Behind the Screens: How Hydro Flask, Vuori, and Huel Run Email Marketing

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

Ever wonder what the big brands are doing in your inbox?

Let’s peel back the curtain and break down what email marketing actually looks like behind some of your favorite ecommerce brands…

Key Takeaways:

• Each brand uses a welcome offer of XX% OFF to get email sign-ups

• Frequency and content style vary depending on brand positioning.

• Vuori leverages visual storytelling while Huel leans into education and trust.

• Sales are minimal for premium-positioned brands like Vuori, yet they still drive conversions.

• High-converting brands don’t overcomplicate, just execute consistently on value and visuals.

1. Hydro Flask – Product-Driven, Promo-Friendly

Hydro Flask runs a lean, evergreen strategy. They’re not the most frequent senders but every email has a clear job.

• Signup Offer: 15% off when you subscribe. Simple, direct, gives you a reason to get in their ecosystem.

• Send Frequency: 3x per week—often spaced out to avoid fatigue.

• Content Strategy:

  • Most of their emails are built around seasonal themes (back to school, summer, winter sports).

  • Emails highlight product use cases and benefits—hydration, outdoor durability, style.

• Sales Cadence: About one sale per month, often targeting a specific collection (e.g., tumblers, lids, or accessories).

Key Insight: They rarely offer sitewide sales… just collection specific sales. This keeps their margins high and allows them to not discount their brand.

2. Vuori – Visual Storytelling at Its Finest

Vuori plays in the high-end athleisure space and leans heavily into aesthetics.

• Signup Offer: 20% off + plus gender selection required, to immediately personalize.

• Send Frequency: 5x-6x per week. Yup, you read that right.

• Content Strategy:

  • Their emails are minimalist in copy but rich in visuals.

  • Often use infographics and high-end photography to let the product speak.

  • Emphasis on product drops over promotions.

  • Weekly: 2 product launches + 3 value-driven / content or brand vibe emails.

• Sales? Basically none. They rarely discount outside of their welcome offer of 20% OFF

Takeaway: Vuori proves that you don’t need constant discounts to convert, you just need to look elite and stay top of mind with consistent emails.

3. Huel – The Education + Offer Combo

Huel finds a hybrid approach—educational, benefits-driven, and lightly promotional.

• Signup Offer: 15% off to join the list.

• Send Frequency: 3-4x per week.

• Content Strategy:

  • 1x per week “digest” email—this is a recurring email giving value content: nutrition tips, customer stories, behind-the-scenes.

  • 1-2x sales emails per month (modest offers, targeted at specific products).

  • The rest of their calendar is focused on product benefits, lifestyle integration, and objection handling.

Takeaway: They use content to educate and build trust. Sales come secondary but they still run just enough to drive urgency.

Closing Thoughts:

If you run an ecommerce brand, there’s a lot to steal from these three:

• Offer something on signup. Not just for conversions right off the bat, but to be able to build a relationship to convert on down the line.

• You don’t need to send every day… just at least 3x per week. Whatever you do send, make it consistent.

• Sales aren’t required to make email work. Vuori proves this. Visuals + vibe = conversions.

• Use digest or educational formats (like Huel) to build long-term brand trust.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just know what lane you’re in and EXECUTE.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
Huel

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j_2022x3he0cGneffSOA-rRTvUJtpbta/view?usp=sharing

Notes:
This is a brilliant idea for a recurring theme email.

Doing an educational weekly email like this will keep people subscribed because they don’t want to lose out.

Template of The Day

If you want access to a bank of 134 mix and match templates like this equating to over 5,000+ possible email designs, click here » 

Helpful Links Of The Day

• Psychological process brands use to get you to buy

• Selena Gomez’s marketing needs help

• One email that can make you a lot of money

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max

PS - If you run an ecommerce brand above $50k/mo and you want to have a free email strategy consultation with me, book a call here »

PPS - I have a few different products you can buy. If you purchase any one of these products you get access to my private community of 850+ members with daily posts from me, access to me for support 24/7, and private calls.

• Ecommerce Email Mastery: A 60 lesson course breaking down everything you need to know about ecommerce email marketing in the most concise and organized manner. learn more »

• Mix and Match Email Design Templates: 134 email section templates that can make 5,000+ unique email designs with, learn more »

• QuickFlow Templates: All core 7 core email marketing flows fully templatized with examples, learn more »