Mondelez and Checkout 51 reward snackers on mobile

Toronto-based mobile couponing startup Checkout 51 has announced a partnership with Mondelez and ad agency Mediavest to create a loyalty program for the CPG’s snack brands.

Checkout 51′s app lets users scan their receipts after shopping for the chance to receive rebates on featured products that they’ve purchased. The app was created as a way to help brands communicate directly with consumers. Kraft was one of the first CPGs to use the app.

The Mondelez partnership is the next big step. Checkout 51 introduced a brand-dedicated “Christie Corner” that users can click on to instantly sign up for a brand loyalty program.

READ: Three men, an app and a mission to revolutionize coupons

Christie Corner will track when a shopper buys Ritz, Oreo, Chips Ahoy or other Christie products, and create personalized promotions that will show up among the app’s weekly featured rebates.

“As a snacking company, many of our products and brands are purchased on-the-go and on impulse and are in a consumer’s hand just as much as their mobile phones,” said Kristi Karens, Mondelez Canada’s director of media and agency partnerships, in a release.

“By understanding how and when consumers shop for snacks and confectionery products, we were able to create a unique partnership with Checkout 51 that leverages the power of impulse purchases and instant mobile activity to reward our consumers on-the-go.”

And it’s a hit. Pema Hegan, founder of Checkout 51, said 60,000 users have signed up for Christie Corner in just the first week.

“We’ve got a very unique way of working with Mondelez and Mediavest,” said Hegan. “We assembled a team of product people from Checkout 51, marketers from Mondelez and media thinkers from Mediavest, and together that group collaborates on products and then constantly works to optimize them.”

READ: Longo's launches personalized mobile apps

Christie Corner is just the first step in what Hegan hopes will be a long and fruitful partnership.

Hegan launched the company last December with fellow entrepreneur Noah Godfrey and shortly afterward left his position as strategist at Rethink to focus full-time on the startup.

Since its debut, Checkout 51 has signed up 425,000 shoppers and grown to a team of 26. In April, it rolled out an Android version of the app, and already Android users account for 25% of the service’s customer base.

Hegan said he’s planning a U.S. launch late this year or early next.

This article was first published in Marketing.