Brewed
Industry
Ecommerce
Location
USA
Partnership period
2014-2015
Team size
11
Project information
Overview
Brewed is a subscription-based portal that provides B2C networking services. With Brewed, users search for bars and breweries along the extensive database retrieved from Google Places in an easy and fast way. Bars subscribe to the platform services on a monthly or yearly recurring basis in exchange for the ability to manage the venue. It is the platform where users can find and buy 38,000 types of beers in 130,000+ bars and 5,000+ breweries and save 1,500+ events.
Our Task
CodeIT faced the task of building a responsive web application and native mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms. The first step of the whole process was to identify the values of the Brewed platform for its users. We needed to create a solution that would allow different users to perform different actions.
For bars, breweries, events:
- Instant access to beer lovers online, right where they are
- Handy tools to keep product range and prices updated
- Simple and effective tools for proposition promotion
For beer lovers:
- Quick access to all kinds of beers in the neighborhood from one app;
- Ability to choose the radius of the search radius: nearest block or the whole country;
- Make the process of choosing and buying beer easy and pleasant;
- Let beer lovers communicate with each other, rate beers and venues, leave comments, etc;
- Make the app design and user experience smooth and trendy.
That meant that the platform had to include a multilevel database of places where beer could be purchased or brewed, that would automatically update. In addition to that, it needed the Geo-location services to give users the ability to look for the mentioned-above places nearby and nationwide. And, of course, one of the main features would be the integration with the social networks – the user could sign up through one, add their own profile, claim bars, and breweries, create custom menus, rate places, leave comments, and share it with friends.
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Implementation
The CodeIT team has developed an application packed with advanced features for enabling online networking.
Database
We used the best technology for the case to make the interactions between databases super fast. A powerful and accurate search engine is the core of the system. It is built using an Apache Solr server that guarantees speed for location-based search. Such a system allows users to receive Beer Search results in 0.1 sec using a bunch of parameters:
- Location radius
- Beer sort, type, name
- Brewery
- Venue name, address, etc.
Menu Builder
For bars and breweries owners, we have created a custom, easy-to-use, and multi-functional menu. The system allows them to claim their business, add, remove, or schedule products, create their own menus, and print them or place them online.
Business owners could claim their Breweries for free in several steps—search for a brewery, claim it, and manage it.
The great-looking custom menu is created in few simple moves:
- Choose color schemes and fonts
- Upload images of your products
- Choose info fields for the product
- Fill in the product info
- Post the menu on the venue page or on the site or even save it as a ready-to-print PDF file
Subscription and Payments
Bar owners can also claim their business but with the subscription. The recurring subscription module was implemented with PayPal Pro API to provide users with the ability to process payments via credit cards. Promo code feature and flexible partial/full refund system are on board. With this system, the owner can add beers to the cellar, put them on/off the menu, and manage the venue’s staff together with his billing information and invoices.
Programmable Updates
A special great feature for menu builders is programmable updates: venue managers can set product availability, prices, and new positions to be added to the menu at the date when the changes are expected.
Social Networking
Among other website features, there are a lot of social network elements. Users can follow each other, check in bars, rate, and consume beers. The idea is similar to the combination of Instagram and Swarm, but it is just domain-specific.
The rating system helps users rate venues and beers and add comments along with tags. Users can easily find the brewery/beer/bar of interest in their location or somewhere else using friends’ references. The brewery/beer/bar can be added to the Favorite list for quick access or shared with friends on social networks (Facebook, Twitter).
Promotions
As part of the scope, the Events module was designed. The bar owner can create scheduled/postponed events for his venue and provide users with free access according to VIP lists. Thanks to the complex level access system, the bar owner can organize the management process in details: there are separate roles for managers and bartenders.
Result
A subscription-based portal for B2C communication
As a result, CodeIT built a cross-platform solution from scratch with a clean and intuitive user experience. The platform is complex and multi-functional, but at the same time user-friendly. It can handle the load of 200,000 same-time queries and embraces locations and users from all over the United States.
Services
- iOS Development
- Android Development
- Web Development
- Quality Assurance
- UI/UX Design
- Project Management
- Business Analysis
Team
- iOS Developer
- Android Developer
- Front-End Developers
- Back-End Developers
- QA Specialists
- UI/UX Designer
- Project Manager
- Business Analyst
Technology stack
- Zend 2 Framework
- PHP
- MySQL
- HTML/CSS
- JavaScript
- Twitter Bootstrap
- PayPalPro
- API
- Solr
- iOS SDK
- UIKit
- Android SDK
- Google Maps API
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