Love at first site.

I’m reviewing a brand I immediately fell in love with for a multitude of reasons. 

1. It’s a tea brand (I’m a tea snob. Traveling with my own tea and creamer kind of snob.)
2. The founder is a South Asian who proudly celebrates her heritage.
3. Their website is a masterclass in how to engage website visitors. 

Brand name: One Stripe Chai

Now before I go off about how there’s no such thing as “Chai Tea” or “Chai Latte”, let me show all the reasons why I’m crushing on this brand so hard. 

1. Their opt-in offer

No discount! 😀

I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see a small brand offer something other than a discount. Their opt-in offer invites you to join their chai club and offers free shipping. The opt-in copy says, “Sign up for your newsletter to get recipes, learn about chai, and get deals.”

Also, that GIF is *chef’s kiss* 

You can bet your ass I immediately subscribed. From a business perspective, offering free shipping is such a smart move because it allows you to protect your profit margin. One Stripe offers you free shipping on your first order and then it’s free shipping on orders over $100. 

Chai lovers are extremely loyal. If they like your chai, they buy in bulk and often for the entire month. Orders can easily cross the $100 mark. Now before I get into their welcome email, there are other things on their website that deserve a shout-out. 

2. Headline and CTA

“Everyone deserves good chai.” is such a short but inclusive statement. Chai lovers are going to feel seen and those new to the chai scene are going to feel welcomed. The call-to-action “Shop Good Chai” is also a no-brainer. Of course, we want to shop for good chai. No one wants bad chai after all.

Side note: The imagery is so well done!

3. Social Proof

Immediately below the header, they’ve placed their media social proof. They’ve been featured in Epicurious, Bon Appetit, Thrillist, Kitchn, and Bustle, and they’re proudly showcasing it. It even links to the review articles! And while you could argue that doing so is taking visitors away from the website, I’d counter-argue that it’s doing the job of building brand authority. 

All those links lead to articles raving about One Stripe Chai’s amazing tea blends. 

4. They feature UGC (user-generated content) on their homepage

And clicking on it doesn’t take you away from the website. Instead, the TikTok video opens on the website as an overlay with the product highlighted on the right for you to add to cart.

And they do it in more than one place!

The same goes for their Instagram. 

They give their Insta feed a prominent spot on their homepage but clicking on the images doesn’t take you away from the website. The images load as an overlay again. (It’s also why I think the decision to link to articles in the “As Seen In” section is deliberate.)

Not to mention, their meme game is spot-on!

There’s more to cover but this blog’s getting too long and I’ve still got the welcome email to review.

Did the welcome email match the incredible website experience?

I’m going to have to say… no. Not because the email wasn’t good. But because it’s breaking a few email rules. The good news is, they can be easily fixed.

You can take a look at the email in detail here.

Here’s what’s working in this email:

1. The copy is nice
2. The design is great
3. The free shipping code is prominently displayed

Here’s where the email’s missing the mark.

1. There’s no “Shop Good Chai” CTA button
2. It’s got a navigation bar at the top which is great for clicks but bad for email sales
3. It needs a higher line space, a bigger font size, and more white space.

To be fair, it’s not a bad email at all. It’s got the same brand tone and voice as the website. It delivers on the promise made in the opt-in form (free shipping), and it makes the subscriber feel welcomed and included – just like you’d want to feel when you join a club.

When brands reach out to me, I often say my focus is on improving customer experience – email’s just my weapon of choice. Going through One Stripe Chai’s website reminded me why customer experience is so important. It’s your one chance to engage with your audience and turn them into customers or subscribers.

For brands – especially newer ones – customer experience starts at their website. For them, the priority is to get the visitor engaging with their brand. And when you think about it, subscribing to a newsletter is brand engagement.

It’s a level above website browsing and a level below buying.

It’s telling a brand, “Hey, you seem interesting. I want to know more.”

It’s giving the brand permission to sell to them.

And that’s HUGE.

– Samar