Grenade is a disruptive leader in sports performance and active nutrition, delivering award-winning high-protein, low-sugar products that break category norms across bars, shakes and performance nutrition. Founded in 2010 by Alan and Juliet Barratt, Grenade has developed from a start-up into a rapidly growing brand within Mondelēz International.

In late 2025, Grenade set out to launch the Grenade Soft Core Creme Egg Flavour Protein Bar, a new product concept and a ‘smash up’ with the iconic Creme Egg flavor.

They had 3 key goals for the launch:

1. Drive awareness of the product 
2. Communicate its differentiators from the core bar range
3. Break category boundaries by showing that this bar is for all lifestyles, helping to take on everyday challenges

In line with these goals, Grenade’s creative team decided to center the branding on a playful and eye-catching “smash” message, summarized in the tagline: “How do you smash yours?” - emphasizing that the bar could be eaten anywhere, anytime.

The campaign was to take place in November, which represented a unique challenge: balancing Grenade’s Black Friday objectives with a successful launch of the new bar.

Rather than separating the campaigns, they combined the best of both worlds. “Smash” motifs and the Creme Egg color palette were subtly woven into Black Friday emails, automation journeys, paid media, and social media posts, teasing the product reveal while keeping Black Friday performance on track.

Smart audience selection

While previous NPD launches relied on broad outreach, Grenade adopted a more targeted segmentation strategy for this one, focusing on subscribers and members of its loyalty program, The Grenade Academy.

Loyalty members were given first access to pre-orders, followed by subscribers and then the wider audience. When non-loyalty customers registered for pre-order, they entered an automated journey highlighting the benefits of joining The Grenade Academy, including even earlier access to the Grenade Soft Core Creme Egg Flavour Protein bar. 

This focused approach not only rewarded Grenade’s most loyal customers and accelerated loyalty growth - driving three times more new members in November than the usual average - but also proved highly effective commercially: In the first hour of launch, just 16% of their base had generated 11% more revenue than a previous comparable launch.

Cross-channel orchestration

During the highly competitive Black Friday period, reaching customers where they were was critical. So, Grenade prioritized a truly cross-channel approach for the campaign, weaving SMS, email, direct mail, landing pages, overlays, and even gamification into coordinated automation journeys designed to drive action at the moments that mattered most. 

SMS

Grenade had migrated to Ometria’s SMS from another provider in time for peak season, and the channel quickly became a critical revenue driver, accounting for 33% of total November revenue.

Rather than using SMS for standalone blasts, they embedded it into core automation flows where it worked alongside email and other touchpoints as part of one seamless journey.

Testing showed that SMS performed best when focused on specific, product-led promotions that created urgency (such as flash deals) rather than generic sales messaging. The pre-order announcement is a prime example of how targeted, timely SMS drove both engagement and conversions.

Gamification

Grenade leaned into its highly engaged audience, who regularly suggest new flavors on social media, by creating a playful gamified experience designed to generate hype. 

Customers were taken on a multi-step journey, rolled out through broadcast email. The first challenge invited them to “smash the code,” encouraging participants to search for the correct digits. Successful attempts unlocked a landing page revealing a small section of the bar. The second challenge asked customers to solve an anagram, which spelled “chocolate egg” and led to another landing page revealing a different part of the product.

This guessing-led language carried through to the final reveal email, asking “Did you guess it?”, a fun way to engage with their audience.

• 11% more revenue in the first hour of the launch than a previous comparable launch, driven by just 16% of their base: their loyalty members. 
• +350% CTR YoY (November)
• 33% of revenue attributed to SMS
• 73% higher click-through rates on NPD-related comms compared to the overall November average.