The problem
Takeaway customers order when they remember you, and a quiet midweek is common. If a takeaway has 400 customers on a list and an email brings back 8 of them a week at £18 a head, that's £144 a week, about £619 a month (x 4.3), that isn't happening without a way to reach them.
What the AI does
Brevo is an email marketing platform. Its site lists a drag-and-drop editor, templates, forms that capture sign-ups and trigger follow-up emails, segments and an AI content generator that drafts subject lines and copy. Add a sign-up option to your online ordering page or a flyer, with clear wording and an unticked box, and keep the record. Once a week, send an email with one offer or menu highlight to those who opted in. Under PECR you need consent, a clear sender and a working unsubscribe in every email. Don't make allergen or health claims in the emails; those come from your records and a trained person.
A worked example
A takeaway in Coventry has 400 customers who ticked a box to hear about offers when ordering directly. It sends one email each Wednesday.
Before
No way to reach 400 past customers midweek; orders depend on who happens to remember you
After
One email a week to 400 opted-in customers: about 1,720 emails a month, with 8 reorders a week at £18 = £144
What it's worth
About £340 a month in extra gross profit if 8 of 400 recipients reorder each week: £144 x 4.3 = £619, and 55% of that after the cost of food and packaging (an assumed margin) is about £340. The 8 reorders is an assumption, not a promise. Brevo Starter is £6 a month for 5,000 emails and up to 500 contacts and shows the Brevo logo; removing it is an £8 add-on, and Standard at £13 includes it, so the cost is £6 with the logo or £13 without. Brevo's free plan sends up to 300 emails a day, so a 400-contact list is too big to send in one go on Free; that is why this is priced at Starter.
How to set it up
- Create a Brevo account and a sign-up form or checkbox with clear wording: you will email about offers, and people can unsubscribe at any time.
- Add the sign-up to your ordering page, counter or flyers; never add customers who have not opted in.
- Build one email template with your logo, a single offer and an order button.
- Each week, ask the AI tool for subject lines and copy for the offer, check the price and dates, and send.
- Remove unsubscribes immediately and keep your sign-up records.
What goes wrong
- Marketing emails need consent under PECR and UK GDPR. Customers who ordered but didn't opt in shouldn't be added to the list.
- Starter allows 500 contacts at the 5,000-email level; past that you need a higher tier.
- Offers must be ones you can honour at the price shown. Check the AI copy for wrong prices, and never let it add a claim about ingredients or allergens.
- Starter emails show the Brevo logo; removing it costs £8 a month extra or comes with Standard at £13. Decide whether the logo matters to you.