Technology
Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery unify digital experience with new co-branded loyalty app
Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery launched a new co-branded loyalty app, unifying their digital experience and streamlining ordering for customers. This initiative, driven by VP Lisa Cheatham, faced challenges like integrating separate tech stacks and optimizing menus for co-branded locations.
May 30, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery have launched a co-branded loyalty app, aiming to unify the digital experience for customers and streamline ordering from both beloved dessert brands. "We're just really excited to be at a place where we're finally able to unify the digital experience to match what we've had in store with this co-branding with both of these brands," said Lisa Cheatham, VP of marketing revenue channels, highlighting the significant leap forward in customer convenience and engagement.
The idea behind launching the app was to ensure that customers were able to get the best experience both in store and online. Co-branding can be tricky, Cheatham said, especially considering what guests are going to see when they walk into a co-branded unit.
"Once we had that plan solidified and we saw that it was working and franchisees were very on-board with that whole concept, we knew then that we needed to be able to match that same level of experience that we're giving our customers in the digital space," she said.
Challenges
Cheatham added that there were many challenges with creating the app, namely that the brands had to do foundational work on their tech stack. Initially, there was an online ordering platform for Great American Cookies and a second online ordering experience for Marble Slab Creamery.
There were two separate apps with some processes that were "clunky and disjointed," Cheatham added, causing the brands to streamline their menus. With a co-branded unit, there wasn't enough space to house the entire menus for both brands.
The brands had to upgrade their POS systems to allow both menus to be in one place.
"Once we had those foundational things done, we were able to work on the online ordering experience to add both products, figure out where they needed to be located, what customers were looking for, creating some new menu items, and then once that foundation was set, that really allowed us to be able to create the co-branded loyalty app and for it to be able to function properly," Cheatham said. "It really required some of those technical things to be done, which took some time."
Testing was done with the brands' franchise partners, who offered feedback. The tech team behind the app also worked with customers to learn what types of things they were looking for out of an app.
"Looking at all of that data, we were finally able to get some insights on how we needed this co-branded loyalty program and app to function," Cheatham added.
Success
Since launching in late 2024, the co-branded digital initiative has delivered tremendous value. The average order value has increased by 17%. Loyalty program sign-ups have increased by 27% year-over-year.
Cheatham said those numbers are supported by the fact that customers using the app can order exactly what they want from both brands in one place. Once they log into the app, for example, they're able to order both a cookie cake and ice cream from both brands for a birthday party. The ordering process is easy, and that was the goal of the co-branded app. Prior to the app, guests would have to log in to both apps separately.
"This allows (customers) to have a one-stop shop for all their cookies and ice cream needs," Cheatham added. "Of course, both of these brands are really about celebrations, and so being able to tie that into the app and ordering experience for loyalty really just makes it easier for them to purchase everything they need to celebrate."
The brands examine the number of people signing up for the co-branded app and how much they're spending versus non-loyalty members, resulting in a 46% increase in purchases. Sales growth and engagement are also studied, as is how many items guests are purchasing.
"The combined system is allowing us to see a unified customer experience and really what their preferences are and being able to use that data to come up with ways to revamp our journeys and offers and... to personalize some of the rewards and the message we're able to give," Cheatham explained.
The brands lean in on data collected from their app provider to see reports of purchases, identifying paths to purchase. Being able to take that data and create messaging helps the app team to tailor that messaging to each user.
"We have paths to purchase depending on which brand you prefer. We have paths to purchase on people who tend to lean toward specific menu items," Cheatham said, "And just so really leaning into that data and also being able to see how often they purchase a particular branded menu item helps us to determine how often we should be interacting or messaging."
Feedback
Cheatham said franchisees have been pushing the brands to create a co-branded loyalty app. As the driving force helping the team to create this unified experience, there's a franchisee council that was used to create the app and help determine what features were needed.
In the past, guests would get a certain amount of money off their order. But working with the franchisee council and getting feedback, Cheatham said the council said the app needs to give customers what they wanted, and that was a free cookie cake slice or a free ice cream cup.
The franchisees get a lot of online business as well, and Cheatham said it was difficult to decide if the welcome offer would be an in-store offer only or an online offer. "Working with them and knowing our customer base —that we have a high percentage of customers who order online — we decided to do two types of welcome offers, which we had never done before," she said. That included the aforementioned ice cream cup or cookie cake slice, or $5 off a $20 order for online.
Growth strategy
The app is a key pillar for Great American Cookies' and Marble Slab Creamery's growth strategy. The brands are constantly trying to keep their customers engaged, rewarded and appreciated.
The app will continue to grow and evolve, Cheatham said, especially as more data is collected on what customers want and having a one-on-one relationship with them.
"We want to continue to show appreciation for our customers because we need them," Cheatham said. "We're continuously celebrating them on birthdays (and) special occasions. We're doing some new exclusive deals and offers that we've launched for Great American Cookies, and we're doing another one for Marble Slab Creamery during Ice Cream Month. So, this will definitely be a continuous point of growth and leverage in the future for us, and our customer really want it."
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
