What if drinking and loving beer could pay your bills? Well, two ingenious San Diego locals have made that happen. Only two years after turning their love of craft beer into a profitable, revenue generating company, Melani and Jeff Gordon are glad they stuck with their bootstrap startup, TapHunter. Locals (now in ten cities across the United States) can keep track of where their favorite craft beers are currently on tap via the TapHunter website and mobile app (available for iPhone and Android).
A curated site, Tap Hunter doesn’t allow just any bar to be added to their list: bars must carry a minimum of 60% craft handles to partake in the fun. So, bars must be approved before getting their free listing (including the mobile app listing) and access to the tap list tool. There are lots of upgraded packages available that include advertising, social media, email and event opportunities (check out photos from their recent Beer-Con 2011). Download the mobile app and find your fave beer or local brewery on the go. Search by bar, beer or location. And, stay tuned for some pretty cool mobile technology with geo-location features rolling out on Tap Hunter very soon!
Lots of other apps claim to do what Tap Hunter does, but they don’t compare. Melani explains, “to others craft beer is simply a hobby, to us it’s more than that. We’re constantly updating beer lists and growing the traffic on a daily basis. To us, craft beer is a business.” And, you can make craft beer your business also by joining this crowd-sourced site. Simply visit the site, sign-up, and login to keep your bar’s tap list(s) updated (think Wikipedia, but for beer) or to suggest a new bar/market. Tap Hunter has even added gaming capabilities by allowing users to earn points for updating and listing info on the site. Points are redeemable for exciting, often beer related, prizes like dinners, beer gift certificates, concert tickets, and more.
And, this very well should be a business since many famous brewers and beer connoisseurs believe that right now, we are in the midst of a craft beer renaissance. Five to seven million people in the U.S. are considered craft beer drinkers. Did you know that there are currently over 1,000 unique beers on tap? Yes, this is a super niche market, but as you can see, it’s already got a pretty large following. Tap Hunter has two main audiences: the consumers (beer geeks, craft connoisseurs, beer lovers, foodies and winos wanting to be a part of this growing movement) and the clients (craft beer bars, breweries, and relative lifestyle brands).
“It’s not just about how big the market is at the end of the day.” Melani explains, “Our business model for craft beer, is not just for craft beer - it can be applied to the super enthusiast in any area for any artisanal, crafted product (Bourbon, whisky, cigars, etc.).” And just as Tap Hunter fits more than a beer model, the TapHunter team has introduced, “Straight From the Tap” a groupon/coupon daily deal program for everything and anything beer related at prices up to 80% off. Are we in beer heaven, yet?
What the Gordons have accomplished with Tap Hunter makes complete sense given their backgrounds and history. Melani has been in the web and Internet marketing industry for 12 years. In 2005, she started GWave Consulting, a full service interactive internet consulting company for publicly traded bio-tech and consumer and apparel brand companies. Jeff is a web programmer. Both Mel and Jeff love craft beer. They were a match made in heaven for the craft beer world.
Whether you’re new to the movement or not, don’t get left behind. Check out Tap Hunter’s Facebook page (which currently has almost 3,000 followers) or Twitter @taphunter (with over 9,000 followers). Although Tap Hunter is currently located in ten cities across the US, they are headquartered right here, in sunny San Diego, California. Stay tuned, maybe they’ll be looking for reps in a city near you and then you can make money off of your pure love for craft beer too. At the very least, download the Tap Hunter app and share it with a friend today - we promise you’ll be impressed!
Thanks for learning about Tap Hunter with us! Stay tuned for our monthly PR profiles on local businesses that have newsworthy ‘buzz factors’. If you own a business that you’d like featured or know of one that is feature-worthy, please email buzz@deliciousbuzz.com.
(Check out another recently profiled local business: FITzee Foods)
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