ads general and never imply it is safe for drug-tested competition.
Product page CRO for sports nutrition
- Ratings per flavor, not only per product, beside the flavor selector.
- Cost per serving and protein per serving under each tub size. These are the numbers buyers compare.
- The nutrition panel as readable text, including sweeteners and allergens.
- Mixability notes: water or milk, shaker or blender, and how it tastes with each.
- Stack bundles on each product page, by goal.
- Subscription with a visible flavor swap, so the customer sees they will not be stuck with one taste.
Sorted has worked with 100+ D2C brands that did $425M in Shopify revenue in 2025, with $30M+ in managed ad spend at a 4.5x average ROAS and a 100% US-trained team working US hours. Agencies with fitness clients can have us run this under their brand: see white-label for agencies. Other categories are on the industries page, including a separate playbook for daily wellness supplements.