Grind

Overview

Grind, the independent coffee brand rooted in Shoreditch and now known across the UK for its sustainable pink coffee pods, had a challenge many fast-growing DTC brands face: high-intent shoppers were dropping off the site to hunt for discount codes on third-party voucher sites, which meant missed conversions and no control over the customer journey.

Grind needed a way to keep shoppers engaged on their site, drive more verified subscription purchases and avoid the churn that comes with discount search abandonment. Partnering with Gocertify gave Grind the control, flexibility and first-party data they needed to engage key shopper groups, boost subscriptions, and make every offer count.

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Background

Despite a strong product and clear brand identity, the team was seeing a rise in discount-related drop-offs. Shoppers were actively leaving Grind’s site to search for codes, many landing on third-party voucher sites that either didn’t work, weren’t authorised, or sent them to competitors.

Grind wanted a way to control the shopper experience, and to run meaningful offers for key communities like Students and Key Workers, but they lacked the tools to:

• Verify eligibility on-site in real time
• Deliver exclusive rewards at scale
• Capture actionable first-party data for future campaigns

Peak promotional periods, like Back to School or Black Friday, also presented operational headaches. Manual processes meant codes could run out, and one-size-fits-all discounts were starting to eat into margins.

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Strategy & Execution

Together with Gocertify, Grind launched a full-funnel rewards strategy focused on keeping shoppers on-site, improving targeting and increasing repeat purchases. Here’s what we implemented:

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Verified Reward Campaigns

• Exclusive offers for Students and Key Workers, including:
  • 50% off the first subscription
  • 20% off the next two
• Offers were gated through real-time verification, meaning only eligible shoppers could access them

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Smarter On-Site Messaging

• Clear banners and callouts on product pages targeted key groups
• Dynamic on-site messaging placements showed the right message to the right audience, when they were ready to buy
• Campaign messaging was mirrored in email, ensuring a consistent and frictionless experience

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Rapid Campaign Optimisation

• A/B tested different formats, placements and messages to optimise performance
• Used real-time data to adjust and improve campaigns while live

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Event-Based Promotions

• Leveraged key eCommerce moments such as:
  • Black Friday
  • Back to School
  • Student Loan Drop
  • December sales
• Created urgency around time-limited offers to drive high volumes

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Integrations & Special Requirements

A key part of the strategy was building seamless integrations that would support both performance and scale.

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Technical Integration

• Gocertify's verification flow was embedded directly on Grind’s site, particularly on subscription product pages
• Verified Students and Key Workers were rewarded in real time without leaving the brand’s ecosystem

CRM & DataCapture

• First-party data from offer redemptions was fed directly into Klaviyo
• Enabled Grind to build custom segments and run more personalised, high-performing email campaigns to re-engage shoppers

Operational Flexibility

• Gocertify’s platform ensured Grind could generate unlimited codes, especially during high-demand events

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Results

Moving from a third-party to a brand-owned offer strategy delivered incredible results in a short space of time.

• 396% increase in verified customers per month
• 800% uplift in revenue from student and key worker campaigns
• 2,300+ verified sales in just 5 months
• 36% conversion rate on reward-led journeys

Grind took back control of the customer experience by bringing their offers in-house, where they could control the shopper experience, own the shopper data and leverage it for future campaigns.