Idea brewing to boost hospitality
Those who work in hospitality are used to being awake into the small hours, but many are now trying to predict what the industry will look like post pandemic.
Ralph Bungard, of Christchurch-based Three Boys Brewery, said the only thing known for certain was that coronavirus would change the industry.
‘‘That change will be painful, and some businesses will not survive, but one certainty is that others will make it through and of those, some will thrive,’’ he said.
In a bid to help others thrive, Bungard and Muz Moeller, of Ghost Brewing, have teamed up and launched the New Zealand Beer Exchange yesterday.
It is a sales platform pitched as a ‘‘one-stop shop’’ to buy and sell local craft beer, direct from brewer to bar.
‘‘The idea was to speed up cashflow for our producers,’’ Moeller said.
‘‘It is an online beer sales tool. It is a new and complete way of connecting brewers and bars with advertising, sales, logistics, all in one place.’’
It offers a brewer to bar point-to-point logistics service from anywhere in New Zealand.
With Covid-19 hitting the economy hard and with the ‘‘current lack of cashflow’’,
Bungard said they felt it was time to launch the site as the lockdown levels change.
‘‘It’s time to get ready for the new world,’’ Moeller said. ‘‘It’s not going to be the same when the lockdown eventually eases and bars reopen, it’s a good opportunity to improve things. We are spending level three getting people signed up and prepared.’’
Bars have to pay upfront and he said this would help producers with cashflow at a crucial time. ‘‘It is not going to take over the world, but we think it’s going to help a lot of people in the industry.’’
It was often ‘‘a struggle’’ for small craft brewers to get their products in front of hospitality outlets outside their region.
‘‘I’ve been running Ghost Brewery for six years which means I am still a newbie,’’ Mueller said. ‘‘It will certainly help brewers find new outlets.’’
The pair had spent a year developing the site. ‘‘We have partnered with PBT Transport who have built the booking system to make it all work. Now a Wellington brewery can order a keg of beer from Christchurch and there’s real-time info.’’
He said the current invoicing model ‘‘needed to change’’.