From deeply customizable membership programs to industry-leading referral technology, Rivo continues to deliver innovations that other platforms can only aspire to, and we look forward to seeing what else they build in the coming years. We feel they are genuinely invested in our success and we consider oursleves lucky to call them a partner.
Brewing memberships at scale
For more than a decade, Partners Coffee has been a staple of New York City’s specialty coffee scene. Founded in Brooklyn with a mission to source transparently and roast responsibly, Partners built its reputation on quality, craft, and a community of loyal customers who return for the coffee and for the experience.
When the pandemic accelerated their direct-to-consumer business in 2020, Partners saw an opportunity to extend the café culture into people’s homes. Subscriptions became a central part of their growth, but they also recognized that not every customer wanted to commit to auto-renewals. Membership felt like the perfect bridge: a way to give their community value, perks, and recognition without locking them into a subscription.
This was the seed of Partners Passport – their membership program designed to reward loyalty, strengthen community, and create that sense of belonging that makes café culture so magnetic.
But there was a problem: the platform they chose to build it on wasn’t keeping up.
The challenges with their previous vender
Partners Coffee launched Passport on their previous vendor with high hopes. The pitch sounded right – a platform for membership, recurring revenue, and engagement. But the execution left much to be desired.
From the start, implementation was rocky. The onboarding manager left a month after kickoff, leaving Partners in limbo for weeks. Once live, the frustrations only grew. Their previous product barely evolved, analytics were limited, and critical features like gifting memberships or tailoring referral programs were simply “not possible.” Even basic design elements felt rigid and off-brand.
For a company that prides itself on care and craft, this was unacceptable.
By 2025, leadership faced a tough choice: sunset Passport entirely or find a new partner to bring their vision to life.
Migrating to Rivo proved to be the right decision. The process was quick (less than 1 month), seamless, and well-planned, and their communication has set a new standard for what we expect from all future tech partners.
Partners Coffee Migration to Rivo
That’s where Rivo came in. In just 3 weeks – design, migration, and implementation included – Rivo lifted and shifted 640+ active members into a reimagined Partners Passport.
The transition was seamless:
- Every member migrated with their history and benefits intact
- Zero disruption to subscriptions or ongoing orders
- A brand-aligned membership page custom-designed by Rivo
- Real-time analytics available on Day 1
For Partners, this was both a platform switch and a chance to finally bring Passport to life the way it was always envisioned: flexible, data-driven, and built to scale.
Partners was even able to roll out referrals along with the launch.
The next stage of the Partners Passport
Today, Partners Passport feels like a natural extension of the brand’s ethos: accessible, rewarding, and community-oriented. For just $25/year, members unlock:
- 10% cashback in store credit on every order
- Free shipping on all orders, no matter the size
- Anniversary credits with each renewal
- Exclusive sales & early product access
- Priority support for faster resolutions
- A Passport Booklet to document their coffee journey
- Give $8 / Get $8 referrals to bring friends into the community
It’s simple enough for an older audience to understand instantly, yet robust enough to add meaningful lifetime value for the brand. With Passport rebuilt on Rivo, Partners Coffee finally gained the visibility to measure performance.
Alongside the Passport migration, Partners Coffee also adopted Rivo’s Accounts functionality. By giving subscription customers a seamless, password-free way to log in and manage their memberships, the team has already seen a noticeable reduction in customer support tickets. What was once a recurring frustration is now a streamlined, self-service experience that frees up the support team and improves customer satisfaction.
Instead of questioning whether to keep Passport, Partners Coffee can now prove that members are their most valuable customers – ordering more often, sticking around longer, and deepening their relationship with the brand.
