5000 Auckland Students Are Using AI To Beat The High Cost Of Feeding Themselves

Launched (private Beta launch) just three months ago, a new AI-powered ‘food savings and rewards’ app called ‘Grapevine’ is being used by 5000 students at two of Auckland’s largest universities. By using historic shopping data to provide personalised deals and rewards, the app has successfully connected 100 local food outlets with students under the mantra ‘Eat more. Spend less.’

Grapevine, who raised its Pre-Seed funding round from Blackbird and went through the Startmate accelerator in 2021, is building a solution that uses personal shopping history and AI to change the game when it comes to competing for diminishing consumer spend.

Optimising the shopping experience

“By securely connecting their banking transaction data to Grapevine, students gain instant access to deals and rewards at the places that they love. If students choose not to share their data, Grapevine also makes a good number of deals available so you can still save when eating out,” explains Grapevines Founder Jiao Xie.

She adds that businesses are waking up to the fact that connecting with customers who are more likely to love your food is the quickest way to optimise profit and customer loyalty “Through Grapevine, businesses gain the ability to remain top of mind for existing patrons; and attract new ones based on their personal preferences and habits. They also gain access to insights around who their ideal customers are, how they spend money in-store such as frequency and order value, how the business is doing against the competitions, and what best attracts the customers so they can tailor rewards and deals accordingly to make people come back again and spend more,” says Jiao.

The app’s runaway success during what Jiao calls its ‘Beta’ phase saves active users 10-20% on eating out reflected as an ‘immediate discount’ at partner stores signed on to connect with Grapevine at their POS; or seamless ‘Cashback’ being rewarded after the spending is automatically verified via connected shopping history. Wider launch to the rest of the country is planned once the app adds features that cater to the broader public, considering their shopping and dining habits; and Grapevine will engage more local businesses from different sectors to offer deals that consider the diverse interests of a broader audience.

How it works

The technology behind Grapevine is a proprietary AI system that offers real-time behavioral segmentation and targeting on top of bank transaction data. It enables a personalised future where consumers can automatically unlock deals and rewards at places they shop at; while connecting businesses to their customers with offers that feel like advice, not spam. With open banking yet to launch in New Zealand, Grapevine provides users a safe and secure way to share ‘read only’ bank statements using an account aggregation platform. Grapevine AI then de-personalises the data’ predicts personal shopping needs based on transactional behaviors; and personalises deals and rewards best suited to each individual.

Much needed innovation for consumers and business

“As a company, Grapevine has one mission: to deliver on the promise to help consumers save; and help businesses access customers. This is exactly the type of innovation New Zealand needs if we’re going to move the needle on innovating through the cost of living crisis,” believes Founder of Phase One Ventures Mahesh Muralidhar.

Mahesh - whose incubator built a cohort of 31 startups - recently won National Party selection to stand for the Auckland Central seat. The incubator was heavily focused on cultivating a “culture of customer and problem obsession”; something Jiao and her team have taken to heart.

“The future of shopping is advice; not spam, driven by the superior understanding and use of shopper data to enable personalisation. We’re entering a prolonged period of consumer spending restraints and businesses who offer the ability to maximise value for money will come out on top,” concludes Jiao.

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