Traverse Bay Farms Featured in PushOwl Article by Akansha Rukhaiyar on Shopify Loyalty Programs. Andy LaPointe shares how immediate rewards help loyalty programs create stronger customer engagement from day one

(PRUnderground) March 23rd, 2026

Traverse Bay Farms, the Northern Michigan-based provider of award-winning fruit products and specialty foods, has been featured in a PushOwl article by Akansha Rukhaiyar discussing how Shopify brands can build loyalty programs that improve retention, engagement, and repeat purchases.

The article, titled “What Is a Loyalty Program,” explores how brands can create customer loyalty programs that do more than collect signups. It explains that while many shoppers join multiple loyalty programs, only a fraction stay active, making structure, benefits, and immediate value critical to long-term success. As part of the article, Traverse Bay Farms founder Andy LaPointe was included as an expert source on how to keep new members engaged from the start.

“Many brands don’t offer genuine value-add within the first 24 hours,” said Andy LaPointe, founder of Traverse Bay Farms. “We give two immediate unexpected rewards to our customers who sign up for our e-commerce loyalty program. First, we offer a micro-reward as a free downloadable recipe cookbook using our products for every meal of the day. The second is a 5% discount coupon. These small wins keep people engaged.”

The feature by Akansha Rukhaiyar highlights a key challenge in e-commerce loyalty: customers want rewards, but they only stay active when those rewards feel useful, simple, and easy to access. For Traverse Bay Farms, that means combining practical education with immediate savings instead of relying only on abstract point systems.

“At Traverse Bay Farms, we believe loyalty should start with something real and helpful,” LaPointe said. “A free recipe cookbook gives people new ideas for how to use our products, and a discount gives them an extra reason to come back. That creates momentum right away.”

The PushOwl article explains that loyalty programs can help Shopify brands improve customer retention, increase average order value, strengthen customer lifetime value, and encourage brand advocacy. These benefits are especially relevant for brands with repeat-purchase products, including food, wellness, beauty, and lifestyle categories.

Traverse Bay Farms says that is exactly why loyalty matters. The company offers products customers can use regularly, including tart cherry juice concentrate, dried cherries, fruit preserves, barbecue sauces, salsas, salad dressings, and other specialty foods. A loyalty strategy tied to recipes, savings, and product discovery helps customers get more value from each purchase while deepening their connection to the brand.

“Too many loyalty programs are built around what the brand wants, not what the customer actually values,” LaPointe said. “If the reward feels delayed, confusing, or disconnected from the shopping experience, people stop paying attention. We think loyalty works best when it is simple, useful, and tied directly to the products customers are already excited about.”

Being featured in the PushOwl article gives Traverse Bay Farms another opportunity to share its customer-first e-commerce strategy with a broader audience of Shopify merchants, marketers, and brand leaders looking for practical ways to improve loyalty and repeat revenue.

Traverse Bay Farms continues to expand its focus on making every order more useful through recipes, product education, digital tools, and loyalty-based engagement designed to help customers enjoy its products in more ways throughout the year.

About Traverse Bay Farms / Fruit Advantage

Traverse Bay Farms – America’s #1 award-winning superfruit brand – Inspired by Northern Michigan, recognized with 38+ national food awards for flavor and quality. Family-owned in Northern Michigan, we provide fruit-forward gourmet foods and wellness products using as much Michigan-grown fruit as possible—USA cherries.

Our lineup features fruit salsas, fruit barbecue sauces, no-added-sugar dried cherries and blueberries, and our renowned tart cherry juice concentrate—bottled in glass and backed by the industry’s first and only sediment-free guarantee. We also publish educational resources to help customers enjoy healthy lifestyles, understand the science behind cherries and other superfruits.

About Fruit Advantage

Fruit Advantage®, our sister brand, offers fruit-based supplements formulated to support everyday wellness. Offerings include tart cherry, wild blueberry, and pomegranate capsules. Cherry Prime — Complete Muscle & Joint Complex uniquely combines tart cherries with glucosamine and chondroitin to help support joint comfort and active recovery.*

• 38+ national food awards
• Glass-bottled cherry juice with a sediment-free guarantee
• As much Michigan-grown fruit as possible; USA-grown ingredients
• Two year-round retail stores in Bellaire and Elk Rapids, Michigan
• 24/7 live phone customer service: 1-877-746-7477

Learn more at TraverseBayFarms.com.

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Original Press Release.