We are delighted to announce a strategic partnership with Columbus Cafe, a leading North African coffee chain with over 120 locations across Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. This expansion represents a significant milestone for QTouch in the MENA region, bringing our innovative in-venue digital engagement platform to premium coffee and café locations where customer dwell time is ideal for brand interaction.
This partnership opens exciting opportunities for brand engagement in the specialty coffee and café sector, where customers spend 35-45 minutes on average, creating the perfect window for meaningful, non-intrusive brand interactions.
The Partnership Scope
Our collaboration with Columbus Cafe spans multiple engagement touchpoints across their North African venues:
- In-café digital screens during customer dwell time — Engaging customers with entertaining and relevant content while they enjoy their coffee
- Loyalty program integration — Seamless digital experience connecting QTouch content with Columbus Cafe's customer rewards program
- Counter and seating area activations — Strategic placements that enhance the café ambiance while offering brand engagement opportunities
This integrated approach ensures that partner brands can connect with Columbus Cafe's growing customer base across all their venues in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, reaching approximately 1.5 million monthly café visitors.
Understanding the Coffee Shop Opportunity
Columbus Cafe represents a unique engagement environment. With average dwell times of 35-45 minutes, café customers are a relaxed, receptive audience in a leisure mindset. This extended time window is ideal for premium brand engagement—customers are open to discovering new products and services while enjoying their beverage in a comfortable setting.
The scale is impressive: 120+ locations across three major North African markets means partner brands gain unprecedented access to engaged audiences in high-quality café environments, establishing meaningful connections with loyal, repeat customers.
Proven Results from Pilot Program
Before this full-scale rollout, we conducted an extensive pilot program across selected Columbus Cafe locations. The results validated our approach:
- 28% engagement rate — Café customers engaged with digital content at significantly above-standard rates, reflecting the receptive café environment
- 15% coupon redemption rate — Partner offers drove meaningful conversion and customer acquisition in the café setting
- Strong brand affinity — Premium brands reported high-quality interactions and interest in expanded campaigns across the network
These metrics demonstrate that specialty café environments are uniquely suited for high-quality brand engagement when executed thoughtfully.
Financial Impact and Market Opportunity
This partnership is projected to generate significant value for both organizations. Columbus Cafe will realize an estimated €800,000 in additional annual revenue through brand partnerships across their North African network. Beyond direct revenue, the partnership enhances the customer experience and reinforces Columbus Cafe's positioning as a modern, forward-thinking brand.
For QTouch and our partner brands, this represents an important market expansion into one of North Africa's fastest-growing specialty food and beverage segments.
Brand Categories Suited to Columbus Cafe
Our research identified five brand categories perfectly aligned with Columbus Cafe's audience:
- Beverages — Complementary products and beverages that enhance the café experience
- Lifestyle — Fashion, wellness, and personal care brands resonating with café culture
- Technology — Tech products and digital services appealing to modern café customers
- Local Businesses — Regional partners and local enterprises building community connections
Rollout Timeline
The partnership launches strategically across the region to ensure operational excellence:
- Q1 2026: Full rollout across all Columbus Cafe locations in Morocco
- Q2 2026: Expansion to Tunisia and Algeria locations
This phased approach allows us to optimize operations, gather customer insights, and refine our platform before completing the full North African expansion.
"Our partnership with QTouch represents an important evolution in how we engage our customers. By integrating digital experiences that complement rather than interrupt the café environment, we're enhancing what makes Columbus Cafe special—a place where people connect, relax, and discover. We're excited about the additional value this brings to our customers and our business." — Regional Director, Columbus Cafe Nord Africa
"Columbus Cafe's expansion into QTouch's network marks a significant step in our strategy to establish premium venue partnerships across North Africa and the broader MENA region. The café environment is perfectly suited to our engagement philosophy—customers are receptive, engaged, and open to meaningful brand interactions. This partnership validates our approach and positions us for continued growth across the region." — Steeve Attali, CEO, QTouch
What's Next
The Columbus Cafe partnership is a strong foundation for QTouch's expansion across the MENA region. This success demonstrates our ability to adapt our platform to different venue types while maintaining engagement quality and customer respect.
We're seeing increased interest from specialty food and beverage operators across the region who recognize the potential of thoughtful, venue-appropriate digital engagement. The next phase of QTouch's growth story in North Africa is being written with Columbus Cafe and will serve as a model for similar partnerships to come.
We're excited to partner with Columbus Cafe and grateful for their vision of creating customer experiences that are both engaging and authentic to their brand values.
