Beat the Q, a pre-ordering app for consumers and cafes, has acquired Australian loyalty app, eCoffeeCard.
eCoffeeCard, a free app which consolidates coffee loyalty cards into one location, reaches 1600 cafes and 320,000 users in Australia, making it the biggest mobile loyalty scheme in the country.
Beat the Q, founded by Adam Theobald, has funded the acquisition by completing a capital raising with current and new shareholders including Greg Wilkinson (founder, Reckon Limited), James Spenceley (CEO, Vocus Communications), and former AFL footballer Leo Barry.
Wilkinson was a seed investor in Beat the Q and is reinvesting due to the company’s traction and strategic direction.
“Adam and his team have developed a fantastic product and platform, one that is making mobile payments seamless and simple,” said James Spenceley, CEO of ASX-listed Vocus Communications.
“The ECC acquisition is great because the synergies between the businesses will catapult them forwards together. Growing via acquisitions was very successful for Vocus, giving us product and scale faster than we otherwise could have developed them.
“I am thrilled to be an investor in Beat the Q and I hope to see them make further intelligent acquisitions in the future,” Spenceley said.
Beat the Q has seen significant growth over the past year, processing more than 500,000 orders for hot drinks through the app. More than 250 cafes around the country have signed up to it, including Toby’s Estate, Danes, Marionette, Sonoma, Campos Coffee, Gabrielle Coffee, GG Espresso, and Mecca Espresso.
“Acquiring eCoffeeCard gives us a direct business relationship with 15 per cent of all cafes around Australia, and a platform for true scale to help us become a market leader,” said Theobald, founder and CEO of Beat the Q.
“There are strong synergies between Beat the Q and eCoffeeCard at a product, merchant, and consumer level, which is why the acquisition is such a perfect fit for us. We think bringing together two market leaders in their respective categories is a ‘one plus one equals three’ situation.
“It means Beat the Q will be the go to platform for merchants and consumers who are seeking a seamless, easy to use system capable of managing orders, payments, and loyalty benefits.
“Having the founders of two of Australia’s most successful technology companies back us as investors is a huge boon for Beat the Q. We’ll now be able to draw on the experience, insight, and advice from James and Greg, who have driven sustained growth on the ASX for Vocus and Reckon respectively,” Theobald said.
eCoffeeCard will remain a free loyalty program for both consumers and cafes.
