What began as a seasonal challenge for FACT Café has evolved into a compelling growth story, demonstrating how local businesses can leverage digital tools, data-driven decision-making and strategic partnerships to unlock new opportunities and achieve sustainable growth.
After opening a branch in Abha during the peak summer tourism season in July 2025, FACT Café experienced strong initial demand. However, as visitor numbers declined following the end of the tourism season and the return of the school calendar, the café faced a significant reduction in foot traffic, highlighting the need to diversify revenue streams and build a more sustainable growth model.
Seeking new ways to reach customers and strengthen its business performance, FACT Café partnered with Keeta, the international subsidiary of Meituan.
Rather than simply adding a delivery channel, FACT Café worked closely with Keeta to implement a comprehensive growth strategy focused on increasing visibility, optimizing its digital storefront, improving customer engagement and leveraging data-driven insights to support better business decisions.
The initiative included menu optimisation, professional product photography, targeted promotional campaigns, customer behaviour analysis and operational enhancements designed to improve both customer experience and commercial performance.
One of the key turning points came when performance data identified FACT Cake as the café's strongest-performing product. Building on this insight, targeted promotional campaigns helped increase customer engagement and drive additional demand. The café subsequently introduced new products and leveraged trend-based marketing initiatives to further accelerate growth.
The results were significant. Between September and October, monthly orders increased from 320 to 994, representing growth of more than 208%.During the same period, gross merchandise value (GMV) increased from SAR 25,580 to SAR 71,597, while paid GMV grew from SAR 15,838 to SAR 38,503.
Customer engagement metrics also improved considerably, with visibility increasing by 73%, menu browsing increasing by 255%, conversion rates improving by 26%, and fulfillment rates increasing by 61%.
The business also enhanced profitability through strategic product optimisation initiatives, increasing net profit per order from SAR 12.19 to SAR 23.48.
Growth continued beyond the initial recovery period, with FACT Café recording approximately 900 orders during November despite a week-long holiday period and projecting more than 1,000 monthly orders in the following period.
The sustained performance ultimately led the owner to commit to opening a second FACT Café branch, underscoring the confidence created by the business's growth trajectory.
FACT Café's experience reflects a growing trend among Saudi SMEs, with businesses increasingly embracing digital solutions to strengthen resilience, improve customer acquisition and create sustainable growth opportunities.
Through partnerships with restaurants, cafés and local businesses across Saudi Arabia, Keeta continues to support merchants with technology, operational insights and customer acquisition opportunities that help them grow and thrive in an increasingly digital economy.
