Kauai launches subscription service for daily coffees and smoothies

The unlimited organic coffee subscription allows customers to redeem any short hot drink every two hours for 30 days (up to 240 coffees over the 30 days) for a subscription of R299. A subscription for one small daily smoothie for 15 days costs R199, while a 30-day smoothie package costs R375.

“Innovation is a central tenet of our business, so we are thrilled to be the first restaurant group to bring this subscription service to South Africa and one of only a handful offering this type of subscription programme worldwide. We also understand that South Africans are looking for value during these tough economic times, so have designed our subscriptions to offer exceptional value on our organic coffees and smoothies,” says Dean Kowarski, CEO of Kauai’s parent company Real Foods.

How the service works

The subscriptions are purchased on the Kauai app, which can be downloaded from the Apple and Android app stores. Customers receive a subscription voucher in the app, which indicates how many coffees/smoothies have been redeemed, and how many remain.

Orders can be placed at any of Kauai’s 150 stores, with customers simply scanning the app to redeem their drink. Customers can also order on the app for delivery or for contactless collection in store, to help maintain social distancing.

The launch subscriptions are available until 28 February 2021, but Kauai says that further subscriptions are planned for launch soon.

Real Foods expands Kauai, launches Free Bird and acquires Uber Nutrition

1 Jul 2020

Subscription benefits

“Customers get their favourite drink at a lower price, allowing them to enjoy the luxury of organic coffee every 2 hours or daily smoothies at significantly better value. It’s also more convenient, as they buy once, and then simply scan the app to redeem their drink at their next order,” explians Kowarski.

He adds that the subscription model also makes business sense. “Subscriptions create recurring revenue by offering customers another reason to visit Kauai and build loyalty by nurturing long-term relationships with customers. We anticipate new customer acquisition to be fuelled by subscriptions,” he says.

US-based fast casual restaurant brands like Panera Bread have also launched highly successful subscriptions, with the chain reporting 850,000 customers signing on within the first few months. Pret a Manger recently launched a similar product in the UK.