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How to “Gamify” the Restaurant Experience by CandyLabs

Kontakt.io has partnered with dozens of innovative companies to create and deliver unique customer experiences with our beacon / iBeacon platform. In this Partner Spotlight, we’re featuring candylabs – an innovative German company that recently launched a mobile app that “gamifies” the restaurant experience using beacons.

Will you be the next “Addicted Connaisseur” at your favorite restaurant?

Daniel Putsche, CEO of candylabs GmbH certainly hopes so. The team at candylabs recently launched an iOS application that combines gamification with gastronomy – the art of choosing and eating great food – then getting rewarded for it.
When customers download the Mook Group App, they become players in a beacon-based rewards system. The app uses iBeacon transmissions to automatically check in guests at Mook Group restaurants, and reward them for their loyalty with each new visit.
As players increase their “Mook Status” from “Guest” to “Frequent Eater” to “Addicted Connaisseur,” they receive real-world rewards that enhance their dining experience in a personal yet discrete way (such as receiving a free appetizer or amuse-bouche).

Restaurateurs are looking for new ways to incentivize patrons

Discounts, rewards, and loyalty programs are not new concepts in the restaurant industry, but the implementation and tracking can be problematic even for the largest restaurant groups. Patrons may forget to carry their customer loyalty cards, or the cards are simply lost or thrown away.
Traditional loyalty programs also lack customization and personalization, by taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach – even though guests are different and are incentivized in different ways.
Some may appreciate straightforward discounts, while others might be incentivized by a special reward (such as a special recipe prepared just for them) – and many may simply enjoy the intangible reward of moving up in a ranking system.
As more people use mobile devices to make dining decisions, restaurateurs are looking for ways to get customers more excited about visiting their establishments via digital means. These do not have to be monetary rewards however, which is where “gamifying” really shines as a concept.

CandyLabs makes dining a rewarding experience for restaurants and patrons

Everyone loves games, though they usually don’t offer any real-world rewards. When using the Mook Group App however, customers can raise their “Mook Status” just for entering the restaurant.
The use of a ranking system and personalized incentives, adds a fun layer for tech-savvy patrons with a meaningful benefit. The higher your status, the better rewards you can get.
While it’s easy to forget a loyalty card, most people will never leave their house without their smartphone. Meaning customers will never lose out on any rewards they’ve earned, and the restaurant can develop a much deeper understanding of what rewards and benefits work best.
“The Mook Group app enables frictionless fully automated check-ins, a feature we consider essential for a high-end customer experience.” – Daniel Putsche – CEO at candylabs
Users receive their “promotion” notification once they leave the restaurant, adding an additional and relevant interaction point between the Mook Group and its guests.  It is a clever way to induce a thought in the mind of a guest – “come back soon to reap the benefits your newly acquired status”.
By automating, streamlining, and personalizing customer rewards – restaurateurs can deliver a unique dining experience that delights customers by making them feel special. Ultimately boosting the bottom line by encouraging more frequent patronage.
“Perhaps the most important aspect of the entire user experience is that adding a new dimension of exclusivity and service enriches its value.” – Joel Martinez – CTO at candylabs

How Kontakt.io helped candylabs get the games going at Mook Group?

candylabs developed The Mook Group App, and used Kontakt.io iBeacon hardware to beaconize the Mook restaurants. The team at candylabs decided to work with Kontakt.io because of the dependable hardware – offering the most secure, robust, and precisely configurable beacons on the market.
Kontakt.io supplied candylabs with everything they needed to “beaconize” Mook Group restaurants, including:

  • iBeacon hardware – starting with 19 beacons for the pilot, and 60 beacons for the entire deploy as of this writing.
  • Responsive support for the pilot and subsequent rollouts.
  • Open RESTful API, SDK, and tools to support their app development.
  • The cloud-based platform used to host and secure their entire system.

“Thanks to the iBeacon technology, the Mook Group App takes a fully automated and seamless approach to the “check-in” – Joel Martinez – CTO at candylabs

The Results

Candylabs started with a 19 beacon deployment at the Zenzakan Pan Asian Superclub – the largest restaurant in the Mook Group. Customers with the Mook Group App are now raising their “Mook Status” with every visit and enjoying personalized rewards along their culinary journey.
Based on the successful pilot – candylabs is about to implement the iBeacon-based rewards program at all five Mook Group Frankfurt restaurants. What’s next? The words of the Mook’s Group Executive Manager speak for themselves:
“It will be even more interesting when we get to the next step and we know guest’s names, what people drink and eat, how often and when the client comes in – whether for private reasons or business reasons, all as a way to improve service.” – Feres Ladjimi – Executive Manager at the Mook Group

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