App rewards Charlotte for drinking local

Brooks hopes his app will serve as an interactive way for the community to be rewarded for supporting local businesses.

Why it matters: Breweries have become a major part of Charlotte’s ecosystem and social scene.

• With local institutions like Legion Brewing, international juggernauts like Gilde and an additional 30-plus breweries establishing a presence in Charlotte, it’s apparent beer is king in the Queen City.

Background: Hopp came to be after Brooks and some of his friends realized they always went to the same spots, and they wanted a tool that could help them explore Charlotte’s breweries and bars in an approachable and fun way.

• “The city has so many great local spots to offer and once I started connecting with some of the local brewery/ bar owners about what I was thinking, it kind of took off from there,” Brooks tells Axios.

How it works: As users go to participating “HOPP spots,” they can scan the QR codes at each venue to earn points.

• Meeting certain benchmarks allows users to redeem their points for rewards from local businesses like a free round of bowling at Queen Park Social, gift cards to boutiques and restaurants and even services like a free haircut.
• The app also has features like a brewery passport to help users keep track of their progress, loyalty programs and neighborhood challenges which earn you extra points for completing.

Yes, but: What about non-drinkers? Brooks says non-beer drinkers can absolutely interact with the app since it also features seltzerys and local coffee shops.

By the numbers: Hopp has nearly 200 venues on the app spanning a 50-mile radius with Statesville being the northernmost city and Rock Hill being the southernmost city.

• To date, Hopp has reached 20,000 user downloads and has landed partnerships with the Charlotte Knights and regional visitor authorities like Charlotte’s Got A lot and Visit Mooresville.

What’s next: After receiving an overwhelming amount of feedback to add Asheville to the app, Tanner says he and the Hopp team are making plans to expand to Asheville in the fall of 2022.