This article outlines:
Why loyalty became a growth priority for three established Olo brands
What each brand looked for when evaluating a loyalty platform
How they're planning to reward the guests who keep coming back
Every restaurant has a handful of guests who show up like clockwork—the same order, the same booth, a first-name greeting from the staff. While loyalty already exists, the harder part is building a program that makes guests feel recognized instead of training them to wait for the next discount.
In this edition of Now Serving, we caught up with three brands that have run on Olo for a while and recently added loyalty to the mix: Olga's Kitchen, MOTO Pizza, and Barberitos, part of the WOWorks family. Here's why Olo Loyalty made the priority list this year, what each brand wanted from a platform, and how it plans to reward the guests who keep coming back.
Why has loyalty become a priority for you?
Guests today have more options than ever, so the brands that win are the ones that make guests feel recognized, not just transacted with. For Barberitos, loyalty isn't just a discount mechanism—it's how we build a real relationship with our regulars. Since joining WOWorks, we've been investing in a modernized tech stack, and loyalty was one of the first pieces we wanted to get right, because it directly ties to repeat visits and gives us first-party data we can actually use to understand our guests, not just guess at what they want.
- Jason Levinson, VP Marketing Technology, WOWorks/Barberitos
Loyalty gives us the opportunity to build stronger relationships with our guests while increasing visit frequency and growing first-party traffic. Our goal is to create a program that feels genuinely valuable to the guest, not simply another discount platform.
- Ryan P. Jones, Vice President and Brand Leader, Olga's Kitchen
Loyalty has always been a priority for us because we genuinely have the greatest guests and following of MOTO Heads. From waiting hours in line to preordering pizza months in advance, our guests have shown us an incredible amount of loyalty from the very beginning. We’ve always wanted to find a meaningful way to give some of that love back, and we finally have the opportunity to do it.
We’re currently building a custom app and preparing to launch our loyalty program in the coming months. At its core, it’s really our way of saying thank you to the people who have supported MOTO and helped us grow.
- Nora Hermann, Chief Operating Officer, MOTO Pizza
What was important to you when you were evaluating loyalty platforms? How did Olo fulfill your wish list?
We wanted a program that was frictionless to join—no long sign-up forms, no app download required just to start earning—because every extra step is a guest we lose. We also wanted flexibility to evolve the program over time, like adjusting tiers or running bonus point promotions, without needing a full rebuild every time we wanted to try something new. And since we operate across nearly 50 franchise locations, seamless POS integration was non-negotiable. Olo checked those boxes: guests can enroll with just a phone number, our team can look someone up at the register in seconds, and we've been able to layer in features like tiered status on a platform that talks directly to our POS.
- Jason Levinson, VP Marketing Technology, WOWorks
We wanted a platform that was easy to join and use, fully integrated with our ordering experience, and capable of turning guest data into more relevant communication. Olo gives us a more seamless, phone-number-driven experience while bringing ordering and loyalty together within one connected ecosystem.
- Ryan P. Jones, Olga's Kitchen
For us, the experience was just as important as the functionality. MOTO is a pretty unique brand. We make ODD Pizza, and we didn’t want an app or loyalty experience that felt like something our guests had seen a hundred times before. We wanted a custom user experience that felt unmistakably MOTO and like a true extension of our stores, our pizza, and our brand.
At the same time, seamless integration with Olo was a must. Olo Loyalty gave us the loyalty capabilities and integration with the Olo ecosystem we needed, while Techtris gave us the ability to really customize the UI and bring the MOTO experience to life. That combination allowed us to get the functionality we needed without sacrificing the creativity and personality that are so important to our brand.
- Nora Hermann, MOTO Pizza
What’s your favorite way to connect with or reward your loyalty guests?
Honestly, the birthday reward gets the best reactions—it's a small thing, but it makes people feel remembered. We also love that our tiered program (Entry, Gold, Platinum) gives guests something to work toward, so a reward doesn't feel like a one-and-done—it feels like status they're building over time.
I have to say, I have also had the honor of speaking to some of our guests that have had account issues in the past (phone number or email address changes) and helping them work through that on a 1:1 basis and making them happy is super rewarding. It's not always about the tech, sometimes a personal phone call, which is a small effort for me, seems like a massive ovation to a guest.
- Jason Levinson, WOWorks
I am most excited about recognizing what matters to each guest and delivering a reward that feels timely and personal. Whether it is encouraging that important second visit or celebrating our most loyal guests, the best offers create a reason to return without feeling generic or overly promotional.
- Ryan P. Jones, Olga's Kitchen
We are SO excited about this part. We have some really fun things planned for how we’ll surprise, delight, and reward our MOTO Heads through loyalty—but we’re going to keep those under wraps for now. Our guests have given us a lot of love over the years, and we can’t wait to finally have a new way to give some of that love back. Stay tuned.
- Nora Hermann, MOTO Pizza
The bottom line
Three different brands share one idea when it comes to loyalty: a program only works if guests feel like more than a phone number in a database. Whether that means a birthday reward, a custom app built to feel unmistakably on-brand, or a personal phone call to fix an account issue, these brands are betting that recognition builds more repeat visits than a coupon ever could.
If your brand is ready to turn regulars into your biggest fans, we'd love to show you how Olo can help. Request a demo.
