Find out how their creative Olympics promotion boosted their membership base while fostering a sense of community and camaraderie among their customers.
Key Facts
Business: Mr. Puffs
Founded: 2004, Laval, QC
Key Achievement: Grew loyalty program sign-ups by 317%
Sales Growth: Increased member sales by 68% from July to August 2024.
Integrations: DataCandy, Cluster POS, UEAT.
Background
In 2004, Billy Siounis founded Mr. Puffs as a food truck, serving loukoumades, a.k.a "Puffs," a traditional Greek pastry (think donut holes... but better!) in the heart of Laval, QC's Greek community.
Inspired by the loukoumades he served while working in Greek restaurants, Siounis dreamed of introducing these delicious pastries to the people of Québec. His passion and entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of Mr. Puffs, which quickly gained a near cult following.
Now, 20 years later, Mr. Puffs specializes in loukoumades topped with a rainbow of flavors and serves a wide range of specialty coffees and ice creams, catering to customers from all walks of life who share one common trait—their sweet tooth.
Growth and Future Vision
Since 2016, Mr. Puffs has embraced rapid growth through franchising, expanding their footprint across eastern Canada. Now, with over 75 stores in Quebec and Ontario and plans to open locations in Alberta, the brand shows no signs of slowing down. As they look toward the future, Mr. Puffs aims to further expand towards the West Coast.
Needless to say, people want Puffs!
Beyond offering irresistible treats, a huge part of building their brand and creating loyal fans across Canada has been enhancing their digital presence by launching the Mr. Puffs app, which allows customers to order online and collect Puffs Points—their loyalty rewards.
The Challenge.webp?width=150&height=150&name=fc%20profile%20pic%20(2).webp)
Before launching their loyalty program with DataCandy, Mr. Puffs offered a traditional punch card loyalty system, which limited their ability to understand and engage with their customers.
We sat down with Frédérique, the Marketing Coordinator at Mr. Puffs to chat more about their program.
The lack of data from their punch card loyalty program made it impossible to personalize their marketing or measure the impact of their loyalty efforts.
On top of that, always remembering the punch card was cumbersome for the customer and stifled engagement in the program.
To truly scale their loyalty member engagement, they needed a more comprehensive solution that would provide deeper insights into customer behaviors and allow them to easily communicate with their members in a more meaningful way.
The Solution
To solve these challenges, Mr. Puffs partnered with DataCandy to power their loyalty program, providing the tools they needed to cultivate customer engagement.
Now, Mr. Puffs uses DataCandy to manage both their loyalty and gift card programs. This allows them to track customer trends, demographics, and behaviors, helping them run targeted promotions that resonate with their audience.
Puffs Points
The loyalty program was seamlessly integrated with their new app and digital ordering system, allowing users to earn rewards and receive special offers with each purchase.
They've positioned their Puffs Points program as a VIP experience for members. On top of discounts, members can receive special personalized offers, along with the ability to skip the lineup (some of their locations have persistent lineups!) and a special treat on members' birthdays. This not only incentivizes repeat purchases but also enhances the overall customer experience, fostering a sense of belonging and exclusivity.
The Rollout & Promotions
Mr. Puffs soft-launched their app and loyalty program in June 2024.
During the initial rollout of their loyalty program, Mr. Puffs encountered some early challenges.
"Our app comes from a third-party platform, our loyalty program is from DataCandy, and we also have UEAT for ordering. Having several external parts playing different roles got a little confusing when it came to the launch," says Frédérique.
However, Mr. Puffs quickly addressed any customer concerns by leveraging the flexibility of the DataCandy platform.
Through their app, they were able to digitally issue free puffs to their customers, providing a smooth and immediate resolution to customer service issues.
Olympics Promotion
One of the most successful moments since launching their loyalty program was during their Olympics promotion starting in July 2024. Mr. Puffs offered their members six free puffs every time Canada won a gold medal.
This promotion was a resounding success, more than doubling their loyalty member sign-ups from 6,201 to 25,215. It not only attracted new members but also increased the engagement of existing ones, as they eagerly awaited each Canadian victory to claim their free puffs.
The Puffs Points reward redemption rates increased by over 5% during the Olympics.
With the flexibility of DataCandy, Frédérique and her team were able to tap into the national pride that most Canadians were experiencing during the Olympics and become part of the conversation, connecting deeply with their members.
Results
Overall, since its launch, the Puffs Points loyalty program has experienced over 3.5x growth in membership in only 4 months—a testament to the power of their well-executed Olympics promotion. In addition, monthly member sales have soared, increasing by 112% between May and September 2024.
Before their Olympics promotion, members who redeemed points spent an average of 30% more per order compared to non-redeeming members. After the promotion, this jumped to 57%, which suggests the Olympics promotion attracted more high-quality, engaged members who continue to spend more through the loyalty program.
On top of the success of the loyalty program, their customer service has become much more efficient, with Mr. Puffs being able to resolve issues using the Puffs Points app quickly.
This reassures customers of Mr. Puffs commitment to their satisfaction.
Additionally, the program has enabled Mr. Puffs to run more effective targeted promotions directly through the app, such as advertising the new flavors of their seasonal menus.
By tracking customer behavior and preferences, they've been able to tailor promotions that resonate with their audience, boosting engagement and sales.
Frédérique says that the DataCandy has been instrumental in improving customer engagement and streamlining their operations.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, Mr. Puffs has ambitious plans. They aim to further integrate DataCandy's loyalty program into their marketing and operations strategy, including utilizing their customer trend information.
They plan to continue leveraging the platform for seasonal promotions to keep customers engaged online and in-store.
As the brand expands into new markets, like Alberta, the loyalty program will play a crucial role in building awareness and driving customer retention in these regions. "We're slowly expanding on the whole West Coast. It's a good way to get into people's minds," says Frédérique.
This commitment to growth and customer engagement is central to Mr. Puffs future vision.
"The loyalty program is now an integral part of our strategy," Frédérique mentioned, explaining how they will continue using DataCandy to engage customers as they expand into new areas.
Mr. Puffs also plans to introduce more in-store promotions, encouraging walk-in customers to participate in the loyalty program, further streamlining their operations, and enhancing the customer experience.
"We're starting to include some promotional material in store for example 'download the app, get 6 free puffs' or order in advance to for pickup and skip the line" says Frédérique.
If you're in Canada and love a sweet treat every now and then, make sure you join the Puffs Points program to get the VIP treatment whenever you have a sugar craving.
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