No frills: Why P’Nut Street Noodle’s decided to keep it simple with their app

The Asian fast-food brand shares its 12-month plan for the app.

P’Nut Street Noodles has just recently announced the launch of the P’Nut Passport App, the fast-casual’s very own app that lets customers order ahead for pick up or take out, get a free meal for every 10, and access app-only offers and other rewards. And that’s it.

“We want it simple and easy to use. No fancy game or effects just order what you as a customer want. Smooth transaction and pick up or delivery and get rewarded by doing so,” Petra Orrenius Head of Sales/Marketing and Innovation of P’Nut Street Noodles said to QSR Media in an exclusive interview.

Petra admitted that P’Nut is very late in the game with the release of its new app. Research revealed that 89% of Australians use a smartphone, with 86% of their mobile time spent on apps. This is because for P’Nut the app isn’t a way for them to increase their profits but to offer customers more convenience and value for their money especially with inflation continuing to affect customer spending.

​

“It’s nothing new under the sun. To be honest, it’s simply another avenue for us to be better at servicing our customers,” Petra said.

Petra said currently, 60% of their customer dine in-store whilst 40% order from use their delivery service using their own platform or available exclusively through UberEATs. P’Nut has set its goal of converting 10% of its dine-in customers to use the app.

“This 10%  will not happen straight away but we will build up over time and we are cool with that.  We also still have functionalities to improve in our app but this is also a journey that we will build on as we learn and go,” Petra explained.

One-year plan

To achieve its goal of retaining the simplicity of its app, P’Nut laid out an elaborate one-year plan for it.

In the first three months, the focus will be on converting existing customers to download and use the app. They will do this by giving away a $10 sign-up bonus using a scannable code. P’Nut stores will also have their own strategy using signages, promotional LCDs, digital ads, and social media promotions. Free items will also be handed out for downloads.
 
After the initial three months, starting June to August, Petra said they will focus on attracting and retaining customers by giving monthly incentives to use the app for more rewards and targeting customers near P’Nut stores.

Additionally, P’Nut aims to create app-only and store-specific perks.

“For example, QLD customers will have some great Thai/Asian salad choices that they have been asking for. Since it is called P’Nut Passport App, we will ensure that our customer’s tastebuds will be able to travel with us and be rewarded by doing so. One month, we may be taking them to Indonesia with some tasty offers and exclusive dishes, the next we may be going to Malaysia and so on,” Petra said. Every 10th meal is also free and customers can also have a special offer on their birthdays.

“We have a 10-step automated journey already set up that will be tested and tried out so after the first purchase, it will trigger a free side/voucher, after the second purchase it will trigger a BOGO, after the fourth, it will trigger a % etc or other exciting benefits to ensure they keep on coming and that we deliver on what we say “Make every trip to PNut Rewarding,” Petra added.

For the rest of the year, aside from digital ads and app-only offers, P’Nut plans to look for ambassadors and other collaborations to push the brand in Australia.

In-house

Aside from incentivising customers, P’Nut will also encourage its staff to promote the app. In fact, they are cooking up an incentive for the store that will have the most app downloads.

“The app's success will be if customers find it relevant to use and the staff keeps promoting it. This gives us an opportunity to personalise our service even further since by using our app, we can get closer to customers by calling them out by name and knowing their order preferences as well as keeping track of their last orders which for some customers are really helpful since some customers may enjoy a certain dish but can’t remember what it is,” Ink Piyatida Un-a-nan Head of Training & Tech at P’Nut Streed Noodles said. Customers also save time by availing of the order ahead feature.

Looking ahead

“Considering inflation and customer sentiment might be slightly down we are looking at how we can create value, and optimise efficiency within our stores (we have already launched our first 100% automatic Wokie, and looking at a new cloud brand that is optimized for quicker service less labour and still some great taste for customers0. We are also renovating some of our stores and looking for potential new locations to grow and open,”  Ink said.

In April, P’Nut is looking to re-launch its menu based on customer feedback so customers should stay tuned, Ink added.