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London brunch venue Starfish Loves Coffee reports an 85-90% customer retention rate after rolling out a guest engagement platform from Edinburgh-based technology supplier Stampede.
The system has also supported higher bookings and a more structured approach to marketing and customer engagement. Starfish Loves Coffee is known for high-volume brunch trade, with a mix of reservations and walk-ins.
Jubilee campaign
The retention figure follows a marketing push tied to the restaurant's 10-year Jubilee and the launch of a Sunday French Brasserie menu. As part of the push, the business ran a time-limited promotion offering 50% off to guests who booked within four hours of receiving an email.
Starfish Loves Coffee used Stampede's Marketing Workflows module to run the campaign. The workflow emailed the Jubilee guest list, identified bookings made within the four-hour window, and automatically issued vouchers to qualifying customers. It also tagged those guests into a separate segment for follow-on marketing.
According to the two firms, every table was booked within hours. The promotion covered the first two Sundays of the new menu launch and created a customer segment the operator can target again.
Platform approach
Stampede positions its product as a unified system for hospitality businesses, linking marketing automation with guest Wi‑Fi, table bookings, payments, loyalty and reviews. Data passes between modules in real time, allowing teams to run campaigns triggered by guest behaviour and measure which promotions generate covers.
The system also gives front-of-house staff access to information that flags returning customers on arrival. This reflects a wider trend across the restaurant sector as operators look for better ways to manage guest relationships while margins tighten and competition for repeat visits increases.
For independent venues, customer data and direct marketing have become more important as the cost of acquiring new diners rises. Time-limited promotions and segmented mailing lists are common tactics, though many small operators still rely on separate tools for bookings, email and loyalty schemes.
Aykut Hilmi, Artistic Director at Starfish Loves Coffee, said: "With Stampede, I've completely transformed how I connect with my customers: it's now more personal, more consistent, and far more effective. I can easily run large-scale email campaigns, send loyalty rewards, and automate guest journeys through Workflows, all while getting the detailed insights I need. It's also made my marketing more vibrant, more detailed, and has helped us maintain customer retention between 85-90% - a key goal we've hit over the past three months. Stampede has truly changed how I manage my marketing and stay hands-on with guests, even when I'm not in the restaurant full-time. The results have been massive."
Vendor perspective
Founded in 2015 and based in Edinburgh, Stampede sells software to restaurants, bars, hotels and cafés. Its product covers functions venues often buy separately, including customer relationship management, booking systems and review management.
Patrick Clover, Founder and CEO of Stampede, linked Starfish Loves Coffee's results to the broader challenge of maintaining repeat custom in a crowded market.
"Our technology has given Starfish Loves Coffee the boost it needs to retain customers and grow those relationships," said Patrick Clover, Founder and CEO, Stampede. "In today's competitive landscape, hospitality businesses need to keep customers coming through the doors, provide memorable experiences, and develop loyal relationships that keep them coming back for more. This is what Stampede has been designed to do. So we love seeing that Starfish Loves Coffee is thriving, and it's great that our technology forms a key part of that process. We're excited to be part of their journey and look forward to more joint growth and success."
Starfish Loves Coffee trades as a brunch venue during the day and switches to cocktails and tapas with DJs on Friday and Saturday evenings. It expects to use the segmented customer groups created through the Jubilee promotion for future targeted campaigns tied to menu changes and seasonal trading patterns.