WhatsApp offer and holiday templates for restaurants
Updated October 20, 2026
Offer, discount-code and holiday messages on WhatsApp are marketing templates. Meta's marketing examples include a holiday event invitation ("{{Diwali}} is around the corner!"), a birthday greeting and a loyalty discount. That means three things for a restaurant: each send is billed at the marketing rate (about US$0.0118 to an Indian number and US$0.0635 to a UK number, Meta's rate card effective October 1, 2026), you need the customer's opt-in for offers, and Meta does not deliver them to US numbers. In Menuthere you send them as a Broadcast: one approved marketing template to your customers, a CSV list or numbers you type, now or at a set time.
In short
- Category: Marketing. Holiday greetings, weekly specials and codes are all promotion.
- Permission: WhatsApp's policy requires an opt-in, and recommends a separate one for each kind of message, so offers need their own yes.
- In Menuthere: Broadcasts only list approved Marketing templates; customers who replied STOP are left out automatically.
- In the US, WhatsApp can send order updates but not promotions; use email for offers.
Three offer and holiday wordings
{{offer}}, {{valid_until}}, {{festival}} and {{code}} are the same for everyone in a broadcast, so you set them as fixed values. Only {{customer_name}} changes per person.
1. Weekly offer
This week at {{store_name}}: {{offer}}, until {{valid_until}}. Tap Order now to see the menu.
Footer: Reply STOP to unsubscribe
Button: Order now2. Holiday menu
Happy {{festival}} from all of us at {{store_name}}, {{customer_name}}. Our holiday menu is open for pre-orders until {{valid_until}}. Tap below to order.
Footer: Reply STOP to unsubscribe
Button: Pre-order now3. Discount code
Hi {{customer_name}}, use code {{code}} for {{offer}} on your next order at {{store_name}}. The code works until {{valid_until}}.
Footer: Reply STOP to unsubscribe
Button: Order nowThe template to submit to Meta
Wording 2 (holiday pre-order), ready to paste. Submit holiday templates at least a day early: Meta's review "can take up to 24 hours".
Name: offers_and_festivals_holiday
Category: Marketing
Language: en_US
Body:
Happy {{1}} from all of us at {{2}}, {{3}}. Our holiday menu is open for pre-orders until {{4}}. Tap below to order.
Body examples:
{{1}} = Thanksgiving
{{2}} = Luna Taqueria
{{3}} = Maria
{{4}} = Sunday, November 8
Footer: Reply STOP to unsubscribe
Button (visit website): Pre-order now → https://menuthere.com/lunataqueriaHow a broadcast goes out in Menuthere
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Template | Only approved Marketing templates appear; a utility template or one still in review does not |
| Values | For each {{1}}, {{2}} choose Recipient name, Recipient phone or a Fixed value |
| Recipients | My customers, Upload Excel (.xlsx, .xls or .csv with a phone column and an optional name column) or Enter manually; duplicates and bad numbers are removed |
| When | Send now or Schedule for later in your local time; a scheduled broadcast can be cancelled before it starts |
| Big lists | Meta sets how many marketing messages a number can send a day. The first batch goes up to today's limit; the rest goes at 6 PM store time each day until everyone is covered |
| Opt-outs | Customers who replied STOP are on the blocklist and left out; START puts them back |
| Spend | Est. spend today is an estimate from Meta's rate card; the real charge is in WhatsApp Manager → Billing |
Setup: broadcasts and opt-outs and the blocklist.
What it costs per send
| Customer's number | Marketing rate per message | Per 1,000 sends |
|---|---|---|
| United States (+1, US area code) | Not delivered by Meta | US$0 (nothing is sent) |
| Canada (+1, Canadian area code) | US$0.025 | US$25.00 |
| United Kingdom | US$0.0635 | US$63.50 |
| India | US$0.0118 | US$11.80 |
| Brazil | US$0.0625 | US$62.50 |
| United Arab Emirates | US$0.0576 | US$57.60 |
Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026, read on October 20, 2026 (Canada is priced under North America). Meta charges per delivered message and bills your own WhatsApp Business account; Menuthere adds no markup.
Worked example: one holiday broadcast, three countries
A restaurant group sends wording 2 to its opted-in customers for its biggest holiday of the year.
| Restaurant | Holiday | Opted-in customers | Meta fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru sweet shop | Diwali | 2,000 | 2,000 × US$0.0118 = US$23.60 |
| Manchester restaurant | Christmas pre-orders | 1,500 | 1,500 × US$0.0635 = US$95.25 |
| Dubai restaurant | Eid | 1,000 | 1,000 × US$0.0576 = US$57.60 |
| Houston restaurant | Thanksgiving | 1,200 (US numbers) | Not delivered: send it by email |
Menuthere charges no per-message fee on top; broadcasts are part of Pro at US$39 a month. Related: how do I run a Diwali, Onam or Ramadan offer on WhatsApp, how do I take WhatsApp orders for a festival or special menu, how do I get a customer's permission before sending WhatsApp offers and, in the UK, can a UK restaurant send WhatsApp offers under PECR.
FAQs
Is a holiday greeting a marketing or utility template on WhatsApp?
Marketing. Meta's marketing examples include a holiday event invitation and a birthday greeting, and any offer or discount is promotional.
Can I send a WhatsApp offer to all my customers at once?
Yes, as a broadcast with an approved marketing template, to customers who agreed to receive offers. Meta limits how many marketing messages a number sends per day; Menuthere sends the rest at 6 PM store time each following day.
Can I send WhatsApp holiday offers to customers in the US?
No. Meta does not deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers. In the US, WhatsApp can send order updates but not promotions; use email for offers.
How much does a WhatsApp offer message cost?
About US$0.0118 to an Indian number, US$0.0635 to a UK number and US$0.0576 to a UAE number per delivered marketing message, on Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026.
What happens if a customer replies STOP to my offer?
In Menuthere they are added to the broadcast blocklist and left out of every later broadcast automatically. They can rejoin by replying START.
Sources (7)
- Meta categorization page, MARKETING examples: holiday event invitation ("{{Diwali}} is around the corner!…"), birthday greeting, loyalty discount (accessed 20 Oct 2026).
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (opt-in before messaging; respect every opt-out; best practice: separate opt-in by message category), last updated September 23, 2026: https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Template categorization (utility = non-promotional and specific to or requested by the user; mixed content = marketing; examples by category; utility submitted but judged marketing is approved as marketing since April 9, 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization (accessed 20 Oct 2026; the page shows no date)
- Meta for Developers, Template components (text header 60 characters and 1 parameter; body 1,024; footer 60; up to 10 buttons; URL buttons up to 2, label 25, one variable appended to the end of the URL): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/components (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Template review (rejection reasons: mismatched braces, non-sequential parameters, too many parameters for the length, template starts or ends with a parameter, duplicates; decisions can take up to 24 hours): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-review (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (per delivered message, by category and the recipient's country calling code; utility in the customer service window billed as regular from October 1, 2026; 1,000 free service messages per business number per month): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Per-user marketing template message limits ("WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to WhatsApp users with United States phone numbers", defined as +1 with a US area code): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits (accessed 20 Oct 2026)