Last Updated on
June 27, 2025

The 7 Best Mobile App Builders for Food & Beverage Brands in 2025

Key takeaways:
  • Mobile apps drive higher LTV, more repeat purchases, and better retention for F&B brands than mobile web.
  • MobiLoud is ideal for fast-growing brands seeking a fully managed, platform-agnostic mobile app solution that scales, with minimal operational lift.
  • Choosing the right builder depends on your ecommerce stack, growth goals, and internal bandwidth. Choose the mobile app builder that fits your brand's needs.

If you're running a food or beverage brand in 2025, the pressure to launch a mobile app is real. Customers expect fast, frictionless shopping on their phones, and your competitors are already there. 

A mobile app isn't just a nice-to-have anymore. It's quickly becoming essential for growth and retention.

The good news? You don't need to shell out $500K or wait six months for a custom build. There are excellent mobile app builders (and services) that cater specifically to ecommerce and DTC brands. 

In this guide, we break down the seven best mobile app builders for food and beverage brands, from budget-friendly DIY options to full-service powerhouses.

Key Takeaways

MobiLoud converts your existing website into a native app 1:1, preserving all your website’s features. It’s ideal if you already have a high-performing website, and want a great app with minimal lift. Tapcart and Appbrew offer DIY options for Shopify brands, while budget-conscious brands can consider Shopney ($149/mo) or GoodBarber (~$90/mo) for solid core features without premium pricing. But for scaling brands, who don’t want to be held back by their mobile app builder, MobiLoud is the best choice.

What Food & Beverage Brands Need From Their Mobile Apps

Your customers aren't just buying products. They're building habits. 

For food and beverage brands, mobile apps are a powerful lever for growth. You don’t want to be constrained by a low-quality app builder or a tool that’s not suited for the vertical.

Here are the key features that are non-negotiable from your mobile app.

Repeat Purchases & Subscriptions

Whether you're selling coffee, wine, or protein bars, F&B customers often buy on repeat. A good app makes reordering effortless with one-tap subscriptions and tight integrations with tools like Recharge or Bold.

Merchandising That Converts

Dietary filters, dynamic recommendations, and personalized offers increase basket size and make the experience feel tailored.

Push-Driven Drops & Fresh Inventory

Push notifications let you hype limited-time offers, flash sales, or perishable items with immediacy. Real-time syncing ensures you don’t oversell or disappoint.

Loyalty & Community

Build customer stickiness with in-app perks, reward points, and exclusive content like recipes or brewing guides.

Regulatory Content at Hand

Ingredient lists, allergen warnings, and nutrition info should be easy to access, not buried in PDFs. Not just for compliance, but for conversions too.

Complex Tech Stacks

F&B brands often juggle ecommerce, subscription, fulfillment, and ERP systems. Your app builder needs to handle more than just stock Shopify themes.

How We Evaluated These Platforms

We tested each platform against six critical criteria for F&B brands:

  • Platform compatibility (Shopify-only vs. multi-platform support)
  • Ease of setup versus design control (some brands want plug-and-play, others need customization)
  • Subscription & loyalty support (essential for recurring F&B purchases)
  • Push notification power (segmentation and automation capabilities)
  • Performance and app-store compliance (speed and approval rates)
  • Total cost of ownership (monthly fees plus hidden charges and ongoing maintenance)

We broke down how each mobile app builder measured up, so you can get a clear idea of which one is the right choice for your brand.

The 7 Best Mobile App Builders for F&B Brands

1. MobiLoud

Best for: Brands on any ecommerce platform that want a hands-off, service-driven app build, with no limitations.

MobiLoud converts your website directly into native iOS and Android apps, retaining all your site's features, design, and third-party integrations. 

It's not a template or DIY app builder. Your app mirrors your site 1:1, with native enhancements like push, a native tab menu, and UI elements like splash screens that make it feel like a true native experience.

Why It’s ideal for F&B brands

F&B brands need more than just a basic catalog app, and MobiLoud supports everything you need to create the perfect shopping experience.

Subscription & reorders work seamlessly because MobiLoud preserves your existing subscription plugins (Recharge, Bold, etc.) with full functionality. 

Custom checkout flows and subscription upsells carry over exactly as they work on the web.

You can seamlessly integrate your loyalty & rewards program, set up push notifications with automated triggers (welcome messages, abandoned cart, back-in-stock) and segmentation based on real-time site events, and make changes to your website that reflect on your app instantly.

There are no limits. Anything you can do on your site, you can do in your app too. With other app builders, it’s a matter of time until you run into a problem you can’t get past.

To get an idea of what your app could look like, get a free preview of your app here.

Top features & benefits:

  • Works out-of-the-box with subscriptions (Recharge, Bold), loyalty (Yotpo, Smile.io), and ERP tools
  • Full fidelity: All your product pages, ingredients, batch info, and expiry tracking carry over
  • Unlimited push with built-in automation (abandoned cart, welcome series, flash sale alerts)
  • Launches in weeks, not months, with complete store submission handled by the team
  • Fully managed setup, testing, QA, optimization, and store approval. No internal dev work needed, minimal overall lift
  • Real-time sync means any change to your site updates instantly in the app, no double maintenance
  • Proven success in F&B: Drives high repeat purchases, ARPU, and CLTV by targeting your best customers directly
  • Strategic support post-launch: Includes growth guidance, analytics setup, and optional done-for-you push notification service

Pricing: Starts at ~$299/month with a one-time setup fee. No revenue share.

Downsides: Less WYSIWYG design flexibility; relies on your site being mobile-optimized (which most sites already are).

Examples: BoozeBud and Country Life Natural Foods are two notable success stories. Both used MobiLoud to turn their websites into native apps that drive significant repeat revenue, with minimal work to maintain.

Ready to see your app in action? Get a free preview now.

2. Tapcart

Best for: Shopify brands that want a polished, design-forward app with no code

Tapcart is a Shopify-exclusive app builder that offers a sleek, highly visual drag-and-drop interface.

It's designed with marketers in mind and comes packed with out-of-the-box integrations for loyalty programs, subscription tools, analytics platforms, and marketing automation systems, making it easy to launch a branded app without writing a single line of code.

It does take work to manage. Your app is essentially a separate platform from your website, adding a small but significant chunk of ongoing work to your workload. You’re also confined to the limits of their platform (some web features won’t carry over to your app).

Top features & benefits:

  • Easy to build and iterate without devs
  • Deep Recharge and Klaviyo integrations (Ultimate plans only)
  • Advanced push segmentation, scheduling, and AI-powered copy suggestions
  • App-exclusive drops and collections for loyal customers

Pricing: Starts at ~$250/month, but most brands will need the $1K+/month plan to unlock key features. Revenue share on higher tiers.

Downsides: Shopify-only. Entry-level plans lack many essentials. Higher workload to maintain.

3. Appbrew

Best for: Shopify brands with complex customization needs

Appbrew stands out with a large library of over 100 integrations and a unique "Promotion Engine" that enables F&B brands to create advanced campaigns like bundled deals, BOGOs, tiered discounts, and personalized upsells.

Top features & benefits:

  • Dedicated CSM and unlimited push on all plans
  • Recharge and loyalty integrations built in
  • Supports deep customizations via developer blocks

Pricing: Starts at $999/month, with custom pricing above that based on your needs.

Downsides: Still Shopify-only. Requires some dev input for advanced blocks. High cost (and still requires work from your team to maintain).

4. Shopney

Best for: Small F&B brands launching their first app on a budget

Shopney is a fast-launch, budget-friendly app builder built specifically for Shopify users. 

It relies on customizable templates, allowing you to launch a functional mobile app quickly and affordably, without needing to hire developers or design from scratch.

Top features & benefits:

  • Simple to use; app-ready in days
  • Built-in AI push engine with scheduling
  • Decent feature set for starter brands

Pricing: Starts at $149/month

Downsides: Templates can feel restrictive; fewer advanced merchandising tools. Will struggle to fully integrate everything from your website.

5. Plobal Apps

Best for: Shopify brands focused on analytics and growth marketing

Plobal emphasizes performance-driven growth, offering a robust analytics suite with in-app banners, UTM tracking, retention tools, and customizable lifecycle marketing flows to help F&B marketers optimize user journeys and increase repeat purchase behavior.

Top features & benefits:

  • Rich analytics dashboard
  • Push automation and audience segmentation
  • Solid Recharge and Klaviyo integrations

Pricing: Currently by request only. Likely mid-market to enterprise

Downsides: Less intuitive UI. Older platform. Won’t be able to find full consistency with your website.

6. Vajro

Best for: Shopify stores looking for live selling and engagement features

Vajro brings a unique twist by combining live video commerce with standard mobile shopping features. 

Its built-in streaming tools let brands host shoppable live events, demos, and product launches directly inside the app, boosting real-time engagement and conversion.

Top features & benefits:

  • Built-in live stream commerce tools
  • Loyalty and subscription integrations
  • Easy theme customizer

Pricing: Starts at $99/month, with feature unlocks at higher tiers

Downsides: Feature sprawl; not all tools are polished.

7. GoodBarber

Best for: Brands that are mobile-first, such as restaurant or delivery apps

GoodBarber is the most unique app builder in this list. Unlike all the others, which are used to convert an existing website into an app, GoodBarber is a tool to build apps from the ground up.

You essentially manage your business inside their platform. With other tools, your app integrates with a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce, where you manage your products, inventory, orders, etc.

If you’re looking to build a standalone shopping app, it’s a great choice. But if you’ve already built for the web, it’s not a fit.

Top features & benefits:

  • Works as a standalone app
  • Flexible CMS and visual design tools
  • Push and loyalty modules included

Pricing: Starts at 90€/month

Downsides: Less sophisticated ecommerce features. Not a fit if you already have a website.

How to Choose the Right Mobile App Builder

You might have an idea of which tool is the best choice for your brand already. If not, here are some tips on choosing the right one.

  • Match your ecommerce platform. It goes without saying, but if you're not on Shopify, eliminate the Shopify-only options (Tapcart, Appbrew, Shopney, Plobal, Vajro).
  • Balance speed versus flexibility. Full-service builds like MobiLoud handle everything for you, while DIY platforms like GoodBarber require more hands-on management but offer greater customization control.
  • Prioritize repeat-purchase enablers. Look for native subscription flows, wallet support, and sophisticated push notification capabilities. These features directly impact your bottom line for F&B.
  • Account for lifetime cost. Add monthly fees, Apple/Google update work, and internal maintenance hours. A platform with a higher monthly fee but included support might cost less than a cheap platform that requires ongoing development.
  • Test it yourself. Get a demo and test checkout flows, push workflows, and reporting features with your actual products.

Final Thoughts & Next Steps

Mobile apps are no longer optional for growing F&B brands. They unlock higher conversion rates, stronger loyalty, and predictable repeat revenue that email and social media can't match.

Each platform above removes much of the cost and complexity of custom app development, but they differ significantly in platform compatibility, feature depth, and pricing philosophy. The right choice depends on your current tech stack, budget, and growth goals.

Most F&B brands already sell through their website, and have put countless hours and investment into optimizing their web experience for conversions and AOV.

That’s why MobiLoud is the best way to build a mobile app for food and beverage brands.

Everything from your website translates to your app. Every loyalty feature, cart upsell, PDP tweak. All with no rebuilding or custom development required.

Your website powers your app, which means minimal maintenance, and maximum upside. And for any growing pains related to the app, you’ll have a service-driven team of experts behind you to help. 

We’re not just answering tickets. We’re here to grow with you.

Ready to see a best-in-class F&B app builder in action? Get a free preview of your app now.

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