Playa Bowls + Bikky Power Accelerated Growth With In-Depth Guest Insights


NEW YORK, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bikky, a customer data platform built exclusively for multi-unit restaurants, announced its partnership with Playa Bowls, the nation’s leading acai shop, serving superfruit bowls, smoothies, juices, and more with sustainability and community in mind.

Playa Bowls started as a makeshift pop-up in Belmar, NJ, in front of a pizzeria. By sharing their passion for acai with delicious, creative recipes, the brand expanded from a single blender and a small cart to more than 300 U.S. locations in just 11 years. With ambitious plans to add another 90 shops in 2025 and a need to improve their data access, Playa Bowls turned to Bikky to truly understand what’s driving their business.

“We had a lot of questions about what was underlying some of our performance trends, but very limited data capabilities,” says Jayson Tipp, Chief Development Officer at Playa Bowls. “With Bikky, we can start answering key questions about the business using individual guest insights, rather than a gut feeling.”

Prior to Bikky, Playa Bowls’ relied heavily on manual reporting and POS data. While directional trends were visible, the “why” behind shop performance remained elusive. Was a jump in sales driven by new guests or more frequent visits from existing ones? Was a change in behavior due to a marketing, menu, or operational change, or something else? Can we do it again?

“These are the questions that can only be answered with a CDP,” says Tipp.

The brand is also excited to understand the impact of previous decisions that were made without CDP data. Before partnering with Bikky, the success of menu updates, like swapping out Chia Pudding with a new Mango base, was difficult to measure. It was also challenging to comprehend seasonality and other chain-wide trends beyond shifts in sales. Playa Bowls can now accurately gauge whether their Mango base is a favorite of new or repeat guests, and whether traffic and frequency (or both) changes with the weather.

“With a deeper understanding of who and what is affected by every change we make, we can implement more effective marketing and operational interventions, and approach product development and testing like the mature brand we are,” continued Tipp.

As Playa Bowls continues to rapidly scale, Bikky will play a key role in assessing how new shop openings impact guest behavior. For example, adding a new location near an existing one could divert traffic, or it could make the brand more accessible and enable guests to engage more frequently. “When you have data that tells you what your guests are actually doing, it changes the conversation,” says Tipp. “You have a clear understanding of which levers you can pull to drive specific results, and how to repeat what’s working.”

The brand’s single biggest goal for the coming years is continuing to open locations that appeal to guests and franchise owners alike—while moving forward at lightning speed. “We’re confident Bikky will reveal the best way to set new locations up for success,” says Tipp.

"Playa Bowls' incredible journey from a cart to more than 300 locations exemplifies the power of passion paired with strategic growth,” says Bikky CEO Abhinav Kapur. “As they continue their rapid expansion, having clear visibility into guest behavior becomes critical. Our platform will help Playa Bowls understand exactly what's driving their success, from menu innovations to new shop openings, enabling them to scale with confidence while maintaining the authentic experience that guests love."

The fastest-growing, most innovative restaurants in today’s competitive market look to Bikky for insight into how their decisions impact key metrics like frequency and traffic. Playa Bowls joins a growing roster of brands, including Robeks, WaBa Grill, and Dave’s Hot Chicken, who rely on the groundbreaking guest data and analytics platform.

About Playa Bowls
Known as New Jersey's original acai bowl shop, Playa Bowls is the nation’s leading superfruit bowl shop serving up an extensive and unique menu of over 40 items, including the bright flavors of acai, pitaya, green, mango and coconut bowls alongside oatmeal bowls, juices, smoothies, and cold brew made with the freshest, high-quality ingredients. What began as a pair of blenders, a patio table, and a fridge in 2014 has flourished into nearly 300 shops nationwide that operate in 27 states, thousands of team members, and a mission to lead communities in healthy, sustainable living. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including No. 7 on the 2025 Franchise Times Fast & Serious List, Forbes 30 Under 30, Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers & Shakers, QSR Young Leaders to Watch, and finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Visit playabowls.com for additional information and stay connected on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. For more information on franchising, please visit franchise.playabowls.com/.

About Bikky
Bikky is a customer data platform exclusively for multi-unit restaurant brands.

With Bikky, brands like Dave's Hot Chicken, Bojangles, and Playa Bowls clearly understand how their marketing, menu, and operations impact guest traffic and frequency. By connecting with your entire tech stack—from POS to loyalty—Bikky delivers insight on up to 90% of your guest base, empowering you to make informed, fast decisions that drive incremental sales.

Bikky is based in New York City and has raised nearly $15 million in funding to date.

Contact:
Abhinav Kapur, Founder & CEO, Bikky
Abhinav@bikky.com


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