How ButcherBox Turned SMS from Afterthought to Growth Engine with Postscript
ButcherBox’s partnership with Postscript led to a 333% YoY growth in SMS opt-ins, 284% YoY increase in SMS-attributed revenue, and best of all the Postscript team got them live in time for SMS to deliver a huge win on the channel for BFCM.
From side project to power channel: How ButcherBox scaled SMS with heart
"SMS is at the table. It's no longer just a side project—it’s a legitimate marketing channel that drives results."
Mike Kumlin
Associate Director of Marketing Technology
When SMS was just a shipping alert
When Mike Kumlin first started pushing SMS at ButcherBox, it wasn’t a strategy. It was a shipping alert.
Email owned the spotlight. SMS was just a box-checking exercise - a transactional add-on to notify customers their box was on the way. “We had the means to send SMS, but no real direction,” Mike said.
At the time, ButcherBox was using Klaviyo for SMS. It got the job done, but the experience was manual, support was limited, and the team felt they were flying solo.
Despite wanting to evolve the channel into something more strategic, Mike and team were stuck in the weeds. “It was incredibly manual, incredibly time-consuming, and we needed strategic support.”
Eventually, burnout set in. The SMS list was stagnant. Engagement was soft. And Mike, along with ButcherBox leadership, knew they were leaving revenue on the table.
The moment it turned into a channel
Switching to Postscript was more than a vendor swap. It was a relaunch.
“Moving to Postscript was like stepping onto a fully manned cruise ship,” said Mike. “The infrastructure was already there to support us. We stopped worrying about how to send a text and started focusing on what we wanted this channel to do.”
Right away, Mike got something he'd never had before: a partner. Kate Lee, Senior Client Strategist at Postscript Plus, became a core part of their team. As Mike puts it, "I’m the father of SMS here, but Kate’s helped raise it into something that truly drives value." “We check in weekly. Her feedback is incredibly valuable. She’s helped us refine this channel into something that is significantly growing.”
And they didn’t just send better texts. They built better experiences.
A recipe hotline over SMS
With Postscript, ButcherBox launched "Hey Chef," a behavior-triggered SMS experience designed around utility and care. Customers who purchased tricky-to-cook cuts like brisket or salmon received real-time texts prompting them to reply for expert cooking tips. It was part recipe hotline, part brand love letter.
"We don’t want it to feel transactional—we want there to be some heart to it," said Mike. This kind of proactive, emotionally intelligent SMS moment helped redefine how the brand connected with its members.
Alongside "Hey Chef," ButcherBox brought new sophistication to the SMS channel:
Secure Shopify coupon flows: Delivered single-use codes inside SMS to reduce leakage and boost conversion
Smarter list growth: Optimized popups and segmentation strategies drove more opt-ins and better attribution
Better support tooling: Campaign message tracking streamlined resolution for customer service issues
This wasn’t just operational efficiency. It was emotional intelligence at scale. We felt with previous platforms their SMS product felt half-baked,” said Mike. “Postscript helps us create moments that matter.”
“We’re member-obsessed,” said Mike. “We want every SMS to feel like a real moment, not just a transaction. Postscript lets us do that.”
Cooking up big wins
Where they're headed
Plenty of platforms send texts. Postscript helped ButcherBox build a program.
Strategic Partnership: “We’re not just another invoice. You guys have our back.”
Emotional Personalization: From one-way alerts to conversations that add value
Operational Simplicity: Less time troubleshooting. More time building
Vision Alignment: Tools that match their brand values—loyalty, service, and simplicity
Ready to make SMS your #1 revenue channel?
Fill out the form to get in touch with our team, and they’ll show you everything our platform has to offer—and why Postscript is the leading SMS marketing solution for the biggest brands on Shopify.