The House of Makeba x Reelo: 25% More Revenue Per Guest

The Journey

In 2018, Ram Singhal and Nipun Kanodia made a bold bet, walking away from their textile business to build a restaurant brand from scratch.

With no prior industry experience, they launched their first rooftop outlet on IIM Road, Ahmedabad. That bet paid off. The House of Makeba has since grown into one of Gujarat's most loved premium vegetarian dining brands, with 7+ outlets and more underway.

Their early success came from strong fundamentals: globally inspired vegetarian cuisine, standout ambiance, and warm hospitality. But as they scaled, a familiar problem crept in. The personal touch that built their loyal following was starting to fade.

The Challenge: Scaling Personal Touch Across Seven Outlets

As the brand grew, so did the gaps:

• No visibility into repeat customers
• No structured guest data
• Paper-based operations
• No way to personalize experiences or make data-driven decisions

They were serving hundreds of guests every day, but didn't truly know any of them.

The Solution: Technology Meets Human Touch

Step 1: Building the Guest Intelligence System

Five years ago, The House of Makeba adopted Reelo to create what Ram calls their "guest memory." The system captured birthdays, anniversaries, visit frequency, and favourite dishes, turning anonymous diners into known, valued guests.

Step 2: Turning Negative Feedback into Loyalty Moments

Reelo's instant feedback alerts gave managers real-time WhatsApp notifications whenever a guest had a poor experience, letting them resolve issues tableside before they ever surfaced as a negative online review.

Step 3: Data-Driven Menu Evolution

Running 7 to 8 seasonal menus a year, The House of Makeba now uses Reelo data to guide every menu decision.

Step 4: The Tribe of Makeba Loyalty Program

The House of Makeba evolved its rewards program into "Tribe of Makeba," a three-tier loyalty system. Just Vibing for first-time visitors, Certified Regular for guests with 3 to 4 visits, and Main Character for their most loyal superfans. Members earn "M-Coins" based on visit frequency. Rather than discount-heavy campaigns, the focus is on event-based engagement and tiered benefits that reward loyalty progressively.

The Results

The House of Makeba achieved a 30%+ repeat and retention rate in Gujarat's intensely competitive dining scene, approaching their 40% target despite constant new restaurant openings.

Revenue per guest increased 25% year-on-year through intelligent upselling guided by customer preference data and staff training on pairing suggestions.

And their first Reelo campaign delivered an unexpected bonus: their very first franchisee, acquired through an SMS campaign, who remains a partner today.

The Competitive Advantage

The House of Makeba now uses Reelo's Smart Campaigns to automatically re-engage one-time visitors with personalized offers, while outlet managers compete monthly for incentives tied to repeat rates, tracked entirely through the platform.

The Bottom Line

Scaling a restaurant chain doesn't mean sacrificing the personal touch. It means using the right technology to amplify it.

The House of Makeba went from a single rooftop restaurant to Gujarat's premier dining destination by pairing Reelo's guest intelligence with genuine hospitality and smart, data-driven decisions.