US sandwich chain Planet Sub is now offering customers a mobile app that lets them make payments and earn rewards. The company is using a white label version of LevelUp for the service.

“Mobile payment technology has always fascinated us, but until there was significant customer benefit, we weren’t interested in adopting and integrating new technology,” marketing director Trevor Forssell says.

“By crafting a loyalty program that paired with payment processing, it really opened the doors to creative branding and customer education through the UI. This new app not only rewards people for their purchases, it also allows us to educate and connect with our most loyal customers on a much more personal level.”

Forssell added: “When we thought about the rewards element within the app, we decided to include customers in the one thing that differentiates Planet Sub from all other sub sandwich chains in the franchise space: bread from scratch.

“As customers use the app, they are walked through the breadmaking process, adding ingredients every time they get 10% closer to earning a reward. Educating our customers about our unique processes [like bread from scratch] is of the utmost importance as we expand to new markets. Sure the food tastes amazing, but we want our customers to know about our commitment to quality and how their bread was rolled out by hand in the restaurant that morning, not shipped frozen in a cardboard box.”

“From an expansion perspective, this new platform will certainly help,” adds franchising director Ryan Joy. “Franchisees in new markets will have an immediate source of customer acquisition and retention, and [the platform] also will allow them to control marketing channels that best suit their needs.

“Further, the operational efficiencies that are gained by speeding up the ordering process are invaluable.”