To celebrate our recent Canadian expansion, we held contests in Toronto and Vancouver to give small businesses the opportunity to win $5,000 (CAD) by answering one simple question, Why Do You Love Being a Small Business Owner?
Underdog’s Brewhouse, based in Oshawa, Ontario, is our Toronto-area small business winner. We’re checking in 60 days after the announcement to see how they put their winnings to good use. You can read the 30-day check in here.
August was a busy month for Underdog’s Brewhouse. Not only did they expand their reach farther into Ontario’s LCBOs (Liquor Control Board of Ontario – a government retailer) with 35 new locations, they also added 8 new bars/restaurants in August to their resume. To date, 180 LCBO stores and 20 beer stores carry Underdog’s All or Nothing Hopfenweisse.
The summer is beer festival season, and Underdog’s participated in several major attractions including the Toronto Festival of Beer, the Canadian National Exhibition, and the Toronto Craft Brew Cruise – a historic paddle-style boat cruise on Lake Ontario with 10 Ontario-based brewers serve beer-loving patrons.
How does Underdog’s get their beer to all these locations? Their $5,000 prize allowed them to finance a forklift, letting the team use their time more efficiently. Using the forklift saves Underdog’s at least an hour each time they have to load or unload a van. The hour saved translates into another 3 or so customers and potential customers seen on any given day. Underdog’s estimates that the 8 new bar/restaurant accounts brought in $5,000 in revenue in August as a result.
The Underdog’s Brewhouse team also bought a yellow fridge toy with their $5,000 prize to help build on their brand awareness. “Whenever customers see us at events/festivals, we always either have a full-sized branded yellow vintage fridge that we pour beer out of, and we now have our small yellow mini fridge to use at more intimate events, meaning our customers are starting to associate yellow vintage fridges with our All or Nothing Hopfenweisse brand of products,” said co-owner Eric Doran.
Stay tuned for our 90-day check in with Underdog’s Brewhouse in late October!