How to set up a Kit unpacking automated flow

Use the Kit unpacking Automate template to offer customers a kit containing multiple products. After the customer’s first order, each product automatically converts into an individual subscription.

This guide explains how to set up an automated Kit unpacking flow to provide customers with a seamless shopping flow and the flexibility to manage their subscriptions.

How it works

The Kit unpacking flow creates subscriptions for each product in a kit after the first order, letting customers manage them individually.

The Kit unpacking template uses the Conditional Branch node to start the flow based on the purchased product.

When you add a branch to the template, a subscription node is automatically assigned to each branch. The Subscription node unpacks kit products into individual subscriptions, delivered until canceled.

Example

A haircare company offers a shampoo, conditioner, and detangler kit. By analyzing their Cancellation reason insights, the company found that customers were canceling their detangler subscription more often than their shampoo or conditioner subscriptions, with "I have too much product" cited most frequently.

The company uses the automated kit-unpacking flow so that customers receive the full kit with their first order and are automatically subscribed to each product individually for subsequent deliveries, streamlining the customer experience.

The company now offers monthly subscriptions for shampoo and conditioner, as well as a bi-monthly detangler subscription, both of which have been proven to reduce customer churn.

Editing Automate flows

You can edit an Automate flow at any time. Once a flow has been activated at least once, saving changes creates a new version of the flow. This lets you update the flow without rebuilding it from scratch.

To learn how flow versions behave and how analytics are affected, see How to edit Automate flows using flow versioning.

Video walkthrough

Check out the video below for detailed setup instructions:

Step 1 - Create your products in Shopify and add subscription plans

Create the kit and individual products in Shopify, then add subscription plans in Recharge:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin and add the new product. Make sure to set the kit’s product price to reflect the cost to purchase all included products.
   • Tip: To prevent customer confusion, Recharge recommends keeping the product unpublished in Shopify until you’ve activated the automated flow.
2. After creating the product in Shopify, navigate to your Recharge merchant admin and select Products from the Products menu.
3. Locate the new kit product from the list of products, then add a subscription plan.
4. Add subscription plans to all individual products included in the kit if you haven't already.

You should now have your kit product and the individual products configured in both Shopify and Recharge.

In the kit's product description on Shopify, explain how subscriptions work, including the individual subscription price and frequency.

Step 2 - Create the automated flow

Set up the Kit unpacking flow in your Recharge portal:

1. In the merchant portal, click Products, then select Automate.
2. Select Create from template under Kit unpacking, and click Get started!
3. Select Manage settings to add a title and a description.

You can now access the flow canvas and build the automated flow. This flow uses a standard template designed by Recharge.

Step 3 - Configure trigger conditions

Trigger conditions determine which orders can enter the flow. While you can use the Conditional Branch node to filter orders, Recharge recommends setting trigger conditions to control entry at the top of the flow.

To configure trigger conditions:

1. On the flow canvas, click the Trigger node.

2. Click Add to create a trigger condition.

3. Select Processed charge line item.

4. Choose the operator (for example, Equals or Contains).

5. Select the kit product.

6. Click Apply, then Save.

Setting a trigger condition ensures the flow runs only when the kit product is present on the processed order.

Step 4 - Configure the Conditional Branch node

Use the Conditional Branch node to assign customers to branches based on their subscriptions. The default template has two branches: Branch 1 and Else:

• Branch 1: This branch checks if the customer’s order contains a specific product. If the customer is subscribed, the automated flow is applied.
• Else: This branch checks if the customer’s order does not contain the specified product. If the customer is not subscribed, the automated flow is not applied.

For example, you could use the Customer tags condition to create a unique experience for customers based on your Shopify customer tags. This lets you tailor the experience to a targeted segment of your customer base.

Configure Branch 1 or add branches for multiple kits:

1. Select the Conditional Branch node on the flow canvas.
2. Click on the pencil icon next to Branch 1 to edit the branch.
3. Add a Branch name.
4. Select Processed charge line item from the object dropdown menu.
5. Select Variant from the attribute dropdown menu.
6. Select Equals, Doesn’t equal, or Only equals from the operator dropdown menu.
7. Click + Add product to select the product Recharge should look for when processing the order.
8. Search for the product, select it, and click Apply.
9. Click +Add branch to add more branches, or click Apply to save your configuration.

You should now have at least two branches configured on the template, one for customers who purchase the starter kit and one branch for customers who do not.

Duplicate a branch

If your branches use similar logic, you can duplicate an existing branch instead of creating a new one from scratch.

To duplicate a branch:

1. Open the Conditional Branch node.

2. Select the branch you want to copy.

3. Click Duplicate branch.

4. Update the condition values as needed.

5. Click Apply.

The duplicated branch appears directly below the original and includes all associated nodes on the canvas.

Step 5 - Configure the Subscription node

The Subscription node determines what happens after Recharge processes the kit order. Update the Subscription node to set the action for the automated flow:

1. Select the Subscription node on the flow canvas.
2. Choose the action. There are two available actions on the Subscription node:
   • Swap: Swap the kit product to a new subscription product. The customer no longer receives the kit; instead, they receive a new product. Use this action on the first Subscription node to prevent customers from receiving multiple kits.
   • Add: Add an additional product to the customer’s next order. The customer receives both the kit and the new product.
3. Click +Add product to select the new subscription product. This is the product that customers will be subscribed to on all recurring subscriptions.
4. Set the subscription properties, such as the order frequency, product price, quantity, and product and variant title. You can also add one of the following options under Order date:
   • Frequency-based delay: Adds a delay to the next charge date based on the subscription’s set frequency (e.g., every 30 days, every 2 months).
     • Use this when you want the delay to maintain alignment with the customer’s subscription cadence. For example, if a customer is on a monthly subscription, a frequency-based delay of one period will schedule the next charge for one full subscription cycle after the triggering event.
   • Order-based delay: Schedules the next charge to occur a set number of days after the triggering order is placed.
     • Use this when you want to control the delay in absolute time (e.g., 10 days), regardless of the subscription’s billing frequency. This is useful when fulfillment time or product usage needs dictate the timing of the next charge.
   • Date-based delay: Sets the next charge to occur on a specific calendar date.
     • Use this when the next charge must happen on a fixed date, such as the 1st of the month or a seasonal deadline. It’s ideal for aligning charges with events, holidays, or custom billing schedules.
5. Click Apply to save your node setup.

Optional - Select a plan

If the selected product variant has subscription plans, you can choose a subscription or quantity upsell plan instead of setting a custom order frequency. When you select a plan, the plan determines the price, and Recharge disables price overrides. If the selected plan is a quantity upsell plan, Recharge also disables the quantity input.

To select a plan:

1. In the Order frequency dropdown, select Choose a plan.
2. Select a plan from the dropdown.

Optional - Add additional Subscription nodes

The number of Subscription nodes you need on your canvas depends on the products in your kit. For instance, if your kit includes three products and you want to automatically subscribe customers to each one, you'll need three Subscription nodes. The first node swaps customers from the kit to a subscription for one product, while the other two nodes add the remaining products as subscriptions to the customer’s recurring orders.

Use the Canvas actions menu to add additional Subscription nodes to the canvas:

1. Select Show to open the Canvas actions menu.
2. Click on the Subscription node and drag it onto the canvas.
3. Click the Subscription node to make changes.
4. Choose the Add action.
5. Click +Add product to select the new subscription product.
6. Set the subscription properties.
7. Click Apply to save your node setup.

Repeat these steps to add multiple Subscription nodes to the canvas.

After a customer purchases the kit product and starts the automated flow, the Subscription node swaps the kit product with the selected subscription product for the customer's upcoming order. Additionally, you can add additional Subscription nodes in the automated flow to add more products to the customer's upcoming order. These updates stay active until you or the customer change the subscription.

Optional - Add additional actions to the canvas

Step 6 - Set your products to active in Shopify

Update your products in Shopify so that customers can purchase the kit, and receive the individual subscription product on future orders:

1. Set the product status to Active.
2. Set the product to available on your online store.

Step 7 - Save and test the automated flow

Click Save in the top-right corner to save your flow.

You can test the automated flow before activating it to ensure it works as intended. See How to test Automate flows for detailed instructions.

Step 8 - Activate the flow

Select Activate in the top right corner to enable the flow.

Once you activate the flow, Recharge evaluates eligible charges against the flow’s trigger conditions and applies the flow when conditions are met.

Considerations

Consider the following when using Automate:

Resources

Getting started

• Getting started with Automate

Additional template set-up instructions

• How to set up a Starter pack to refill swap automated flow
• How to set up an Ongoing sequence automated flow
• How to set up a Fixed sequence automated flow
• How to set up a Trial to subscription automated flow
• How to set up a Welcome offer automated flow
• How to set up a Scheduled quarterly shipments experience