How Erewhon Fuels Growth With Braze

Erewhon is more than a grocery store—it’s a destination for those who prioritize wellness, premium products, and a strong sense of community. As the brand flourished, customers began to expect digital experiences that mirrored Erewhon’s distinct ethos. They weren’t just looking for products; they wanted thoughtful interactions that recognized their loyalty and aligned with their values and lifestyle.

To meet these evolving expectations, Erewhon needed to reimagine its digital marketing strategy. They recognized that engagement fosters trust, loyalty, and a sense of belonging within their community—and those engaged customers become advocates who share their positive experiences, fueling organic growth and strengthening Erewhon’s reputation as a leader in health and wellness.

The first step was to find a tool that could scale with their ambitions and connect with customers across multiple channels in a personal and authentic way. Braze quickly became the partner of choice for their journey.

Why Braze was the clear choice for Erewhon

When Jonathan Brooks joined Erewhon to lead their digital strategy, it was clear their existing platform had outlived its usefulness. With his experience implementing Braze in a previous role, he knew the impact it could have on scaling personalized, cross-channel campaigns.

The search for a new platform came down to a couple of options, but Braze set itself apart from the very beginning. Other platforms felt like they lacked robust support and the ability to provide strategic guidance, while Braze felt like a partner that could support Erewhon’s customer engagement ambitions and growth. As Jonathan explained, “We needed more sophistication, more channels. Braze gave us confidence they could grow with us compared to other platforms. With Braze, we are able to deliver highly personalized experiences across multiple channels, aligning perfectly with our mission to inspire healthier living. We also feel like we have a true thought partner in Braze—they share our vision for growth as we look to expand our channels and implement new strategies.”

Additionally, Erewhon chose Braze for its extensive partner ecosystem. In order to fuel real-time, reactive, and personalized experiences for its customers, the brand relies on:

• Zapier: Erewhon leverages Zapier as a low-lift, low-code tool alternative for non-engineering stakeholders to stand up simpler data connections.
• Shopify: Shopify integrates seamlessly with Braze to provide real-time insights into customer behavior, purchase history, and preferences. This integration enables Erewhon to deliver timely, relevant communications, such as order confirmations, abandoned cart reminders, and personalized product recommendations.

Building a strong foundation for loyalty and growth

Once the decision was made, Erewhon hit the ground running. Their first priority was engaging loyalty program members with campaigns that felt personal and relevant. Using Braze Canvas, a journey orchestration tool, they launched over 30 intricate, multi-step journeys that are tailored to their customers’ preferences.

Personalization quickly became a cornerstone of their strategy. Using Liquid, Erewhon incorporated details like loyalty statuses into their messaging, adding thoughtful touches to every interaction. The team found the Braze platform intuitive and easy to navigate, empowering them to execute sophisticated campaigns efficiently. Multivariate testing also became a routine practice, helping them continuously refine their efforts to better meet customer needs and maximize campaign performance.

To achieve the level of personalization that fosters a deep connection with their customers, Erewhon leverages multiple methods to bring data into Braze and share it with external destinations:

• SDK: Erewhon's mobile app integrates Braze’s SDK to collect real-time user behavior, app activity, and engagement data directly.
• API: The team utilizes APIs to push transactional and profile data, ensuring that messaging remains timely and relevant.
• Webhooks: Webhooks enable Erewhon to pull in specific event data, such as order confirmations or membership updates, enhancing their communication strategy.
• CSV Uploads: For one-time data updates.
• BigQuery: They utilize Google BigQuery to serve as their CDP and central hub for aggregating data, which is then transferred to Braze for deeper segmentation and campaign personalization.

This comprehensive approach ensures Erewhon’s data flows efficiently, enabling the team to deliver exceptional customer experiences across all touchpoints.

Driving app engagement with a personalized, cross-channel strategy

One of the first campaigns Erewhon launched was a targeted campaign aimed at boosting mobile app engagement among new members, specifically focused on increasing app activity within the first 90 days of onboarding. Recognizing that cross-channel customers who transact digitally are three times more valuable, Erewhon utilized a mix of email, SMS, push notifications, and in-app messages to reach their audience effectively.

• Step one: Identify KPIs and segment the audience
  • Erewhon focused on KPIs such as: (i) mobile app orders within the first 90 days of onboarding, (ii) frequency of orders, and (iii) average basket size. Based on these goals, they segmented their audience into three groups:
    • Plus Members: Members who subscribed to Erewhon’s premium loyalty membership tier.
    • Cafe Members: Members who frequently engaged with Erewhon’s cafe offerings.
    • Non-Members: Customers without a membership.
• Step two: Analyze customer lifecycle data
  • Erewhon partnered with internal teams to analyze existing customer data and identify key moments in the lifecycle when customers were most or least likely to order via the app. This analysis informed their strategy for driving app engagement, ensuring they triggered messages at the right moments and addressed potential drop-off points effectively.
• Step three: Build dynamic and personalized messages
  • Erewhon created dynamic messages for each channel (email, in-app messaging, and push notifications) in Braze. By utilizing personalized data (such as previous orders and engagement history), combined with action-based triggers, they ensured each customer received a tailored experience to promote and incentivize their next app order.
• Step four: Design the final Canvas and implement tracking
  • The Canvas was carefully designed in Braze to track customer interactions and measure success against the established KPIs. Erewhon mapped out each touchpoint to ensure a seamless journey while avoiding overburdening customers with excessive messaging.

• Step five: Launch and optimize
  • Erewhon launched the campaign in phases, closely monitoring engagement. By staggering sends and leveraging real-time data, they optimized the experience for each audience segment and ensured operational success.

The campaign took just six weeks from ideation to launch, and its success directly supports Erewhon’s core mission of fostering meaningful connections with their customers and promoting healthier lifestyles, meeting them where they are. This campaign also exemplified how Braze has become a vital part of their CRM strategy, helping Erewhon deliver on its commitment to innovation and customer-first engagement.

Lastly, Erewhon was able to launch a net new subscription order product, made possible by Braze handling all automated transactional messaging via SMS and email.

Results: More mobile app orders, which tie back to Erewhon’s customer retention and revenue goals

The campaign achieved impressive results, driving a 20% lift in mobile order engagement with ~50% of recipients placing a mobile order within 90 days. These results not only exceeded their expectations, but also solidified the app as a key channel for customer interactions and revenue growth. They’ve roughly doubled their MAU volume since launching with Braze.

Additionally, automation through Braze has saved Erewhon operational resources, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives while still delivering timely, impactful campaigns. Specifically, the marketing team has seen a ~33% reduction in the time to stand up a campaign.

They’ve also used the platform’s analytics and reporting tools to gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior and make data-driven decisions to refine their strategies further.

With Braze, Erewhon has built a strong foundation for its digital marketing and is excited to expand on that momentum as they explore more advanced capabilities. They launched 30+ new new core customer engagement series across the customer funnel (acquisition, engagement, retention) utilizing all four key channels (email, push, in-app messages, and SMS).

“Braze has been instrumental in transforming how we connect with our customers, enabling us to deliver personalized, timely, and impactful messaging at scale. Its powerful tools and seamless integrations have driven higher engagement and stronger loyalty across our community.”

Jonathan Brooks

Senior Director of Strategy, Erewhon

What’s next for Erewhon

Looking ahead, Erewhon is doubling down on personalization to deliver even more meaningful experiences for their customers. They’re exploring AI-powered recommendations and dynamic product catalogs to create smarter, more relevant messaging at every touchpoint. The team is also excited to embed personalized content directly into their app using Braze Content Cards™, offering a seamless way to engage users where they already are.

Geofencing and advanced testing are also on the horizon as Erewhon continues to experiment with new ways to connect with their audience. With Braze, they’re confident in their ability to stay ahead of evolving customer expectations and make every interaction feel as thoughtful and intentional as the brand itself.

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