This Subscription Coffee Offer from Kauai will blow your mind!

Thursday, 14 January, 2021

When the below Press Release from Kauai made its way to our inbox, we did a double-take at the crazy info it contained. But you can believe it because it is true! And if you have a Kauai near you and you're needing a bit more coffee than usual to get you through January, then you're about to feel real lucky. 

Kauai uses an organic espresso blend that is roasted and blended in South Africa exclusively for them. A blend of three 100% Arabica organic coffees to be precise:

  • Honduras - Organic SHB EP (Fully Washed) 
  • Colombia - Organic Excelso (Fully Washed)
  • Uganda - Sipi Falls Organic AA (Fully washed) 

Tasting notes:

  • As an espresso: Smooth yet full body, notes of stone fruit, warm spice. A mellow acidity.
  • As a cappuccino: Notes of caramel sweetness with a milk chocolate finish, subtle light body.


Cash-strapped South Africans can enjoy their favourite coffee or smoothie through a new subscription service that can save them up to 70% while enjoying the convenience of ordering via an app for home delivery or contactless in store collection.

Healthy natural foods specialist Kauai today launched subscription offers for unlimited organic coffee for a month as well as a daily smoothie for either 15 or 30 days, available in its 150 stores nationwide.

“Innovation is a central tenet of our business, so we are thrilled to be the first restaurant group to bring this subscription service to South Africa and one of only a handful offering this type of subscription programme worldwide. We also understand that South Africans are looking for value during these tough economic times, so have designed our subscriptions to offer exceptional value on our organic coffees and smoothies,” says Dean Kowarski, CEO of Kauai’s parent company Real Foods.

The unlimited organic coffee subscription allows customers to redeem any short hot drink every two hours for 30 days (up to 240 coffees over the 30 days) for a subscription of R299. A subscription for one small daily smoothie for 15 days costs R199, while a 30-day smoothie package costs R375, all available on Kauai’s app.

How it works

The subscriptions are purchased on the Kauai app, which can be downloaded from the Apple and Android app stores. Customers receive a subscription voucher in the app, which indicates how many coffees / smoothies have been redeemed, and how many remain. Orders can be placed at any of Kauai’s 150 stores, with customers simply scanning the app to redeem their drink. Customers can also order on the app for delivery or for contactless collection in store, to help maintain social distancing. 

The launch subscriptions are available until 28 February 2021 and further subscriptions are expected to be launched soon.

Subscription benefits

Kowarski says that the novel subscription service builds on Kauai’s strengths and reputation for great dining experiences, healthy food and honest ingredients. “Customers get their favourite drink at a lower price, allowing them to enjoy the luxury of organic coffee every 2 hours or daily smoothies at significantly better value. It’s also more convenient, as they buy once, and then simply scan the app to redeem their drink at their next order,” says Kowarski.

The subscription model also makes business sense. “Subscriptions create recurring revenue by offering customers another reason to visit Kauai and build loyalty by nurturing long-term relationships with customers. We anticipate new customer acquisition to be fuelled by subscriptions,” he says.

Leading US fast casual restaurant brands like Panera Bread have also launched highly successful subscriptions, with the chain reporting 850,000 customers signing on within the first few months. Pret a Manger recently launched a similar product in the UK.

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