Makeena Interview 2022: Cash and Rewards for Eating Better and Cleaning up the Planet

DeliveryRank spoke to Karen Frame, Founder and CEO of Makeena, about how Makeena is connecting shoppers and brands for good.  Makeena’s core purpose and vision is making the world a better place through technology and community that rewards the discovery and purchase of better-for-you, better-for-the-planet brands and products.

What is Makeena and how does it work?

Makeena is a retail agnostic loyalty platform for better-for-you better-for-the-planet brands, providing consumers with cash and rewards for engaging with these brands.  Because consumers are not limited to where they shop this can be done through an online store, e-commerce site, or at a bricks and mortar store. 

There are various engagement opportunities apart from buying a product in store such as taking a photo of the product on the shelf in store, sharing with friends, writing reviews, answering surveys and polls, or watching videos and earning points for interacting.  These points then get converted to cash and, or free product or swag depending on the brand.  

The platform was built for the brand to utilize across all its channels.  The brand can then gain insights through data on who their consumer is, where they are shopping, what is in their basket, what their preferences are, and then engage them again and buy more product.  It’s in the brand’s hands on how best it chooses to utilize, we say “we’ve built your loyalty program, so you don’t have to”. 

What was the inspiration for founding Makeena?

Although our MVP of Makeena was launched toward the end of 2018 the idea transpired back in 2011.  There are many “Why’s” that contributed to the reason I started Makeena - I’ve always been passionate about taking care of the environment. Back in the 90s I built interactive touch screen kiosk systems that were placed in natural product stores, I was vegan for many years, my former partner was an organic farmer. Growing up I lived across from a corn field that was regularly sprayed with pesticides which was a big influence to my passion of what you put in and on your body.  My past professional background as a lawyer, CPA, and head legal person in a number of technology companies in both data and software has given me great insight to software, services, and data.  Ultimately this all motivated me to start Makeena, which is all about making healthier food and eco-friendly products more easily accessible, and affordable.

What makes Makeena different?

Makeena really focuses on the brand itself, we are truly retail agnostic, the brand can build its own loyalty program within what we have built and we have a unique way for the brand to reengage with the consumer on the back-end.  It is a very flexible program for brand to interact and target consumers.

We also allow stacking, making it possible for you to use Makeena in conjunction with another loyalty or rewards system.  

Having multiple brand partners offers the opportunity to be exposed to other good for you and the planet product customers with a shared sense of conscientiousness.

Being B-Certified means we are socially responsible and committed to being the change we wish to see in the world.  We give back to environmental nonprofits as a member of 1% for the Planet and partner with other conscious companies.

What type of brands are you connected with?

We require the brands we partner with to have at least three attributes that we use as a gauge, but generally brands align with much more.  This could be that they are certified gluten free, non-GMO, organic, plant-based, eco-friendly, BPA-free, cruelty-free, or are a B-Certified corporation.  

We’re trying to give the consumer some ways which allows her to put her money where she really wants to make a difference that can sometimes be hard to do in a thoughtful, conscientious way.  

In your opinion, what are the top 3 things to consider when implementing a rewards program?

Is it cost-effective?  

Our brands are getting 65% repeat purchase rate, which is really impressive, and our rewards program is very reasonably priced compared to other rewards programs.

Are you getting the actual data or is it only creating loyal consumers, but you don’t actually know who they are?  

With Makeena you understand who that shopper is, where she is shopping, what’s in her  basket, and you can reach out to her again and encourage her to try new products or buy more product. 

Can you target those potential consumers that may be interested in your product, follow up with them and encourage them to try or buy your product?

This can be done in a variety of ways like offering free product or samples and following up afterward to gain consumer feedback.