7 Brew’s launch of its first mobile app this week places the rapidly growing drive-through beverage chain squarely within a strategy pioneered and refined by Starbucks, the coffee giant whose app has become a central pillar of its business, driving billions of dollars in sales through personalized ordering, loyalty rewards and customer data collection.

7 Brew’s app, which became available Wednesday, gives customers order-ahead functionality, full menu customization, and access to the chain’s previously unpublished “secret menu” of more than 20,000 possible drink combinations. Those features closely mirror the tools Starbucks has used for years to drive engagement, tools that have become a case study across the restaurant and beverage industry for how a well-executed app can reshape customer behavior.

Starbucks Chief Executive Brian Niccol has spoken extensively about the central role the company’s app and loyalty program play in its broader turnaround strategy. Speaking during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Niccol outlined ambitious goals for rebuilding the brand’s customer service reputation, saying the company is “reclaiming it, one customer, one cup, one coffee house at a time,” as it works toward what he described as becoming “the world’s greatest customer service company.”

Central to that effort is Starbucks Rewards, the company’s loyalty program, which Niccol said is helping reinforce daily customer habits. “Starbucks Rewards is reinforcing the daily ritual and building more connection with customers,” Niccol said, noting that the program had grown to 35.8 million 90-day active members in the U.S. just four months after the company relaunched it, with members already advancing through the program’s tiered structure from its Green level up to Gold and Reserve status.

Niccol also pointed to specific app-driven promotions as evidence of the loyalty program’s effectiveness. He cited “Free Mod Monday,” a promotion allowing members to try a free drink modification, saying that one in three members who tried a new modification through the offer reordered it in the weeks that followed, illustrating how targeted, app-based promotions can convert a single interaction into a lasting change in customer behavior.

Industry analysts say the underlying mechanics of a strong beverage app extend well beyond simple convenience. Thad Peterson, a senior analyst who has studied restaurant technology trends, said mobile ordering functions as a kind of expanded capacity for a physical location. “It is a virtual extension of the line in the store, so more customers have access to the store so more sales can be made,” Peterson said, adding that apps also save customers time and effort by fitting seamlessly into daily routines, particularly for a habitual, everyday purchase like coffee.

Beyond convenience, apps also serve a critical data-gathering function for beverage companies. Domick Miserandino, chief executive of RTM Nexus, said the core value of an app for companies like 7 Brew lies as much in the information it generates as in the ordering experience itself. “Data and speed. The point of the app is to get all that customer data,” Miserandino said, adding that for a chain with a menu as complex as 7 Brew’s, an app also meaningfully speeds up service by allowing customization to happen before a customer ever reaches the pickup window, cutting down wait times at the stand itself.

That efficiency argument carries particular weight for 7 Brew, given the sheer scale of its menu. With more than 20,000 possible drink combinations, and no walk-up counter where customers can browse a physical menu board, the chain has historically relied on customers either knowing exactly what they wanted before reaching the drive-through speaker, or missing out on off-menu options simply because there was no practical way to browse the full range of choices in the moment.

7 Brew Chief Marketing Officer Nick Chavez framed the company’s own app in terms that echo Starbucks’ broader engagement strategy, describing the goal as making digital ordering “as personal and fun as the experience” customers already associate with the brand’s in-person stands. Like Starbucks, 7 Brew has paired its app launch with updates to its loyalty program, allowing members to bank points not just toward drinks but also toward exclusive merchandise, a structure aimed at keeping customers engaged with the brand between visits.

Whether 7 Brew’s app can replicate the scale of Starbucks’ loyalty ecosystem remains an open question, given the significant difference in the two chains’ size and maturity. Starbucks has spent years refining its app and rewards infrastructure across tens of thousands of locations worldwide, while 7 Brew, founded in 2017, is still in the midst of its rapid national expansion. Even so, industry observers say the fundamental strategy, using an app to combine convenience, customization and data collection into a single tool for building customer habit and loyalty, remains a proven playbook regardless of a chain’s size, one that 7 Brew is now positioned to apply as it continues its rapid growth across the beverage industry.

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FTSE 250 construction giant bucks UK construction outlook with strong infrastructure investment and US housebuilding demand

Balfour Beatty has raised its earnings and cash flow targets, as the construction giant’s “real momentum” defies the sector’s general gloom.

The group, which partners with the government on major infrastructure schemes, has seen its order book surge by 17 per cent to £22.9bn in the six months to June, while revenue climbed eight per cent to £5.6bn.

This upturn in revenue was underpinned by growing demand in US housebuilding and the UK’s power industry, the firm confirmed.

The FTSE 250 company upgraded its earnings targets from low single to high double-digit growth and raised the upper limit of its net cash forecast from £1.5bn to £1.7bn.

The infrastructure behemoth recorded a 42 per cent rise in underlying profit to £153m over the period, although its headline pre-tax profit edged down by two per cent to £129m, as reported by City AM.

Chief executive Phillip Hoare said: “Balfour Beatty enters the second half with real momentum.

“Our strong first-half performance reflects the quality of our business, the discipline of our execution and, above all, the exceptional contribution of our people in delivering for our customers.”

The group’s buoyant trading update stands in stark contrast to the prevailing gloom across the UK’s construction sector, as housebuilders and materials suppliers flag mounting costs and weakening private-sector demand.

On Tuesday, prominent housebuilder Bellway called on the government to reduce stamp duty in order to stimulate construction activity. Last month, the chief executive of property portal Rightmove stated that the nation’s housebuilders are confronting conditions “among the most difficult experienced since the global financial crisis”.

However, Balfour Beatty highlighted expansion in the UK’s energy, defence and transport infrastructure sectors as a principal catalyst behind its revenue increases.

“These markets are supported by strong funding commitments and enduring customer demand, providing attractive growth opportunities over the near to medium term,” the group informed shareholders.

The robustness of demand for these infrastructure projects enables Balfour Beatty to be “disciplined and selective” in choosing which work to pursue, the company stated.

Significant contracts secured by the business during the year to date include a £325m power transmission scheme in Scotland, a £315m road maintenance programme in Warwickshire and $350m (£259m) worth of US data centre commissions.

“We expected a strong performance and Balfour Beatty delivered again,” analysts at Peel Hunt remarked, noting that the company’s revenue visibility “continues to drive a higher quality of growth.”

Alex Pugh, an analyst at Freetrade, observed that the group has successfully sidestepped the challenges confronting private-sector housebuilders by concentrating on demand “in areas where spending is hard to avoid: power networks, transport, defence and US buildings”. “This is a company in the right place at the right time. […] The balance sheet is doing some heavy lifting too. Strong cash generation means Balfour can fund growth and still keep investors sweet with dividends and buybacks.”

Indian aluminium stocks witnessed a sharp rally on Wednesday following a major supply-side disruption in global metal markets. National Aluminium Company (NALCO) shares surged as much as 8% to Rs 418.95, while Hindalco Industries gained 2.7% to around Rs 1,080.60. The buying momentum came as global aluminium prices rose to a seven-week high in London.

The immediate catalyst behind the rally was an operational disruption at Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte facility in Brazil, one of the world’s largest alumina producers. The company said Alunorte had been forced to cut output to 50% of capacity after its natural gas supplier, CELBA, reported an unexpected supply disruption.

Alumina is the key raw material used by smelters to produce primary aluminium. Any reduction in alumina output could therefore tighten raw material supplies and disrupt the global aluminium supply chain.

While Norsk Hydro confirmed that Alunorte intends to ramp alumina production back to full capacity as soon as natural gas availability permits, the road to recovery remains clouded by financial troubles at the supplier end. CELBA is owned by New Fortress Energy, a heavily indebted firm currently undergoing a complex financial restructuring. This ongoing corporate restructuring introduces noticeable uncertainty regarding how quickly full natural gas deliveries can be restored to the Brazilian refinery.

Middle East disruptions and multi-decade low inventories

This fresh production setback in South America lands on a market that was already struggling under severe operational pressures. Ongoing war involving Iran has severely disrupted physical metal shipments out of the Middle East, a crucial production hub that generates approximately one-tenth of the world’s aluminum supply. Although metal prices temporarily backed off after the intense opening weeks of the conflict, they have mounted a strong rebound since late June.
Compounding the supply squeeze, aluminum stockpiles held across London Metal Exchange (LME) registered warehouses have suffered a steady drawdown throughout the year. Inventory levels have now fallen close to a quarter of a million tons, marking their lowest point since November 1990, despite fresh metal arrivals entering the market from Chinese and Indonesian producers. Norsk Hydro had previously cautioned last month that the global annual supply shortfall could widen to over 900,000 tons if trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz are not normalized.
Geopolitical deadlock signals prolonged price support
Hopes for a quick resumption of normal trade flows have dimmed further as geopolitical negotiations show signs of stalling. U.S. President Donald Trump recently outlined extensive new demands on Iran, demanding financial compensation for individuals killed by Tehran, following Iran’s own demands for reparations as part of discussions to wind down the conflict. These hardening political stances suggest a much longer grind toward any potential diplomatic resolution.

Industry experts believe that the combination of stalled Middle East peace talks and raw material bottlenecks will keep the global aluminum market tight for longer. Yan Weijun, head of nonferrous metals research at Chinese trading firm Xiamen C&D Inc., noted that negotiations in the Middle East are not proceeding smoothly, which should continue to provide solid support for aluminum prices. For Indian producers like NALCO and Hindalco, rising global prices and constrained supply offer a strong tailwind for realizations and profitability.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)