Step into the world of Fiksuruoka, and you enter a movement. This isn't just an online grocery store; it's a vibrant response to one of our planet's most pressing challenges: food waste. With every click and every parcel delivered, Fiksuruoka (also operating as Foodello in some markets) is on a mission to ensure that perfectly good food nourishes people, not landfills. Their commitment to sustainability is woven into the very fabric of their operations, transforming surplus groceries – whether nearing a best-before date, sporting old packaging, or simply overstocked – into opportunities for conscious consumers.
For five years, Custobar has had the privilege of partnering with this forward-thinking company. The results of their dedication are genuinely inspiring. As Henriikka from Fiksuruoka shares, they have successfully rescued 20 million kilograms of food since their journey began in a humble garage in 2016. "It’s a figure that almost defies imagination," Henriikka notes. "We once created a visual for 15 million kilos, and it was like a mountain of food over Helsinki. It really brings home the scale of what we can achieve together." This profound impact is a testament to their innovative model and unwavering passion.
For such a celebrated brand, renowned for its diverse and high-quality offerings, the desire is always to make every guest feel uniquely cherished. This means ensuring their communication is as personal and captivating as the experiences themselves, and their loyalty program is seamless and rewarding – especially when you're managing such a fantastic array of experiences across hotels, safaris, and ski resorts!
For a company like Fiksuruoka, where the inventory is as dynamic as their mission is urgent, connecting the right products with the right customers at precisely the right moment is more than just a marketing goal – it's fundamental to their success. The challenge was clear: how to effectively communicate about a constantly changing array of unique, often time-sensitive, surplus items to a growing community of eco-conscious shoppers.
Generic, one-size-fits-all approaches wouldn't do. Fiksuruoka needed to:
The core objective was to make the food rescue journey effortless and engaging for their customers, empowering them to make choices that are good for their wallets and great for the planet.
Fiksuruoka's search for a Customer Data Platform led them to Custobar. They required a solution that was not only robust and versatile but also intuitive enough to be wielded effectively by a fast-moving team. Key to their decision was Custobar's ability to:
As Henriikka puts it, "Our business model demands agility and precision in how we communicate. Custobar provided the comprehensive multichannel toolkit we needed, combined with a user experience that allowed us to get straight to making an impact."
At the heart of Fiksuruoka’s daily operations, Custobar acts as the central nervous system for their customer engagement strategy:
"The ability to coordinate our communications across various channels from a single platform is invaluable," Henriikka would emphasize. "Whether it's an email, an app Push, SMS, or feeding precise audiences to our digital ads, Custobar helps us ensure our message about specific, time-sensitive stock gets to the right people, in the right way. This is crucial for maximizing food rescue."
Unifying the Conversation: Transactional Messages with Fiksuruoka Finesse
For a brand as dedicated to its mission and customer experience as Fiksuruoka, every touchpoint matters. This philosophy extends beyond marketing campaigns to include essential communications like order confirmations, shipping notifications, and other transactional messages. Many businesses overlook the potential of these interactions, often sending them from different systems, leading to a disjointed feel.
Fiksuruoka, however, saw an opportunity to further enhance consistency and efficiency by managing these crucial messages through Custobar. This decision was driven by several clear benefits that align perfectly with their customer-centric approach. Sending transactional messages via Custobar ensures that the look and feel are perfectly harmonized with their marketing communications, presenting a unified brand front. Furthermore, it brings all outbound customer communications under one roof, providing a complete overview and simplifying management.
As Henriikka from Fiksuruoka explains, the choice was straightforward: "The obvious reason for shifting our transactional messages to Custobar was that then they have the same visual look as in other messages, and we also have all the communications to the client going out from one place. Also, adding marketing content to the transactional messages is possible with Custobar in a better way than with another tool."
This strategic move means that even an order confirmation can be more than just a receipt; it’s another opportunity to reinforce the Fiksuruoka brand, share relevant information, or perhaps even include a subtle nod to their food rescue mission. By centralizing these messages, Fiksuruoka ensures every communication, no matter its primary purpose, contributes positively to the overall customer journey and is managed with the same care and precision as their targeted marketing efforts.
As Fiksuruoka looked to grow beyond Finland, they launched their Foodello brand in Benelux region. This expansion brought with it a new strategic asset: the Foodello mobile app. The app represented a powerful opportunity to build direct relationships with a completely new customer base. However, having an app is one thing; turning it into a dynamic and effective communication channel is another.
This is where Custobar’s capabilities became instrumental. To leverage the app's potential even further, Foodello needed a way to send timely, relevant messages directly to their users' mobile devices as part of the overall communication flow. Custobar’s robust push notification feature provided the perfect solution.
By integrating their app with Custobar, the Foodello team was able to:
This allowed Foodello to quickly establish the app as a cornerstone of their customer communication strategy in Benelux, proving how a unified data platform with versatile channel support is essential for driving international growth.
Having all customer data and automation capabilities centralized in one platform, like Custobar, truly shines when it translates into tangible business benefits – and for many, increased sales is the number one key performance indicator (KPI). Fiksuruoka embraces a culture of continuous improvement and data-driven experimentation, and Custobar, often in conjunction with its connected platforms, provides the ideal environment for effectively developing and testing a wide array of automations.
One such successful test, representing just a part of their broader series of data-informed initiatives, involved their strategic use of Winback automations. Understanding that a timely, relevant nudge could bring inactive customers back into their community of food rescuers, they leveraged Custobar's automation capabilities to put this specific theory to the test.
The results from this particular Winback automation test speak volumes about the effectiveness of their overall data-driven approach. For customers who were part of this Winback program, Fiksuruoka observed:
These figures aren't just numbers from an isolated campaign; they represent more rescued food, more active customers participating in Fiksuruoka's mission, and provide a clear demonstration of how intelligent automation – rigorously tested and refined – can turn potential churn into renewed loyalty and sales. It’s a testament to Fiksuruoka's commitment to understanding customer behaviour and using tools like Custobar to respond with personalized, automated communication at the right moment, a strategy they actively test and prove across many initiatives.
Our five-year collaboration with Fiksuruoka has been a source of immense satisfaction. It’s a profound example of how technology can serve a greater environmental and social good. We deeply admire Fiksuruoka's innovative spirit and their relentless dedication to their cause.
"Custobar has been a reliable partner in our journey," Henriikka might conclude. "The platform provides the essential multichannel tools that empower us to connect effectively with our community and advance our core mission. It’s a system that supports our team every day as we work to turn a global problem into a positive solution."
The true measure of success for Fiksuruoka is written in the millions of kilograms of food saved and the growing community of consumers making a positive difference. Custobar is proud to be an enabling part of this equation.
Through a smart, data-informed, multichannel marketing strategy powered by Custobar, Fiksuruoka has consistently:
We are genuinely excited to continue supporting the incredible team at Fiksuruoka as they write the next chapter of their success story. Their journey is a powerful reminder that with passion, innovation, and the intelligent use of data, businesses can indeed change the world for the better.
If Fiksuruoka's story has inspired you to think about how a deeper understanding of your customers and a smarter multichannel approach could elevate your own mission, we at Custobar would be thrilled to explore the possibilities with you. We truly love data and the amazing things it can help businesses achieve!