Embargo

Overview

Embargo is a digital loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) platform built specifically for the hospitality sector, including coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries, and bars. The platform provides venues with a branded digital loyalty card hosted within the unified Embargo Wallet consumer app, replacing traditional paper stamp cards. Through the Embargo Portal CRM, operators capture customer visit frequency, automate direct marketing campaigns, manage click-and-collect or delivery orders, and view live foot-traffic analytics.

What it does

• Launches branded digital loyalty cards accessible via a single consumer wallet app.
• Captures walk-in and online customer visit frequency, spending habits, and behavioral data.
• Automates targeted direct marketing campaigns through push notifications, SMS, and email.
• Enables direct-to-consumer delivery and click-and-collect ordering with integrated POS sync.

Who it's for

• Independent Coffee Shops & Bakeries
• Casual Dining Restaurants
• Multi-Location Bar Groups
• Hospitality Marketing Teams

Why it works

• Aggregates venue loyalty cards into one consumer wallet app to drive high user retention.
• Hardware-light Bluetooth tap beacons allow instant contact-free stamp collection at POS checkouts.
• Centralizes walk-in, pickup, and delivery customer analytics into a single actionable dashboard.
• Offers lower transaction commissions on direct delivery and pickup orders compared to third-party marketplaces.

Founder story

Embargo was founded in London in 2017 by Tsewang Wangkang and Fryderyk Szydlowski. Combining backgrounds in investment banking and hospitality venue management, the founders created Embargo to help independent food and beverage businesses collect actionable customer data that was historically only available to large multinational chains. The company expanded across the UK and Europe to power customer retention for thousands of venues.

Alternatives

• SevenRooms
• Thanx
• Stampme
• Toast Loyalty

Comparison overview

• Embargo hosts venue loyalty programs inside a shared consumer wallet app rather than requiring venues to pay for standalone white-labeled app development.
• It combines contactless physical stamp collection beacons with built-in direct ordering and CRM automated outreach.