Starbucks backs Brightloom in mobile experience push

Starbucks is taking an undisclosed stake in Brightloom, formerly known as eatsa, as it looks to boost its mobile ordering and payment options.

The US coffee giant is making an investment and securing a board seat at Brightloom. It will grant the venture a software licence to select components of its proprietary software with the aim of facilitating rewards, ordering, payment, personalised information and offers.

The combination will lead to the development of a cloud-based software solution for the restaurant industry that will connect customers to their favourite brands. Brightloom plans on making this available to Starbucks global licence partners and will open the platform up to the entire restaurant industry of merchants.

“We’re delighted to partner with Brightloom and drive a broad innovation agenda that extends relevant customer experiences from bricks and mortar to a digital-mobile customer connection,” says Kevin Johnson, CEO at Starbucks.

“We have experienced first hand the power that comes through digital customer connections that are relevant to the customer. The results we’ve seen in customer loyalty and frequency within our digital ecosystem speak for themselves, and we’re excited to apply these innovations toward an industry solution that elevates the customer experience across the restaurant industry.”