Next Glass, the parent company of beer-centric social media platform Untappd, announced today it has received “a significant growth investment” from Providence Strategic Growth, a Boston-based equity firm focused on media, communications, education and software.
“Trace [Smith] and the Next Glass team have built an exceptional brand and technology platform, with a passionate consumer base, in a highly fragmented and growing market,” PSG principal Matthew Stone said in a press release. “We have been impressed by the company’s growing offering and strong value proposition to both SMB and enterprise customers across the globe and are excited to partner with the Next Glass team to further build on their success.”
The size of the investment was not disclosed. PSG is Next Glass’ only external investor.
With the investment, Next Glass said it will expand Untappd for Business, a software service for on-premise locations that generates and publish menus and aids with promotion, and Untappd Marketplace, a new platform “connecting alcohol wholesalers and self-distributing breweries and their customers to streamline the alcohol ordering process,” according to the release.
Next Glass also announced that Untappd CEO Kurt Taylor will step down from his role but will maintain a seat on the company’s board of directors. Chief operating officer Trace Smith will supplant Taylor as CEO. Founder Greg Avola will shift positions from chief technology officer to chief creative officer.
“In this new role, I will continue to grow our media presence and be more involved with the community,” Avola wrote in a blog post. “That involvement will help me to translate the Untappd community’s feedback into our products.”
A new CTO will be hired in the future, Avola told Brewbound.
“Given the current environment with COVID, it is hard to say when that will be, but, yes, we’ll be back-filling my role,” he said. “Frankly, managing the technology and being a presence in the community just became too much for one person to handle as we’ve grown.”
On Untappd’s app, users track and rate beers they’ve consumed, receiving badges for reaching various milestones. Since the company’s founding in 2010, it has amassed nearly 900 million check-ins and 8 million users. Untappd for Business serves nearly 20,000 venues in 75 countries.
In an effort to support these on-premise accounts that have largely been shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Untappd announced a $2 million relief fund with support from PSG.
“This will allow for deep discounts for new customers, as well as deferred renewals for existing customers,” Avola wrote. “We are committed to helping bars, restaurants, breweries and other venues around the world rebuild after COVID by reconnecting with beer enthusiasts.”
With many of its customers in the on-premise channel seeing their own business drastically slowed or entirely shutdown, Untappd has been forced to lay off employees since the pandemic began.
“As restrictions lift and our customers re-open, we hope to be able to rehire many of the great people we had to let go of,” Avola said. “PSG’s support will certainly help us bounce back more quickly.”
PSG’s investment in Next Glass comes two months after the parent company of Untappd announced the acquisition of Beer Advocate, an online beer rating platform and events company.