Fueling recovery while scaling a beverage business

CLEAN Cause is an incredible mission-driven company with a sparkling yerba mate tea that provides a healthier alternative to energy drinks. They give 50% of their net profits or 5% of their net revenues to charities to support people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction as well.

As of fall 2022, CLEAN has generated over $1.8 million to support recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. So, how do they handle the D2C and wholesale fulfillment of a complex shipment operation?

Finding the right shipping solution

Every business knows the importance of cutting expenses and streamlining workflow processes, particularly one that provides so much of its profits to charity. As a business evolves, it’s important to find scalable solutions that can not only keep up with growth but fuel it. CLEAN quickly found out that when you sell 12-packs of 16 oz drinks, shipping prices and fulfillment workload can mount quickly. 

CLEAN found a shipping solution that was getting them by, but it didn’t offer the automations they were looking for, and it certainly didn’t offer them growth potential. Their old workflow still required copying and pasting info between platforms—a process that was costing CLEAN more in labor and cutting into the time efficiencies they needed in order to grow the business. 

A Google search led them to ShipStation, and it helped propel them forward and change the CLEAN game.

“It was a huge improvement from day one for us,” said Courtney. “When we started in 2019, it would cost us about, right over $16 to ship a box to, say New York. Right now, it costs about $13.80,” said Courtney. “So, we’ve seen a really big improvement just being able to integrate those negotiated rates into ShipStation. And our rates got better as we grew our business.”

Automated shipping is crucial for a warehouse. While CLEAN has a team of 39 people, only one or two fulfill orders full-time now, thanks to ShipStation. Whether onboarding a new shipper or just giving someone from another department a crash course during a shipping rush, CLEAN finds that printing labels and packing boxes can be picked up in no time. 

ShipStation’s been able to help make everything faster for our fulfillment department. And if there’s any turnover, it’s really easy for people to pick up how to use the technology and just get to work.

Cortney Hollinger
Director of HR, CLEAN Cause

Businesses supporting businesses: How ShipStation helps CLEAN Cause

Shipping can be a logistical hurdle for businesses. Hollinger was relieved to learn that ShipStation is more than just a shipping tool. While copying and pasting was a complaint for their former solution, ShipStation helped set everything up like clockwork. Not only does ShipStation provide a way for their team to avoid human error, it helps them save time. For instance, if an order needs to ship to one of their subscribers, ShipStation instantly applies tags to the order, and if they need help with workflow support, they’re able to find it from the ShipStation team. 

Cortney explains, “We’ve gotten really good tips and feedback on how to automate more of our processes.” Any time they need to learn how to optimize, CLEAN has gotten help: “ShipStation’s support from day one has been so helpful for us. We got quick answers any time we had issues with just learning to use the technology.”

Shipping insights and workflow automations drive growth

ShipStation’s automated shipping tools are not the only thing that helps scale fulfillment. Being a shipping-management platform lets you see data from across all your selling channels, marketplaces, shopping carts, and more. Reports and insights can really unlock your selling potential. As Cortney explains it, “Through using the insights section on ShipStation, we were able to see that if we could sell two cases of our product instead of one, the shipping rate was exponentially better than if we were trying to sell two people one case.” 

Again, shipping crates of canned drinks can become costly. So, finding ways to save money and increase sales along the way can be a revelation. What they realized was, “We got to use that information and focus our marketing strategies around how to get that bigger average order volume, which has helped save us money on the shipping side, and it also increased our overall sales, too.” Along with their discounted UPS® and USPS® rates, CLEAN is able to grow their customer base, streamline workflows, increase revenue, and save money.  

Running a business is complex, but shipping should be simple. When you’re able to save time in one area, you can focus your efforts on what’s important—like scaling your business, or in the case of CLEAN, giving back to those in need. 

To read about the CLEAN Cause mission or to apply for a scholarship to help you or someone you know on the road to recovery, you can learn more here.