Introducing Gourmet

Gourmet Egypt is Egypt's premier premium grocery retailer, offering artisanal, handcrafted products made fresh daily. Founded in 1996, the company has grown from a wholesale food supplier to become the apex of Egyptian grocery shopping, renowned for its curated product selection, exclusive "Produced by Gourmet" private label offerings, and seamless customer experience.

The company operates 21 strategically located stores across key Egyptian cities, supported by robust e-commerce and same-day delivery operations. With vertical integration through Gourmet Food Solutions (GFS)—their in-house manufacturing subsidiary operating two production facilities and eight specialized kitchens—Gourmet controls the entire value chain from sourcing to final sale.

Gourmet Egypt completed an IPO in early 2026, with an indicative market capitalization range of EGP 2.48–2.76 billion, highlighting investor confidence and scale. link

Challenges

Gourmet launched their loyalty program "Gourmet Society" in June 2024 for registered customers. The program segmented customers into three tiers: Silver, Gold, and VIP—with Gold and VIP customers receiving significantly higher benefits and discounts.

After six months of operation, a clear pattern emerged:

• Gold and VIP tiers showed excellent sales results and engagement
• Silver tier—representing the largest customer segment—remained static
• The business needed to activate this dormant majority to drive overall performance

The business objective was clear: encourage increased monthly purchase value for Silver tier customers with a targeted 20% sales increase over 2 months. Since Silver tier had the highest customer count, even a slight increase in their purchase value and frequency would significantly impact total company performance.

Solution

Gourmet partnered with Gameball to design a gamification strategy that addressed these challenges through complementary mechanics: personalized purchase streaks to activate Silver tier spending, and a Ramadan calendar to sustain daily engagement across the entire customer base.

Micro-Segmented Purchase Streaks

Rather than applying a blanket promotion, Silver tier customers were divided into four distinct segments based on their historical purchase behavior. Each segment received a customized 8-purchase streak over two months, with transaction values tailored to be challenging but achievable for each customer’s spending profile. For example, one segment’s streak might require transactions of 1,000 EGP → 800 EGP → 1,000 EGP → 800 EGP to unlock their first reward, then escalate toward a second. Critically, the streaks allowed flexible completion—an 800 EGP transaction could qualify for any 800 EGP milestone—reducing friction while maintaining the motivational structure.

Homepage-First Progress Custom Display

A critical success factor was making streak progress visible directly on the app homepage—not hidden in a loyalty section. Customers see their "Monthly Streaks" widget prominently displayed, showing their progress toward each milestone with clear visual indicators.

Daily Ramadan Calendar

For Ramadan, Gameball designed a calendar-based campaign that delivered a new gamified experience every day of the month. Instead of repeating a single mechanic, the calendar served as a container for multiple formats—Scratch & Win, Spin the Wheel, Match Cards, Quizzes—keeping the experience fresh and preventing fatigue. The visual calendar structure reinforced daily check-ins and built a sense of progression, turning loyalty participation into part of customers’ Ramadan routine rather than a promotional afterthought.

Rewards were intentionally varied and calibrated to also serve as marketing for partner brands on the Gourmet app—offering discounts and free products from brands like Domty, Nutra Health, Organic Nation, and Luff. This ensured perceived value remained high while protecting margins and maintaining Gourmet’s premium positioning.

Segment-Appropriate Rewards

Rewards were calibrated to each segment's value, ensuring appropriate incentivization: discounts, bonus points, vouchers, and free products. Higher-value segments received more valuable rewards to match their contribution.

The Anniversary Game Campaign

For their 19th anniversary, we created a 19-day game campaign that offered a different interactive game every day. This included popular mechanics like Spin the Wheel, Scratch & Win, Match Cards, and quizzes.

Why it worked

The program's success stemmed from using gamification to provide an incentive that was more exciting than simple discount points:

• Targeted activation: Focuses resources on the largest, most impactful customer segment
• Personalized goals: Each segment gets achievable yet challenging targets based on their behavior
• Visible progress: Homepage placement creates constant awareness and motivation
• Flexible mechanics: Non-rigid streak completion reduces friction and frustration
• Premium positioning: Aligns with Gourmet's high-end brand through sophisticated personalization

The Results

The combined gamification approach delivered measurable engagement across both programs. Silver tier customers joined the purchase streak program, actively working toward personalized transaction milestones. On the Ramadan calendar, Silver tier and Gold tier participants engaged daily—with multiple customers completing every single day of the calendar without missing a single interaction.

• Ramadan Success: The Ramadan streak campaign successfully engaged customers who joined the streak and completed the spending missions.
• Anniversary Participation: The 19-day anniversary game campaign saw high participation from their most valuable segments.
• Qualitative Success: The success of the Ramadan campaign led to an immediate expression of interest from the Gourmet team in creating another campaign for their anniversary.

The streak program demonstrated that personalized, achievable targets can move a previously static customer segment to increase purchase frequency and value. The Ramadan calendar proved that engagement-led gamification can sustain daily participation across an entire month—performing as strongly as discount-heavy promotions while delivering a better brand experience and protecting margins.

Together, the programs strengthened repeat interactions, increased loyalty participation during Gourmet’s peak seasonal period, and positioned the loyalty program as part of the customer experience rather than just a sales tool.

Key Takeaway

Gourmet Egypt’s experience reveals a principle that applies well beyond premium grocery: the biggest growth opportunity in a tiered loyalty program often sits in the largest, least-engaged segment—not at the top. By combining micro-segmentation with visible progress mechanics and layering in daily calendar-based engagement during peak seasons, brands can activate dormant customers without resorting to blanket discounts that erode margins.

For retailers operating tiered loyalty programs in highly seasonal markets, the blueprint is clear: identify your largest underperforming segment, create personalized activation mechanics with flexible completion, make progress impossible to ignore, spread engagement across time rather than concentrating value into a single promotion, and give customers a reason to come back every day. The result is incremental revenue from existing customers—the most efficient path to growth.