CodeCrackers designed and built a custom iOS and Android app for a group of five UK cafés. Order-ahead, digital loyalty and push offers, all connected to their existing tills, turned lunchtime queues into quick collections and casual customers into regulars.
The client is a family-run group of five cafés in the Midlands, serving coffee, breakfasts and lunches to office workers, students and local regulars. Their cafés were popular and growing, especially at lunchtime.
But being busy came at a cost: long queues, commission on online orders and paper loyalty cards. They had tried ready-made ordering apps, but none fitted how their cafés worked. So they asked CodeCrackers to build a custom app around their exact requirements.
Give the cafés their own app, built around how they actually work.
App orders, higher order value and more repeat visits.
The cafés had loyal customers and great food, but four connected problems were costing them sales and margin. Each one made the others worse.
At peak times, queues stretched out of the door. Some customers walked away rather than wait.
Lost sales at the busiest times.
Collection orders placed through third-party apps lost a large share of every sale in commission.
Thin margins on online orders.
Stamp cards were easily lost, and the team had no idea who their regular customers were.
No way to reward or reach regulars.
New menu items and offers relied on posters and social media posts that many customers never saw.
Offers went unnoticed.
What the client wanted to achieve: a custom app branded as their own, where customers order ahead, pay and collect stamps. Every order would flow straight to the right café's till and kitchen screen.
Before designing a single screen, we spent time in the cafés and studied how customers ordered, paid and came back.
We watched the cafés at peak times and mapped how orders moved from the counter to the kitchen.
We studied leading UK coffee and food chain apps: their ordering flows, loyalty schemes and use of notifications.
We mapped three groups: office workers ordering at lunch, students on a budget, and local regulars who visit most days.
Ready-made apps couldn't handle five cafés with different menus and opening hours. A custom app built around their workflow was the better long-term choice.
A structured ten-week approach kept every stage transparent and on time. Select a stage to see what happened.
We started by visiting the cafés at peak times and talking to the owners and staff. We then agreed the must-have features and how the app should fit their daily routine.
Drag the handle to compare how customers ordered before and after the app.
Both views are illustrations: the “before” shows the old way of working, the “after” shows the new system. Client data is not shown.
Four connected workstreams, each one solving a specific part of the challenge.
Customers choose their café, customise their order and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card. The app suggests add-ons such as pastries, and collection slot limits stop any kitchen being overloaded.
The app connects to the cafés' till system, so menus, prices and sold-out items stay in sync. Orders arrive on the kitchen screen instantly, with no re-keying and no third-party commission.
Every app order adds a stamp automatically, and counter customers scan a QR code at the till. The ninth stamp earns a free drink, and customers get a treat on their birthday.
A simple admin dashboard lets the team update menus and opening hours for each café. They can also send push notifications, such as a quiet-afternoon offer to customers of one café.
The finished app on iPhone and Android, with order-ahead, the digital stamp card and the café admin dashboard.
Hover over a screen and scroll through the product screens.
Measured results in the first 90 days after launch.
Share of all orders placed in the app across the five cafés.
App orders compared with counter orders, helped by add-on suggestions.
Loyalty members visiting more often than paper card holders did before launch.
A custom app built around how the cafés really work changed the way customers order. Queues are shorter, online orders are commission-free, and regulars keep coming back for their next stamp.
“Ready-made apps never fitted the way our cafés work. CodeCrackers listened, built exactly what we asked for and connected it to our tills. Lunchtime queues are shorter, our regulars love the stamp card, and we no longer pay commission on every order.”
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