From Picking Fruit to Picking Platforms: Why Peaches Chose Smartrr

Introduction

When COVID-19 shut down Los Angeles farmers’ markets, the Tenerelli family faced a crisis. For generations, they sold their prized peaches locally. Suddenly, their distribution vanished.

Rather than retreat, Natalie Tenerelli and her husband Dan Cox reimagined the family business. They launched Peaches.LA, a direct-to-consumer brand powered by subscriptions.

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The timing was perfect. Early on, the team shipped 12 peach sample boxes. Social media exploded with photos, rave reviews, and word-of-mouth buzz. Orders surged. Customers didn’t just want peaches; they wanted a guaranteed box every week.

Subscriptions became essential. Each new variety ripened every 10 days and sold out within hours. Often, only subscribers got peaches; everyone else missed out.

“We had several weeks, and we still do, where only subscribers got fruit. Everyone else was empty-handed,” recalls Dan Cox.

But the success came with challenges. Managing recurring orders, handling stockouts, and keeping loyal customers engaged required more than just a Shopify store.

Where Smartrr Came In

Dan wasn’t new to subscriptions. He had scaled two other brands, Wellthy and Metcon, on platforms like Bold and Recharge. But both had limitations that frustrated him:

• One felt clunky and slowed down operations.
• One created friction with loyalty points and stock handling, often leaving subscribers dissatisfied.

With Peaches, those gaps became even more painful. Every stockout risked cancellations. Customers couldn’t redeem loyalty points on subscriptions. And every hiccup translated into more support tickets.

That’s when Dan found Smartrr.

Migrating from past platforms had always been a painful experience. This time, Dan braced for the worst, but Smartrr surprised him. 

“Moving to Smartrr was by far the easiest migration I’ve ever made,” he says. “You guys took the guessing and the pain out of it, ” says Dan Cox. 

Smartrr delivered what Peaches needed most:

• Auto-pause on out-of-stock. Instead of losing subscribers when fruit wasn’t available, subscriptions were paused until inventory returned.
• Integrated loyalty. Customers earned and redeemed points seamlessly within the subscription flow.
• Self-serve portal. A branded customer dashboard lets subscribers update, skip, or pause without contacting support.
• Seasonality management. Peaches could easily notify customers to reactivate after nine months of downtime, without rebuilding from scratch.

Suddenly, what felt impossible with Bold and Recharge became simple with Smartrr.

Results

With Smartrr, Peaches transformed its subscription experience and kept loyal customers happy season after season.

Key outcomes:

• Fewer support tickets. Subscribers self-managed accounts, leading to a dramatic reduction in complaints.
• Zero subscriber loss during stockouts. Auto-pause preserved loyalty and eliminated churn.
• Seamless loyalty integration. Customers could finally redeem rewards on subscriptions, increasing satisfaction.
• Easier migration. Moving from legacy platforms was faster and less painful than Dan expected.

“The biggest win is fewer customer tickets,” says Dan. “We have fewer issues logging in and making adjustments. That’s been huge for us.” 

For Dan Cox, Smartrr wasn’t just another subscription tool. It was the platform that finally made subscriptions seamless, loyal, and growth-ready.

Dan’s Advice to Other Operators

“Too many merchants treat subscriptions like a switch you turn on,” Dan advises. “Walk through the customer journey yourself, see what happens if stock runs out, if someone wants to pause, or if loyalty points don’t apply? If the experience breaks, so will your subscriber base.”

After testing multiple platforms, Dan is clear:
“I wish I had found Smartrr the first time. It made everything easier.”

If you’re building a D2C business and want loyal subscribers, Smartrr is built for you.