In the fiercely competitive landscape where restaurant and retail brands vie for customer loyalty, the fusion of marketing acumen with sophisticated technology has become the critical differentiator for success. Responding to this industry demand, Plein Air, a specialized consultancy known for its tailored data and technology solutions, has announced a significant strategic investment from Coral Tree Partners. This infusion of capital from the Los Angeles-based private equity firm is poised to catalyze a new phase of growth for the Dallas-based company, which has steadily built its reputation since its founding in 2016. The partnership is strategically designed not just to expand Plein Air’s market footprint but also to accelerate the development of its proprietary technology and enhance the high-touch, consultative service that has become its hallmark. For an industry grappling with razor-thin margins and rapidly evolving consumer expectations, this collaboration signals a powerful endorsement of Plein Air’s integrated approach to solving complex challenges across marketing, digital experience, and customer loyalty channels, setting the stage for expanded innovation and impact.
A Strategic Partnership for Accelerated Innovation
Fueling Technological Advancement
At the heart of Plein Air’s operational strategy is its proprietary technology platform, Big Colony, which has been a key driver of its success and a focal point of the new investment. Launched in 2023, this platform provides clients with customizable, highly branded, and universally integrated applications for mobile, web, and kiosk environments. Its rapid adoption, now reaching over 15,000 locations, underscores the market’s need for agile and effective digital solutions. The capital from Coral Tree Partners is earmarked to significantly bolster the research and development efforts for Big Colony, enabling the introduction of more advanced features, greater personalization capabilities, and deeper integration with emerging technologies. This focus on technological enhancement aims to provide restaurant and retail brands with a more robust toolkit to engage customers, streamline operations, and unlock new revenue streams, ensuring the platform remains at the forefront of industry innovation and continues to address the real-world operational and marketing challenges faced by its diverse clientele.
The investment’s impact on Plein Air’s technological roadmap extends beyond a simple feature expansion for its existing platform. The strategic partnership with Coral Tree is set to facilitate a more ambitious innovation agenda, potentially exploring advancements in artificial intelligence for predictive analytics, machine learning for hyper-personalized customer journeys, and enhanced data security protocols. This forward-looking approach will allow Plein Air to move from a reactive problem-solving model to a proactive one, anticipating industry trends and equipping clients with the tools to navigate future disruptions. By investing heavily in the underlying architecture of Big Colony and its ecosystem of integrated services, the company intends to solidify its position as a technology leader. This will not only benefit its current roster of over 75 clients but also attract new partners seeking a comprehensive solution that combines cutting-edge technology with deep-seated industry expertise, thereby creating a more resilient and adaptive digital infrastructure for the retail and restaurant sectors.
Scaling High-Touch Service Delivery
A central tenet of the partnership is the commitment to scaling Plein Air’s operations without compromising the personalized, “white-glove approach” that has defined its client relationships. Co-CEO Paul McEnany emphasized that the collaboration with Coral Tree was predicated on a shared understanding of this long-term vision. The new resources will be strategically deployed to expand the company’s team of over 120 professionals, ensuring that as the client base grows, the ratio of expert support remains high. This means investing in training, talent acquisition, and internal systems to maintain the firm’s ability to provide deeply consultative and responsive service. For clients, this translates into continued access to a team that functions as an extension of their own, offering nuanced strategies rooted in a profound understanding of their unique brand challenges. The goal is to prove that rapid growth and bespoke service are not mutually exclusive but can coexist to create a uniquely powerful value proposition in the marketplace.
The ability of Plein Air to deliver this high-caliber service is directly linked to the composition of its team, which includes numerous professionals with extensive brand-side experience in the restaurant industry, spanning roles from coordinator to the C-suite. This embedded expertise enables a level of empathy and insight that is rare in the technology consultancy space. The investment from Coral Tree will further leverage this human capital by providing the infrastructure needed to codify and disseminate this institutional knowledge more effectively across the growing organization. Furthermore, as articulated by Co-CEO Jason Abelkop, the partnership allows the company to “double down” on its core mission of solving tangible, real-world problems. This involves not only enhancing its technological offerings but also deepening its strategic advisory services, ensuring that every solution is implemented with a clear understanding of its operational impact and its contribution to the client’s bottom line, thereby reinforcing the firm’s reputation as a true partner rather than just a vendor.
Synergies and Future Trajectory
The Investor’s Perspective
From the viewpoint of Coral Tree Partners, the investment in Plein Air represents a calculated move into a company that exhibits a rare and potent combination of assets. Will Wynperle, a Partner at the firm, highlighted that Plein Air’s deep industry expertise, exceptionally strong client relationships, and innovative proprietary technology created a compelling investment thesis. Coral Tree’s decision was influenced by Plein Air’s proven ability to deliver tangible outcomes for its clients, a track record that de-risks the investment and points toward a clear path for future value creation. The private equity firm’s commitment extends beyond mere financial backing; it includes providing strategic guidance to help the Plein Air team navigate the complexities of scaling. This involves supporting the platform’s growth both organically, through continued market penetration, and inorganically, through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions that could complement its existing service offerings and technological capabilities.
Coral Tree Partners brings more than just capital to the table; its specialization in the media, entertainment, and communications sectors offers a strategic synergy with Plein Air’s mission. The firm’s experience with lower middle-market companies and its focus on driving value through strategic insight align perfectly with Plein Air’s current stage of development. This background provides a rich source of knowledge regarding consumer engagement, brand storytelling, and digital content distribution—all of which are increasingly critical in the restaurant and retail industries. By tapping into Coral Tree’s network and expertise, Plein Air is positioned to enhance its marketing and digital experience solutions, offering its clients more sophisticated strategies for building brand affinity and customer loyalty. This alignment of expertise ensures that the partnership is not just a financial transaction but a strategic alliance designed to accelerate Plein Air’s trajectory toward market leadership by enriching its core competencies.
Charting a Course for Market Leadership
The strategic investment from Coral Tree Partners ultimately marked a pivotal moment for Plein Air, positioning the consultancy to transition from an emerging player to an established market leader. The infusion of capital and strategic guidance addressed the dual challenge of scaling technology while preserving a high-touch service model. This enabled the firm to pursue a more aggressive growth strategy, centered on both the organic expansion of its client base and the exploration of strategic acquisitions. The partnership provided the necessary resources to significantly enhance the Big Colony platform, ensuring it remained a competitive and innovative solution in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. In retrospect, the collaboration was instrumental in solidifying Plein Air’s value proposition, which hinged on the unique integration of brand-side industry experience with agile, proprietary technology. This move allowed the company to broaden its impact, delivering sophisticated and effective solutions to a larger segment of the restaurant and retail sectors.
