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California Fish Grill
Fast Casual60+ Locations
How California Fish Grill and unPLUG built a connected first-party ecosystem across loyalty, web, and app to accelerate revenue and loyalty growth.
75%
YoY In-App Sales Increase
55%
YoY Digital Sales Increase
About The Partnership
California Fish Grill is a fast-casual restaurant brand known for its commitment to responsibly sourced seafood, bold flavors, and accessible pricing. With an enterprise-level, multi-unit footprint, the brand has built a loyal following by delivering high-quality meals in a convenient, approachable format.
As digital ordering and off-premise dining became an increasingly important part of the business, California Fish Grill focused on evolving its technology and guest engagement strategy. By investing in first-party channels, loyalty, and data-driven marketing, the brand continues to modernize its guest experience while driving sustainable, margin-friendly growth.
Integrations: Olo, Sparkfly
""The integrated first-party ecosystem helped us strengthen guest visibility, accelerate loyalty activation, and scale digital growth with confidence.""
The Challenge
As California Fish Grill scaled its digital business, the brand faced increasing reliance on third-party ordering channels, limiting both margins and direct ownership of guest relationships. While these platforms supported short-term demand, they restricted access to valuable customer data and made it difficult to build long-term loyalty.
At the same time, guest data was fragmented across kiosk, web, and mobile ordering platforms, creating gaps in visibility and preventing a unified view of customer behavior. This made it challenging to deliver personalized experiences, optimize marketing performance, or fully understand how guests interacted with the brand across channels.
How We Solved It
The strategic approach and key implementations that drove success
1
Demand Capture Optimization
unPLUG worked closely with cross-functional teams across marketing, IT, and operations to design a tailored first-party ordering experience that could scale across channels. The focus was on capturing more direct demand while creating a consistent and intuitive guest journey, whether ordering via kiosk, web, or mobile.
- Tailored first-party web and mobile ordering experience
- Unified approach across kiosk, web, and app touchpoints
- Embedded guest data capture throughout the ordering journey
- Deep-link enabled omnichannel campaigns to drive direct traffic
2
Transaction Optimization
To improve conversion and reduce friction, unPLUG launched a cloud-native ordering and engagement experience designed for speed, simplicity, and flexibility. The optimized system made it easier for guests to complete transactions while integrating key features like loyalty, payments, and support into a seamless flow. This created a more efficient path from intent to purchase across all digital channels.
- Streamlined checkout experience with improved payment flexibility
- Deep-linking capabilities from campaigns directly into cart
- Integrated loyalty, gift card, and support workflows
- Optimized ordering flows across kiosk, web, and mobile
3
Guest Recognition & Loyalty
With a unified data infrastructure in place, California Fish Grill was able to strengthen guest recognition and unlock more effective, data-driven marketing. unPLUG enabled the brand to better understand guest behavior across channels and continuously refine its engagement strategies.
- Unified data stream across ordering, loyalty, and engagement platforms
- Enhanced visibility into guest behavior and campaign performance
- Data-informed optimization of LTOs and marketing strategies
- Foundation for AI-powered recommendations and upsell opportunities
The Results
Measurable impact across key business metrics
75%
YoY In-App Sales Increase
55%
YoY Digital Sales Increase
+80%
Add-to-Cart Purchase Conversion
76%
1P Guest Frequency Increase
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