Citing its goal to provide craft brewing with “its first seamless omni-channel hospitality platform,” the point-of-sale (POS) specialist Arryved announced this week that it is acquiring Craftpeak, a developer of brewery websites and e-commerce platforms.
In a news release, the companies said that the integration of their tech solutions began last year. The partnership allowed breweries that used both the Arryved POS system and Craftpeak’s e-commerce systems to sync their inventories in real time, across both their online and on-premise operations.
“By joining forces, we’re taking the final step in helping our customers truly bridge the gap between their on-premise and online presences,” says Loren Bendele, CEO of Arryved, in the news release. “As the hospitality landscape continues to evolve, we recognize the importance of creating new buying and marketing channels for our customers and helping them reach guests in meaningful ways, on and offline.”
Pandemic-driven shifts have led to new buying habits from consumers, and the industry has seen a number of recent mergers and acquisitions as significant players in the digital-services space join forces to more effectively cater to this evolving behavior.
“Customers are already demanding ‘one-stop shops’ for all the services they need,” says David Norman, cofounder and COO of Arryved. “This acquisition is another step in that direction for us, while capitalizing on all the items built that were part of a very strong Arryved/Craftpeak partnership. The desire is for our customers to utilize our platform to engage more effectively with their guests and meet them where they want to engage, be it via membership, subscriptions, loyalty programs, or VIP access—all ways the craft industry has already been leading in building contagious loyalty to their brands.”
John Kelley, cofounder and CEO of Craftpeak, says his team is “thrilled” for the chance to combine their online and e-commerce experience with the “formidable engineering talent” of Arryved. “Arryved’s POS technology allows hospitality companies to focus on what is most important—providing the best consumer experiences for their guests,” Kelley says in the news release. “Together, we will build solutions that give guests the power to personalize their engagement with their favorite brands.” At the same time, they will be able to provide “insights and efficiency that can only be achieved by combining all direct-to-consumer channels into a single ecosystem.”
No executives will be leaving the company as part of this integration, according to Nancy Trigg, chief people officer of Arryved. “John Kelley, the CEO of Craftpeak, will now be a member of the Arryved leadership team and work to drive integration product decisions going forward,” she says.
Arryved is based in Boulder, Colorado, while Craftpeak is based in Asheville, North Carolina.
The merger comes as hospitality tech is enjoying a resurgence, alongside hospitality itself. For breweries, there is obvious attraction in solutions that simplify their sales-focused tech needs so they can focus more on making beer and welcoming guests.
The companies remain quiet about the future integrated product roadmap, but one broader goal is to provide more meaningful experiences for customers by giving breweries the tools they need to better understand the people who buy their beer.
“[Customer relationship management] (CRM) without an element of BI (Business Intelligence) is what exists today,” says Norman. “Our goal is to take CRM to the next level with so many key insights that will help establishments know where to focus their efforts and quickly experiment to see what works for their guest base and what does not.”
“Modern omni-channel businesses recognize the need for owning and fostering the customer/guest relationship and not just the transactional relationship,” says Kelley. “We will help breweries provide meaningful channels to drive engagement and the insights necessary to make the right offers at the right time, to the right individual. These insights will help reinforce what is working and help provide empirical data to make the right adjustments to strategy, tactics, and marketing spends.”
Note: Arryved is a media and event partner of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®.