The Challenge: Breaking the tradition of vouchers for visitors and staff

Couleur Café places great importance on its staff, volunteers, and visitors. They understand that digitalization of systems and payments can also be a hurdle for them. Not only does this require an adapted way of working, but it also creates an additional management focus point in terms of production.

Furthermore, Couleur Café is an established name in the Belgian festival scene, but they too are facing pressure on their margins due to additional regulations and rising production costs.

1. Introduction of reusable cups

This presents both a logistical and a financial challenge. The essence lies in the efficient use of cups while limiting the loss percentage due to legislation and cost.

2. Rising production costs with fixed visitor numbers

Previous editions consistently sell out, but due to space limitations, visitor numbers are fixed. Therefore, the search for additional budget and increased spending per person is an annual focus.

3. Changed payment behavior among visitors

While a significant percentage of cash was in circulation in the past, Couleur Café is also seeing a huge increase in electronic payments among its visitors.

The solution with Beyond Ordering

Following the increase in digital payments since 2020, we saw a unique opportunity to add direct payment options at the bars and also commercially enhance a sponsorship.

As a partner, we find it essential to translate the right advice into a collaboration at every level; only this leads to a reliable partnership that transcends the supplier-client relationship.
Since 2023, we have achieved annual growth, along with additional service and professionalization of the entire operation. The solution package is based on the following pillars that form its foundation:

1. Sponsorship activation at every bar

What started as an option to order directly at a few bars with payment via the then-current Payconiq and today's Bancontact Pay, has grown into a permanent option at every bar (21).
The ease of use for bar staff and visitors is the key to success here, resulting in an increase in this payment method and thus direct results for Bancontact Pay and Couleur Café.

2. Digitalization of cash registers and bars

Because traditional vouchers continue to exist alongside Bancontact Pay's direct payment method, digitalization was also appropriate here. By using smart all-in-one terminals at the voucher cash registers, Couleur Café and its financial auditor can monitor every sale in real-time.
No more manual reporting and counting; after each shift, every salesperson receives their sales report, complete with checks on sold vouchers, cash, and electronic receipts. In addition to optimizing reporting, this real-time monitoring ensures that staff at checkouts and bars can be effectively managed.
Both during a single edition and across multiple editions, this leads to the optimization of volunteers and the strategic placement of checkouts and bars based on data analysis.

3. Insight into Cup Usage

The introduction of an eco-token upon visitor arrival and the registration of cups at the bars provide a benchmark for the logistics and operational team. A cup is automatically charged if visitors cannot present an eco-token or a dirty cup. Through our platform's monitoring, the eco-team gains insight into sales, consumption, and collection per bar to align its operations.

4. Monitoring and Analysis Combined with Strong Teamwork

While our software and accompanying hardware solutions ensure stability at the checkouts and bars, our team makes the difference in this collaboration. By growing together with Couleur Café, device management support runs extremely efficiently. Moreover, by consistently overseeing the complete experience for visitors, volunteers, and the organization, we ensure annual enhancements. This begins with advice on distribution (numbers, locations) based on historical data, and also involves a critical review of the offering (sales figures, cups, margins). This collaboration extends beyond Couleur Café to its partners:
- network > The Safe Group to provide complete coverage for bars and checkouts, alongside the general network
- brand activations > beverage and other partners with specific configurations and separate reporting
- accountant, etc. > reporting and analysis down to every level

The result: A Digital Growth Story and Rising Revenues

This multi-year partnership proves that digitalization and tradition reinforce each other when the operational foundation is unshakeable:

1. Demonstrable Revenue Increase

The simplicity and speed of direct payment at the bar ensured that visitors not only ordered faster but also more frequently. As a result, the average spending per visitor has increased over the years, regardless of the offering and unit prices. ‍

2. Sustainable Digital Transition

From its start in 2023 to subsequent editions, the number of payments at the bar with Bacontact Pay has grown exponentially, significantly reducing the pressure on central voucher checkouts.‍

3. Watertight Administrative Control

No grey areas or lengthy manual reconciliation afterwards. The customized reporting provides a watertight financial overview that is directly usable for accountants and financial management.