From Zero to 5,000 Subscriptions in 10 Months

What if the secret to building a subscription brand isn't clever retention tricks? Joe Welstead took his electrolyte company OSHUN from zero to over 5,000 subscribers in just 10 months, achieving a 42% subscription signup rate and 5% conversion rate.

Episode Summary

In this episode, we explore how Joe built OSHUN with a deliberately different approach to his previous venture-backed, multi-SKU supplement company. After selling that business in 2022, he chose the opposite path: one product, bootstrapped, subscription-first from day one. We discuss why launching with a single SKU is more freeing than multiple products, how spreading decisions across the customer journey reduces analysis paralysis, the exact tech stack powering their subscription engine (Skio, Klaviyo, UpCart, AfterSell), and how a supply chain constraint accidentally created their refill pouch model.

Key Point Timestamps:

08:37 - The chaos packaging that got everyone talking

18:53 - Why one SKU beats twelve

27:52 - The product-first subscription philosophy

29:05 - Building the subscription tech stack

33:26 - Obsessing over customer experience

The Single-SKU Advantage (18:53)

Joe's previous supplement company had multiple products, venture backing, and all the complexity that comes with scale. With OSHUN, he deliberately chose the opposite path.

"The experience as a founder of launching a brand with multiple SKUs is completely different to the experience of launching with one SKU," Joe explains. "Launching with one SKU for somebody who likes to be creative and who likes to explain the product in the most eloquent way possible is so much more freeing and enjoyable."

With his previous company, every piece of marketing became diluted. With OSHUN, his entire job became distilling one product's benefits and communicating them beautifully. That focus shows in everything from their advertising to their website.

The Product-First Philosophy (27:52)

In a world where subscription brands obsess over retention hacks and loyalty points, Joe's approach is refreshingly direct.

"We're not in the game of providing gimmicks to keep people roped in," Joe shares. "We have a really good product. We really believe in it. And if you feel the benefits, you're going to be fine and happy with a little bit of money going out every month towards refilling it."

This philosophy underpins everything OSHUN does. The product has to work. Everything else follows from there.

The Subscription Engine (29:05)

OSHUN's subscription success is built on a carefully considered tech stack. Joe started with Shopify's native subscription app but moved to Skio after a few months.

"Even if you're not subscribed and you log in, you think you're logging into Shopify, but actually you're logging into Skio," Joe explains. "Everything's there. Your whole order history, your subscription details. It's all in that one login."

They send billing reminders five days before renewal with three quick actions, including a "skip for two weeks" option. Joe's reasoning: "If you have a little bit extra, the default might be 'I need to cancel this.' If there's a really easy skip by two weeks, hopefully it makes sense for everyone."

Reducing Decision Fatigue (33:26)

Joe's obsession with customer experience led him to rethink how most e-commerce sites handle product pages.

"One thing that I really dislike is when a brand overloads you with a bunch of decisions upfront on a product page," he explains. "There's pack size, frequency, flavour... all these decisions, bam, in your face before you've really committed to it."

OSHUN's product page doesn't even have a quantity selector. You either click "subscribe and add to cart" or "buy once and add to cart." Additional decisions happen later in the cart, giving people "bite-sized decisions rather than just lumping it all on you."

Today's Guest

Today's guest: Joe Welstead

Company: OSHUN

Website: drinkoshun.co

LinkedIn: Joe Welstead

Instagram: @drinkoshun

Episode link: https://www.ecommerce-podcast.com/from-zero-to-5000-subscriptions-in-10-months