Cordial
White-label loyalty stamp cards for independent cafés. SMS + QR, no app required.
by Sam Okafor
Problem
Top 3 problems your customers face
Paper punch cards get lost
Customer's tenth coffee is free, but they left the card in their other jacket.
Loyalty apps need installs
Asking a customer to download a Toast or Square app for one café fails 80% of the time.
Big chains have it, indies don't
Starbucks Rewards is the bar; an indie café competing across the street has nothing.
Solution
Top 3 features that solve these problems
QR-coded counter card
Customer scans, types phone number once. From then on the barista scans their phone code.
SMS receipt + stamp
After each visit, a one-line text: '8 of 10 — one more for a free drink.'
Owner dashboard with cohort retention
Shows the owner whether loyalty is bringing back marginal customers.
Unique Value Proposition
Single, clear, compelling message that states why you are different and worth paying attention
A loyalty card your customers actually use.
No app install. They scan a QR or get a one-time SMS. Stamp lives in their text thread.
Unfair Advantage
Something that cannot be easily copied or bought
SMS deliverability through dedicated short codes
Took 6 months and $14K to provision. New entrants face the same wall.
Founder ran a café for 4 years
Knows the counter workflow; knows which features waste a barista's time.
Channels
Path to customers
Door-to-door café walks
Cold-walking coffee neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Oakland, Portland.
Coffee-roaster partnerships
Roasters who sell to indie cafés bundle us as a free 6-month trial.
Specialty Coffee Association events
Sponsor regional barista competitions; café owners attend.
Customer Segments
Target customers and early adopters
Independent cafés (1–3 locations)
Owner-operator. Buys at the counter, not via procurement.
Indie bakeries with regulars
Smaller average ticket but very high return frequency. Loyalty math works.
Boba and matcha shops
Younger customer base, almost zero cash. Already SMS-native.
Key Metrics
Key activities you measure
% of weekly transactions stamped
If under 25%, the staff isn't asking and loyalty doesn't work.
12-month café retention
Target 80%. Cafés have a high baseline failure rate; we still need to beat it.
Cost Structure
Customer Acquisition Costs, Distribution Costs, Hosting, People, etc.
Twilio SMS
Largest variable cost. ~$0.008/SMS in the US after committed-use discount.
Solo founder + one part-time CS rep
Lean. ~$15K/mo all-in.
10DLC compliance & SMS reputation mgmt
$3K/yr for a managed messaging provider. SMS deliverability is everything.
Revenue Streams
Revenue Model, Lifetime Value, Revenue, Gross Margin
$29/mo per location
Flat. Includes unlimited SMS. The SMS-cost ceiling caps customer-side volume.
$0.05 per SMS over 2,000/mo
Almost no one hits this; serves as a fair-use ceiling.