Turning loyalty into a community.
THE CHALLENGE
Garden had a strong brand, a growing community and customers who were already emotionally connected to the experience.
The challenge was to turn that connection into something more meaningful than a one-off visit: a system that could encourage people to come back, reward their loyalty and make them feel part of the Garden universe.
I wanted loyalty to feel less like a traditional points programme and more like an extension of the brand itself.
THE IDEA
What if loyalty could grow?
From the very beginning, I wanted to avoid creating a generic discount card. The whole concept was built around Garden’s existing language of nature, growth and community.
That led to Garden Club: a loyalty ecosystem where every purchase becomes a seed, loyalty grows over time and members unlock increasingly valuable rewards and experiences.
The language, mechanics and visual world were all designed to make the programme feel intrinsically Garden — rather than something added on top of the brand.
THE STRATEGY
The programme was designed around three behaviours:
JOIN → RETURN → BELONG
First, make joining simple and rewarding.
Then, give people a reason to come back through points, wallet credit and exclusive rewards.
Finally, turn the most loyal customers into part of a deeper community through products, events and Garden experiences.
The system works across both physical and digital touchpoints, connecting restaurant visits, QR ordering and online orders into the same loyalty experience. Members collect points with every purchase and can redeem rewards and wallet credit across channels.
THE EXPERIENCE
I developed the concept and communication around the Garden Club and worked on turning the idea into a tangible customer experience.
The programme includes:
Garden Club
The entry level, where members accumulate points and receive rewards, product invitations and wallet credit.
Garden Club Gold
A higher loyalty level designed to recognise the most engaged customers through greater rewards, product invitations, exclusive events and Garden experiences.
The “seeds” mechanic
Every €3.50 spent becomes one seed/point, giving the loyalty system its own simple and recognisable language.
Wallet & rewards
Members accumulate 5% of their spend in their wallet and can use it on future visits, while points can be exchanged for exclusive digital rewards.
Omnichannel journey
The experience works both in restaurants and through online orders, allowing the relationship with the customer to continue beyond the physical space.
MY ROLE
I led the project from the brand and marketing side, from conceptualising the idea and defining its positioning and communication to developing the customer-facing experience and coordinating its implementation.
My role included:
Concept development and naming.
Defining the loyalty proposition and customer journey.
Developing the brand language around “seeds”, growth and rewards.
Defining the communication strategy and messaging.
Coordinating the different teams and partners involved in the implementation.
Developing launch and ongoing communication across Garden’s channels.
Connecting the loyalty programme with Garden’s wider content, community and activation strategy.
BEYOND LOYALTY
For me, the most interesting part of Garden Club is that it is not really about points.
It is about creating a reason to come back — and eventually a reason to feel part of something.
That is why the programme goes beyond discounts and rewards. The higher loyalty level opens the door to products, events and experiences, turning customers into a community that can participate in the wider Garden universe.
Garden Club is where CRM, brand, community and experience meet.