TapTuck, a revolutionary new tuck shop app from South Africa that focuses on healthy meal options and convenient cashless e-friendly payments, has been taking KZN schools by storm since it was launched late last year.
Virginia Preparatory School in Durban North was the pilot school to implement the ingenious app with the latest tally of schools now utilizing the app in the KZN region having reached 14 which includes the likes of Northlands Primary, Glenwood Preparatory, Lady of Fatima, Durban High School, Danville Senior, Brighton Beach and Westville Senior Primary School – among others.
The parents of the forward-thinking Virginia Prep School have been suitably impressed by the convenience and user-friendliness of pre-ordering and pre-paying for meals purchased from their school’s tuck shop using this app that is available for free on iOS, web and Android.
On the flip side, Tuck Shop owners have been raving about the app’s benefits to them as small business owners while offering healthier meal solutions and an overall better offering to their customers.
“Since the implementation of this app, we have seen remarkable success in our tuck shop with increased revenue turnover as more parents seem to be using this cashless and healthy food option than before. Not only does it allow parents more control over what their kids are actually spending and consuming with their tuck shop money, but the fact that it’s also cashless is also appealing. We are delighted to be using this system in our tuck shop because it’s also saved us money on banking fees. I have no doubt that it’s going to spread like wildfire to other school tuck shops once they hear about it,” said Virginia Prep’s Tuck Shop Owners, Christy Ovenstone and Claire Barrett.
According to TapTuck’s co-founder and mom of two children herself, Leanne Pechey, the innovative system eliminates the need for children to carry money and also assists the tuck shop convener with their planning and preparation, helping to make sure that every child is seen to before the bell rings.
“We appreciate the fact that parents are snowed under these days with so many things on their plate between work and home duties. As parents ,we all want what is best for our kids – and the meals they eat during the day is no exception. However, finding the time to get this right every day of the week can be tricky. It’s with this need in mind that we developed a free-to-download, easy to use app that allows even the most time-pressed parent peace of mind that their loved one is being fed and with the right type of food,” explained Pechey.
Virginia Preparatory School Principal, Wayne Bannister, also applauded the introduction of the TapTuck app into the school environment, saying “Like many other schools and dieticians, I believe that a well-fed child is more mentally and physically ready to take in all they need to learn on a day to day basis. So, when Leanne and her team approached our school to participate in a pilot project before launching the app nationally, it was a no-brainer that we had to get involved.”
Samantha Kerr, a mother whose child attends Virginia Preparatory School, reached out to TapTuck to share her thoughts since it was implemented, saying “this app is fantastic and has literally changed my life. What an amazing idea, it is making my life so, so easy as I seldom carry cash!”
According to Pechey, with the launch of the TapTuck app being such an overwhelming success in KZN – plans are in place to roll out the system to other schools nationally. “We are confident that once more schools express their satisfaction in using this system it will become almost a household name for kids and parents to use going forward. We are aware that certain private schools have taken it upon themselves to create their own internal app or system that has similar benefits to that of TapTuck, but we have compared our system to theirs and there’s no question that TapTuck is a superior app and has a better overall offering,” concluded Pechey.