11 Food & Drink App Gamification Examples

This post is part of a series on how gamification mechanics are used effectively in various types of consumer apps. You may find these gamification examples helpful if you are looking to incorporate gamification into your product strategy.

Food & Drink Apps and the Role of Gamification

Food & drink apps help users discover, order, review, and manage food and beverages. They are interesting because they streamline the dining experience, offer convenience, and cater to individual preferences. These apps often use gamification to boost engagement. Features like points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges reward users for actions like ordering, reviewing, and trying new things. This creates a sense of accomplishment and competition, making the apps more fun and encouraging repeat usage. Gamification can also personalize the user experience, suggest better recommendations, unlock exclusive offers, and foster a community, which ultimately adds value. Now, without further ado, here are 11 food & drink apps that use gamification to create engaging user experiences.

11 Food & Drink App Gamification Examples

DoorDash

DoorDash is a delivery service. They allow users to receive points and other achievements by ordering food often.

DoorDash uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Dashers receive points for completing deliveries, which contribute to their overall Dasher level (Gold, Platinum, Diamond). Higher levels unlock benefits like priority access to deliveries and larger order opportunities.

• Challenges: DoorDash presents challenges to Dashers, such as completing a certain number of deliveries within a specific timeframe or during peak hours. Completing these challenges earns Dashers bonus pay or other incentives.

• Rewards: DoorDash offers rewards and incentives to Dashers for achieving certain milestones or maintaining high performance. These rewards can include bonus pay, exclusive access to deliveries, or other perks.

• Progress Bars: DoorDash uses progress bars to visually represent a Dasher's progress toward completing a challenge or achieving a certain goal. This helps Dashers stay motivated and track their progress.

You can learn more about DoorDash's gamification strategy in our case study: DoorDash's Gamification Strategy: A Case Study.

Happy Cow

Happy Cow is a food review app that allows you to find vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Provides achievements and points for posting reviews.

Happy Cow uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for contributing to the platform. Points are awarded for actions such as adding new listings, writing reviews, and uploading photos.

• Badges: HappyCow uses a system of badges to recognize user contributions. Badges are earned for various activities, such as writing a certain number of reviews, adding a specific type of listing, or maintaining a consistent streak of activity.

• Levels: HappyCow uses a level system to indicate a user's contribution level based on the number of points earned.

• Progress Bars: HappyCow uses a progress bar to visually represent how far a user is from getting to the next level. The progress bar fills as the user earns points and gets closer to leveling up.

You can learn more about Happy Cow's gamification strategy in our case study: How Happy Cow Leverages Gamification to Boost Retention.

McDonald's App

McDonald's Rewards allows users to earn points on purchases and redeem them for free menu items. It uses challenges and bonus point events to encourage frequent visits.

McDonald's App uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Customers earn points for every dollar spent on eligible purchases. These points accumulate and can be redeemed for free menu items.

• Rewards: The app offers various deals and rewards that users can unlock and redeem. These rewards often require a certain number of points or purchase history.

• Streaks: The app presents daily or weekly deals encouraging users to maintain a streak of using the app regularly to take advantage of limited-time offers.

• Challenges: The app presents users with challenges like 'order a certain item' or 'visit McDonald's a specific number of times within a period' to earn bonus points or exclusive rewards.

• Progress Bars: The app visually displays how close a user is to earning a reward or reaching the next points threshold through progress bars.

You can learn more about McDonald's App's gamification strategy in our case study: How McDonald's App Leverages Gamification to Boost Retention.

MyPanera

MyPanera rewards members with personalized challenges and surprise rewards based on their purchase history. Points are earned on all purchases

MyPanera uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for every purchase they make. These points can then be redeemed for rewards, such as discounts or free items.

• Rewards: Users unlock rewards as they accumulate points. These rewards can be used to get discounts, free items, or other perks.

• Streaks: The app tracks how frequently you visit Panera and make purchases, rewarding consistent behavior.

• Progress Bars: The app uses a progress bar to visualize your progress towards earning a reward. This helps motivate you to continue making purchases and earning points.

You can learn more about MyPanera's gamification strategy in our case study: How MyPanera Uses Gamification to Improve Engagement and Retention.

Postmates

Postmates is a food delivery service that allows users to receive points and other achievements by ordering food often.

Postmates uses the following gamification features:

• Rewards: Postmates Pro rewards program offers exclusive perks to its delivery drivers based on points earned, encouraging them to complete more deliveries. This encourages drivers to maintain consistent activity.

• Challenges: Postmates uses challenges to incentivize drivers to complete a certain number of deliveries within a specific timeframe for bonus pay. These time-sensitive challenges help meet demand during peak hours.

• Points: Postmates uses a points system related to the Pro program. Drivers earn points for each delivery, and accumulate points to unlock higher tiers.

• Levels: Postmates Pro program has levels (e.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum). Drivers progress through these levels as they earn more points, unlocking increasingly valuable rewards.

Seamless

Seamless allows users to order food from local restaurants. Has gamified elements like earning points and badges for ordering food.

Seamless uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for every order they place through Seamless. These points can then be redeemed for discounts or special offers.

• Rewards: Seamless provides users with rewards such as discounts, free delivery, or special menu items for frequent use of the app.

• Streaks: The app tracks how many consecutive days/weeks a user has ordered, encouraging them to maintain their ordering habits. Seamless rewards users for maintaining order streaks.

You can learn more about Seamless's gamification strategy in our case study: Seamless Case Study: The Impact of Gamification on Retention and Engagement.

Untappd

Untappd is a social networking platform for beer enthusiasts. Users can rate and review beers, earn badges, and track their beer-drinking experiences.

Untappd uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Untappd awards users badges for trying different beers, styles, locations, and completing various in-app activities. These badges often have multiple levels, encouraging users to explore more beers and engage with the app frequently.

• Streaks: Untappd allows users to earn streaks by checking in beers on consecutive days. This encourages daily engagement with the app.

• Levels: Untappd has a leveling system that is based on the number of unique beers that a user has checked in. The more unique beers you try and log in the app, the higher your level will be.

You can learn more about Untappd's gamification strategy in our case study: Untappd's Gamification Strategy: A Case Study.

Chipotle Rewards

Chipotle offers a rewards program with challenges and points accumulation towards free entrees, encouraging repeat visits.

Chipotle Rewards uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Customers earn points for every dollar spent at Chipotle. These points accumulate and can be redeemed for free food.

• Levels: The Chipotle Rewards program has different tiers or levels. As customers accumulate more points, they progress to higher levels, unlocking additional benefits and rewards.

• Rewards: Chipotle offers rewards in exchange for points. Rewards include free entrees, sides, and drinks.

• Challenges: Chipotle occasionally offers personalized challenges to earn bonus points. An example is ordering a specific item multiple times in a week to receive bonus points.

Dunkin' Rewards

Dunkin' Rewards offers points for purchases, exclusive deals, and birthday rewards, motivating users to visit Dunkin' more frequently.

Dunkin' Rewards uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Members earn points for every purchase made at Dunkin'. These points can then be redeemed for free drinks, food, and other perks.

• Rewards: The app offers various rewards that members can redeem using their accumulated points. Rewards range from free beverages to food items and exclusive offers.

• Challenges: The Dunkin' Rewards app presents personalized challenges to encourage specific purchasing behaviors for particular products or on certain days. Completing these challenges usually results in bonus points.

• Progress Bars: The app visually displays the progress members are making towards earning points or unlocking rewards, typically through bars or similar indicators.

• Streaks: Members can earn bonus points or other rewards for maintaining a streak of consecutive visits or purchases to stay 'Boosted'.

Burger King Royal Perks

Burger King Royal Perks program allows users to earn crowns for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for free food and drinks.

Burger King Royal Perks uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for every dollar spent at Burger King. These points can then be redeemed for free menu items.

• Challenges: The app offers personalized challenges to earn bonus points, such as ordering specific items or visiting Burger King a certain number of times within a period.

• Rewards: Customers receive free menu items, discounts, or other perks when they accumulate enough points through purchases.

Taco Bell Rewards

Taco Bell Rewards offers points for every dollar spent, with bonus challenges and exclusive offers, leading to unlocking various rewards.

Taco Bell Rewards uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for every dollar spent on eligible Taco Bell purchases. These points accumulate and can be redeemed for rewards.

• Rewards: The app features a rewards system where users can exchange accumulated points for various menu items. The value of each reward varies, requiring different amounts of points.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of how gamification can be used effectively in food & drink apps. We hope you found these examples inspiring and that they help you think about how you can incorporate gamification into your own product strategy.

If you're looking to build gamification into your app or platform, we encourage you to check out Trophy, a set of APIs and tools for building gamified product experiences in hours, not months.