From Local Dining to AI Deals - How Zestminds Modernized Moola Rewards into a Geo-Smart Marketplace App

Client: Moola Rewards

Industry: Restaurants & Local Retail

Region: United Kingdom (Derbyshire Dales)

Services: Mobile App Development, Geo-Location Intelligence, Payment Gateway Integration, AI Personalization

Technologies: Laravel 10 | React | Swift | Kotlin | MySQL | Braintree | AWS

Project Overview

When Derbyshire’s local cafés and restaurants needed a smarter way to attract customers, Moola Rewards became the bridge — powered by AI and built by Zestminds. What started as a community initiative evolved into an AI-powered local deals app connecting thousands of users with merchants through real-time, location-based recommendations.

Zestminds partnered with Moola Rewards to modernize their legacy app into a scalable, intelligent platform that blends geo-intelligence, AI personalization, and secure payments for a seamless user experience.

Problem Statement

The original Moola Rewards app, built on CakePHP, Swift, and Kotlin, gained popularity but struggled to scale. Our audit revealed multiple challenges that limited performance and growth.

• Outdated architecture: The old backend couldn’t handle higher user traffic, slowing down API responses and increasing load times.
• Dual-user complexity: Merchants and customers needed distinct yet connected journeys with smooth transitions.
• Lack of geo-relevance: Static deals lacked personalization and AI-driven recommendations.
• Payment security: The subscription model required reliable, PCI-compliant gateways.
• Manual voucher management: Retailers couldn’t easily automate deal creation and redemption tracking.
• User retention: Without personalization or push notifications, engagement steadily declined.

The goal was clear: rebuild the app from the ground up — using modern architecture, AI intelligence, and scalable APIs. The project started as a legacy PHP web development upgrade and evolved into a full-scale AI modernization journey.

Zestminds’ Solution

Zestminds transformed Moola Rewards into a future-ready, dual-sided marketplace using Laravel 10 and FastAPI — engineered for speed, personalization, and business growth.

1. AI-Powered Personalization Engine for Smarter Deals

Using FastAPI microservices and Python ML models, we built a recommendation engine that analyzes user location, purchase patterns, and behavior to display the most relevant offers automatically — such as coffee deals in the morning and dinner discounts in the evening. This AI-driven mobile experience made the app both human-centric and data-smart.

2. Rebuilt Backend with Laravel 10 & FastAPI

The old CakePHP backend was replaced with a hybrid Laravel 10 + FastAPI architecture. This enabled modular APIs, asynchronous performance, and JWT-based authentication. The result: 40% faster API response and seamless scalability. Learn more about our Laravel development services or explore our Laravel API development best practices for 2025.

3. Dual-Login Experience for Merchants and Users

We designed separate yet connected login journeys for both audiences. Merchants can manage deals, track analytics, and handle subscriptions, while customers browse and redeem offers from nearby businesses in real time. This dual architecture simplified onboarding and increased engagement for both sides of the marketplace.

4. Secure Payment & Subscription System

We integrated Braintree and PayPal SDKs for secure recurring payments and subscriptions. Merchants can easily manage multiple outlets and transactions through a single dashboard with PCI DSS compliance and data encryption.

5. Geo-Smart Deal Discovery with Location Intelligence

By implementing the Google Maps API with custom geo-fencing, users automatically see deals within a defined radius — no manual search required. This feature alone increased voucher redemption rates by three times. You can read more about our approach in Building Location-Based AI Apps.

6. Cloud-Native Scalability & Monitoring

Deployed on AWS using EC2 and CloudFront, the app achieved higher uptime, better speed, and real-time monitoring with AWS CloudWatch. The architecture is now fully scalable for future features and multi-region deployment.

Impact & Results

• App load time: Reduced from 4.8s to 1.9s
• Merchant onboarding: Cut down from 15 min to 5 min
• Deal redemption rate: Increased from 12% to 36%
• API performance: 40% faster response time
• Active merchants: 500+ within six months

Qualitative Outcomes

• Local merchants gained a direct digital channel to promote deals affordably.
• Tourists and locals discovered new restaurants, bars, and cafés effortlessly.
• The AI recommendation engine led to higher user engagement and repeat visits.
• Secure payment integration built user trust and platform credibility.

Moola Rewards evolved from a simple deal-listing app to an intelligent, real-time marketplace that strengthens local business ecosystems.

The app became a trusted, data-driven platform connecting users with the best local offers — improving merchant engagement, community participation, and restaurant app loyalty.

Modernization Note — 2025 Upgrade

In 2025, Zestminds further enhanced the app with new capabilities to keep it future-ready:

• GPT Chat Assistant: AI-based conversational deal discovery (“Show me vegan cafés nearby”).
• Predictive Offers: AI-driven demand forecasting and voucher expiry alerts.
• Analytics Dashboard: Power BI reports for merchant performance tracking.
• PWA Compatibility: Faster access without app store dependency.
• Multi-region scalability: Expansion-ready architecture for franchise models.

This modernization ensures Moola Rewards stays at the forefront of AI-driven retail engagement and mobile app modernization best practices.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Swift, Kotlin, Bootstrap 5
• Backend: Laravel 10, FastAPI (Python)
• Database: MySQL 8
• Payments: PayPal, Braintree
• AI / ML: TensorFlow Lite + FastAPI
• Geo & Maps: Google Maps API, GeoPy
• Cloud: AWS EC2, S3, CloudFront, CloudWatch

Client Testimonial

“Partnering with Zestminds transformed our idea into a reality. Their team not only rebuilt our app but also brought in features we never imagined, AI personalization, geo-smart deals, and analytics that help us understand our users better. Our engagement and merchant participation tripled within months.”

— Stuart Atkinson, Founder, Moola Rewards

Video Testimonial: Watch Stuart’s experience with Zestminds

▶ Watch Client Video Testimonial

Want to Modernize Your App?

Your legacy platform deserves a 2025 upgrade — faster, smarter, and powered by AI. Zestminds helps startups and enterprises transform existing products into intelligent, high-performing experiences.

Let Zestminds Build It for You — your journey to modernization starts here.

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