Kodiak Built a Scalable Email and SMS Program From the Ground Up With Attentive

^{Kodiak is one of the fastest-growing food companies, disrupting the industry with better-for-you breakfast and snack options. It all started in 1982 when 8-year-old Joel Clark went door-to-door with a red wagon selling brown paper bags of his grandfather’s heirloom flapjack recipe. The neighbors were fans, and Joel returned with an empty wagon. Kodiak’s whole grain, protein-packed options are now sold nationwide, crafted for everyone hungry enough to get out there and expand the day’s range.}

As Kodiak became a household name stocked nationwide, the company’s lifecycle marketing efforts were just getting off the ground.

The team initially transitioned between a couple different Email Service Providers (ESP’s) and lightly experimented with SMS, but limited resources and a relatively small subscriber base kept their SMS efforts minimal.

As the brand scaled, they saw a clear opportunity to mature their mobile strategy and began vetting new partners. Attentive stood out: largely due to the hands-on onboarding and strategic support offered from the very beginning.

"We vetted a lot of partners, but what drew us to Attentive was the partnership. We weren’t just signed up and left to figure it out. Our implementation team and CSM were super involved, and the attention to detail, especially around compliance, really stood out. That kind of support is what made the switch feel worth it."

- Sara Oja, Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing, Kodiak Cakes

Kodiak ran their previous ESP and Attentive in tandem for about 18 months: using Attentive for SMS and their previous ESP for email. Once Attentive rolled out email journeys, the case for consolidation became clear. While the platforms offered an integration, it wasn’t seamless enough to support the full benefits of cross-channel coordination.

After evaluating both platforms, Kodiak brought everything under one roof. They were confident in Attentive’s roadmap and saw long-term potential in a unified and more streamlined approach. Since making the switch, the Kodiak team has seen elevated performance and improved operational efficiency across the board.

One platform, two channels

Consolidating email and SMS in one platform has helped Kodiak execute faster and smarter. As one of the earliest adopters of Attentive’s email product, the team found the builder intuitive, flexible, and easy to customize, with room to grow. The drag-and-drop editor allows them to create polished, on-brand campaigns without design support, and can count on consistent rendering across inbox providers, which helps save time.

Audience segmentation has also evolved. While Kodiak still builds segments manually based on campaign intent, they now use Attentive AI™ Pro to refine them further: excluding low-intent users and identifying new high-potential segments. This has helped improve performance and reduce manual effort.

The team also coordinates delivery across both channels. If a subscriber misses an email, they’ll follow up with a well-timed text. If someone is more responsive to SMS, that’s where they’ll be prioritized. This dynamic coordination ensures the message lands on the right channel without overwhelming the user.

"When both email and SMS live on the same platform, we can be smarter about who sees what and when. If someone hasn’t responded to texts in a while, we’ll try email again. If they missed the email, we’ll follow up with a text. It’s helped us be more strategic in our approach."

- Sara Oja, Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing, Kodiak Cakes

Smarter segmentation with AI Pro

Before adopting AI Pro, Kodiak often relied on large-list sends for key promotions. But with time, that approach led to diminishing returns: lower engagement and higher opt-out rates. Now, the team builds segments manually and then uses AI Pro to enhance them.

AI Pro automatically flags disengaged subscribers for exclusion and suggests additional users who match the intended behavior profile: ultimately elevating campaign targeting and effectiveness.

"Now, with AI Pro, we build segments and then let Attentive AI help refine them. It flags people who probably won’t engage, so we can exclude them. It’s really helped sharpen our segmentation strategy . . . and made our job a lot easier."

- Sara Oja, Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing, Kodiak Cakes

This refinement has helped Kodiak:‍

· Avoid over-sending to low-interest subscribers

· Reduce audience fatigue and opt-outs

· Improve campaign performance over time

Every campaign Kodiak sends is precisely crafted with the subscriber experience top of mind—customizing campaigns based on subscriber behavior, engagement history, and channel preference. They use Audiences AI to identify high-intent segments and Send Time AI to deliver each message when it’s most likely to be effective.

For example, if a subscriber engages with a Memorial Day promotion via SMS, they may be excluded from the follow-up email. If someone hasn’t clicked or purchased in months, they might be filtered out entirely.

Automated Journeys that power retention

Automation plays a central role in Kodiak’s lifecycle strategy. Their cross-channel journey portfolio includes welcome, abandon browse/cart, post-purchase, loyalty, winback, and more.

Kodiak builds each flow intentionally, using engagement signals and behavioral triggers to determine the best entry point for subscribers. If a user is opted into SMS and shows strong intent, the journey may begin with a short text. If engagement is lower, email might be the better starting point. The team continues to test timing, channel, and creative to ensure each touchpoint performs as effectively as possible.

Their automated flows are tightly filtered to avoid repeat messaging and keep communications fresh. Journeys are regularly reviewed and adjusted based on seasonality, product releases, and performance trends.

Kodiak’s operational and transactional messages are also fully woven into the experience with key integrations that connect real-time commerce data with messaging, creating a consistent brand presence at every stage of the customer lifecycle

By layering in integrations and tailoring content to behavior and channel, Kodiak ensures every journey feels seamless, personalized, and aligned to the subscriber to help guide them through their customer experience.

The result is a lifecycle program that scales without compromise

By consolidating channels, embracing AI, and building thoughtful journeys, Kodiak has created a retention program that’s both effective and respectful of the customer experience. Every message serves a purpose. And every send is built to drive impact.