How ControlF5 Turned BREO BOX Into a Subscription-Powered Shopify Growth Machine
Two childhood friends. One shared obsession with finding the next great life-hack, gadget, or daily upgrade. That’s the story behind BREO BOX, and it’s the kind of brand story that deserves a website that feels just as personal and exciting as the boxes it sells.
By the time Aleks and Chadi came to ControlF5, BREO BOX had already shipped close to 100,000 curated boxes since 2016.
What they needed next wasn’t a redesign; it was a Shopify store built from the ground up to match the scale they were heading toward: fast, personalized, conversion-ready, and wired into a stack of apps built around a true Shopify subscription model that could turn one-time buyers into long-term subscription members.
Here’s how we built it.
The Brief
BREO BOX curates the products people actually use, tech, wellness, and everyday upgrades, and ships them out as a surprise every season.
Every product earns its spot by passing one test: would our members actually use this?
ControlF5 was brought in to design and develop the entire Shopify storefront from scratch on the Broadcast theme, then connect it to a complete commerce stack covering subscriptions and Shopify subscription management, personalization, upsells, retention marketing, urgency, testing, partnerships, and analytics.
- Industry
- Project
- Technology
- Website
Challenges
Subscription brands don’t just need a storefront; they need an engine that keeps members engaged long after the first box ships.
Before this build, BREO BOX was operating with a setup that couldn’t keep pace with where the brand was headed:
1. No Purpose-Built Subscription Storefront
The existing setup wasn’t designed around a proper Shopify subscription model, recurring billing, plan changes, or member self-service.
Members who wanted to pause a delivery, swap a plan, or update payment details had no clean way to do it, which meant more support tickets and more chances for someone to cancel out of frustration rather than choice.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Shopping Experience
Every visitor saw the same homepage, the same featured products, and the same offers, whether they were a brand-new visitor discovering BREO BOX for the first time or a loyal subscription member on their tenth box.
There was no mechanism to surface relevant add-ons or remind returning members why they subscribed in the first place.
3. Revenue Left at Checkout
There was no structured way to increase order value once a customer had already decided to buy.
No post-purchase upsells, no cross-sells based on what was already in the cart, and no add-on protection for shipments- all missed opportunities to grow AOV without adding any extra acquisition cost.
4. Disconnected Marketing Channels
Email, SMS, retargeting ads, and affiliate tracking were all running as separate efforts with no shared view of performance.
The marketing team couldn’t easily tell which channel was actually driving repeat purchases or repeat subscription renewals, or where the budget was being wasted on audiences that had already converted.
5. No CRO Testing Process
Design tweaks, new offers, and homepage changes were going live based on instinct rather than data. Without a structured A/B testing process, the team had no reliable way to know whether a change actually improved conversion or quietly hurt it.
6. Heavy Theme, Slow Experience
The storefront needed a visually rich, image-heavy layout to do justice to a “what’s inside this month” reveal experience, but that kind of design easily turns into a slow, bloated site if it isn’t built with performance in mind from day one.
Solutions
We approached this as one complete Shopify build, with the website, the Shopify subscription engine, and apps working together from the beginning.
The storefront, the Shopify subscription logic, and the marketing stack were all planned together from day one.
A. Custom Shopify Broadcast Build
We designed and developed the entire BREO BOX storefront from scratch on Shopify’s Broadcast Shopify theme, purpose-built to support a subscription-first shopping journey.
Broadcast was the right choice for BREO BOX’s content-rich subscription experience, although Shopify merchants evaluating newer free theme options often compare it with several of the free Shopify Horizon themes for your Shopify store.
The homepage was built around the “reveal” moment, bold visuals, product storytelling, and clear paths into either a subscribe journey or a one-time purchase, so first-time visitors and returning members both land somewhere relevant.
B. Conversion-Focused PDPs and Collections
Every product and collection page was rebuilt for scannability, with trust signals, value framing, and clear calls-to-action placed where shoppers actually look. The layout was designed to make the value of a subscription obvious at a glance, not buried in copy.
Many of the same principles that helped improve BREO BOX’s conversion performance, clear value communication, trust signals, and friction-free buying paths are essential for any high-converting eCommerce store.
C. Mobile-First, Performance-First Code
Since most subscription traffic starts on a phone, the entire build was approached mobile-first. We also kept the Shopify theme architecture clean and lightweight so that every app added on top, twelve in total, wouldn’t compound into slow load times.
D. Shopify Subscription Logic Built In From the Start
Recharge was wired into the storefront from the beginning rather than added later, so plan selection, billing, and Shopify subscription self-service account management feel like a native part of the site instead of a bolted-on widget.
This approach ensured subscriptions were part of the customer journey from day one rather than being added as an afterthought, which is a common challenge for brands introducing recurring revenue on Shopify.
E. A Connected Shopify App Ecosystem
On top of the storefront, we layered in a set of apps that work together rather than in isolation, personalization feeding upsells, upsells feeding retention flows, and all of it reporting into one analytics view. Five of the most impactful integrations are below.
| Shopify App | Category | What It Does for BREO BOX |
|---|---|---|
| Recharge | Shopify Subscriptions App | Enables recurring subscriptions with self-service options to pause, skip, swap, or cancel plans. |
| Rebuy | Personalization | Delivers AI-powered product recommendations across the homepage, product pages, cart, and checkout journey. |
| Klaviyo | Shopify Email & SMS Marketing Apps | Automates customer journeys including welcome emails, box reveals, abandoned cart recovery, and win-back campaigns. |
| Post Purchase Upsell-ReSell | Upsell & Cross-sell | Increases average order value with post-purchase upsell and cross-sell offers immediately after checkout. |
| Triple Whale | Analytics & Reporting | Provides a single dashboard for tracking ad performance, store metrics, customer behavior, and subscription revenue. |
Results
A from-scratch build on a visually rich theme plus a connected app stack only works if the website stays fast, converts well, and keeps subscription members coming back.
Here’s where the key metrics landed across performance, conversion, engagement, and SEO.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile PageSpeed Score | 46 / 100 | 82 / 100 |
| Average Page Load Time | 4.6s | 2.1s |
| Core Web Vitals Status | Failed | Passed |
| Overall Store Conversion Rate | 1.40% | 2.90% |
| Cart-to-Checkout Rate | 38% | 57% |
| Average Order Value (AOV) | $58 | $74 |
| Bounce Rate | 61% | 44% |
| Average Session Duration | 1m 42s | 2m 56s |
| Organic Sessions (Monthly) | 9,400 | 21,600 |
| Keywords Ranking in Top 10 | 12 | 47 |
These improvements weren’t driven by a single change. They came from aligning store design, subscription management, customer retention, performance optimization, and SEO into one unified Shopify ecosystem.
More Shopify success stories
The BREO BOX project is one of many Shopify stores we’ve helped launch, migrate, and optimize for growth.
1. Gillian Julius
A complete migration from WordPress to Shopify focused on improving speed, usability, and store management.
→ Gillian Julius Case Study: A Smooth Migration from WordPress to Shopify
2. Obi Outfitters
Built a Shopify store from scratch for a growing USA lifestyle brand with a strong focus on mobile shopping and conversions.
→ How ControlF5 Built Obi Outfitters’ Shopify Store from Scratch into a Growing USA Brand
3. Alpine Apothecary
Migrated a wellness brand from WooCommerce to Shopify, creating a faster and more scalable eCommerce experience.
→ Revamping The Alpine Apothecary: WooCommerce to Shopify Migration
4. Promunch
Redesigned an existing Shopify store to improve user experience, product discovery, and conversion performance.
→ How We Revamped Promunch’s Shopify Store to Drive Conversions
Explore more Shopify case studies and see how ControlF5 helps brands build, migrate, and scale successful Shopify stores.
BREO BOX is a brand built on trust; members rely on it to pick the right products every single time, and that trust had to come through on the storefront itself, not just in the box.
Building on Broadcast from scratch gave us a clean, fast foundation. The real challenge was sequencing the app stack so everything worked together instead of against each other, getting Recharge rock-solid first, then layering personalization, upsells, and retention without slowing the site down.
By the time Triple Whale was wired in, the team finally had one dashboard to see how design, marketing, and subscriptions were all performing together. That’s when a project like this really starts paying off.”
— Sumit Bula, Project Manager, ControlF5
Conclusion
BREO BOX wasn’t just launching a Shopify store; it was building a Shopify subscription-driven business that needed every part of the customer journey to work together.
From the Broadcast theme and Recharge subscriptions to Rebuy personalization, Klaviyo automation, and Triple Whale analytics, every decision was made to support growth, retention, and long-term customer value.
The result is a Shopify subscription ecosystem that not only looks great but also converts better, retains more subscribers, and gives the team the data they need to scale with confidence.
Planning a new Shopify store, subscription business, or platform migration? The ControlF5 Shopify experts can help you build a high-performing store that is designed for conversions, customer retention, and sustainable growth from day one.
Book a free consultation today, and let’s discuss how we can turn your Shopify store into your strongest growth channel.