---
title: "Sample-to-subscription offers for supplement brands"
description: "A half-size sample shipped free, then a subscription, for supplement brands on sourced costs: what each sample loses, and the share of samplers who have to subscribe to pay for it."
url: https://offersuite.io/playbooks/sample-to-subscription-for-supplement-brands
updated: 2026-10-13
---

# Sample-to-subscription offers for supplement brands

A half-size sample shipped free, then a subscription, for supplement brands on sourced costs: what each sample loses, and the share of samplers who have to subscribe to pay for it.

### Sample, shipped free

Revenue $9.49 to contribution margin −$9.29 (−97.9%)

Revenue

$9.49

Cost of goods

−$5.24

Pick and pack

−$3.20

Shipping label

−$9.29

Card fee per order

−$0.30

Refunds

−$0.47

Card processing

−$0.28

Contribution margin

−$9.29

2 declared kinds cost nothing on this option

### Sample, shipping charged

Revenue $18.78 to contribution margin −$0.73 (−3.9%)

Revenue

$18.78

Cost of goods

−$5.24

Pick and pack

−$3.20

Shipping label

−$9.29

Card fee per order

−$0.30

Refunds

−$0.94

Card processing

−$0.54

Contribution margin

−$0.73

2 declared kinds cost nothing on this option

The sample order, shipped free and with shipping charged

| Option | Customer pays | Shipping charged | Costs | Margin | Margin % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sample, shipped free | $9.49 | $0.00 | $18.78 | −$9.29 | -97.9% |
| Sample, shipping charged | $9.49 | $9.29 | $19.51 | −$0.73 | -3.9% |

The subscription a sampler moves to, per order

| Option | Customer pays | Shipping charged | Costs | Margin | Margin % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| First subscription order | $28.47 | $0.00 | $25.51 | $2.96 | 10.4% |
| Renewal | $28.46 | $0.00 | $25.51 | $2.95 | 10.4% |

The share of samplers who have to subscribe, at three retention rates

| Subscribers who take the next order | Profit per subscriber over 12 orders | Samplers who have to subscribe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 50.0% take the next order | $5.91 | no share is enough |
| 70.0% take the next order | $9.71 | 95.7% |
| 85.0% take the next order | $16.88 | 55.0% |

Every figure is computed by the margin engine in Offer Suite's own code, in whole cents, from the costs below.

## What the numbers say

The sample is a half-size bottle of supplements at $9.49, a quarter of the full price, shipped free. Its unit cost is $5.24, and the order pays the same pick and pack and a $9.29 label, so each sample loses $9.29.

A sampler who subscribes takes the subscription as its own playbook prices it: the first order keeps $2.96 and each renewal keeps $2.95. If 70.0% take each next order, that subscriber earns $9.71 over twelve orders. So 95.7% of samplers have to subscribe for the samples to pay for themselves.

Charging the $9.29 label on the sample changes that order to one that loses $0.73, and fewer visitors will take it. The half size and the quarter price are this page's terms, not sourced figures: a sample that costs less to make or to ship needs a smaller share.

Nature's Sunshine's Subscribe & Thrive takes 25% off every subscription order and ships it free. [Nature's Sunshine, Subscribe & Thrive, read 23 September 2026](https://www.naturessunshine.com/subscribe-and-thrive)

## The cost structure, and where it comes from

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Price | $37.95, a bottle of supplements. [Nature's Sunshine homepage, read 23 September 2026](https://www.naturessunshine.com/) |
| Unit cost | $10.47. From the reported gross margin: “Gross margin in 2025 increased to 72.4% compared to 71.5% in 2024.” [Nature's Sunshine, fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, read 23 September 2026](https://ir.naturessunshine.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/267/natures-sunshine-reports-strong-fourth-quarter-and-full) |
| Pick and pack | $3.20 per order and $0.48 for each extra item. [Fulfill.com, 3PL pricing benchmarks (The Fulfillment Advisor 2025 survey of 600+ warehouses), read 23 September 2026](https://www.fulfill.com/3pl-pricing) |
| Shipping label | USPS Ground Advantage, commercial, Zone 5, by weight rounded up to the pound: 1 lb $9.29 · 2 lb $10.50 · 3 lb $12.12 · 4 lb $13.89 · 5 lb $14.53. Packed weight is an assumption: 0.5 lb per unit. [USPS Notice 123, USPS Ground Advantage Commercial, Zone 5 (effective 4 October 2026), read 13 October 2026](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) |
| Card fees | 2.9% + $0.30 per order: Shopify Payments' online rate for a standard card on the Basic plan in the United States. Higher plans pay a lower rate, and premium cards a higher one. [Shopify's pricing page for the United States, online standard card rates, read 12 October 2026](https://www.shopify.com/pricing) [Rates by plan and country](https://offersuite.io/fees/shopify-payments/united-states) |
| Refund reserve | 5%, Offer Suite's default assumption for consumables. NRF's all-category figure for online sales is 19.3%, but consumables are rarely returned; use your own rate. |
| Gift | A travel-size bottle: unit cost $5.24, retail $15.00. A half-size bottle, costed at half the full bottle's unit cost. |

## The offer, as an agent writes it

An agent writes this offer as one document for Offer Suite's API, validated against the offer schema. Below is one option of it: what the buyer gets and the price it promises. Offer Suite checks with a real cart that checkout charges exactly the prices above.

**Show one option 2 options · excerpt**

```
{
  "key": "sample",
  "display": {
    "title": "Sample"
  },
  "lines": [
    {
      "role": "main",
      "quantity": 1,
      "purchase": {
        "type": "one_time"
      }
    }
  ],
  "pricing": {
    "promise": {
      "firstChargeCents": 949,
      "renewalChargeCents": null
    }
  }
}
```

How Offer Suite validates, versions and publishes a document like this one: [offer documents](https://offersuite.io/features/offer-documents).

## Questions

### Is a sample-to-subscription offer profitable for supplement brands?

On these costs each half-size sample at $9.49, shipped free, loses $9.29, and a subscriber earns $9.71 over twelve orders at 70.0% retention. The offer is profitable when enough samplers subscribe to cover every sample sent.

### How many samplers have to subscribe for supplement brands?

At 50.0% retention, no share is enough. At 70.0% retention, 95.7%. At 85.0% retention, 55.0%.

## See what your own offers earn.

Offer Suite opens to Shopify brands a few at a time. Join the waitlist, or ask for a free profit audit of your past orders: realized profit per item and per offer option, what each costs you, and where margin leaks.

[Join the waitlist](https://offersuite.io/waitlist) [Request a free profit audit](https://offersuite.io/profit-audit)

## Related

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- [Feature **Offer documents: one validated document per offer** An offer is one validated, versioned document your agent writes: tiers, bundles, subscriptions, gifts and prices, with no offer types to pick from.](https://offersuite.io/features/offer-documents)
- [Calculator **Subscription payback calculator: CAC and churn** How much a subscriber's first order loses against what you paid to acquire them, how many renewals it takes to earn that back with churn, and in which month.](https://offersuite.io/calculators/subscription-payback)
- [Calculator **Subscription first order vs renewal calculator** Margin on a subscription's first order and on each renewal, and the expected profit per subscriber over time at your retention, against a one-time buyer.](https://offersuite.io/calculators/subscription-first-order-vs-renewal)
- [Benchmark **Supplements benchmarks from annual reports** What 6 US-listed companies selling vitamins, supplements and nutrition programs report: a median gross margin of 75.0%, from 69.4% to 78.3%. Read 13 October 2026.](https://offersuite.io/benchmarks/supplements)
- [Glossary **Retention rate: definition, formula and example** Of subscribers who received an order, the share who receive the next one. Each renewal's profit is weighted by it, so small changes compound quickly.](https://offersuite.io/glossary/retention-rate)