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Tampa-based World of Beer is going digital.
Not in the beer that flows from the dozens of taps, but in some of its backroom operations.
The move, to use an app created by Tampa-based FusionPrep, has helped the fast-growth craft beer specialty bar save money and a run a faster and more efficient kitchen.
Specifically, the company uses FusionPrep's iPad app to replace daily prep lists and line checks and eliminate recipe packets, says David Belliveau, the chain's culinary director. The color packets previously were printed quarterly, and were laminated and bound. Each roughly 150-page packet cost between $250 and $300, he says.
The online capabilities of Fusion also let World of Beer update its recipes on an immediate basis. “It really helps streamline our processes and drives consistency throughout the whole brand,” Belliveau tells Coffee Talk. “The whole system can get updates within 20 seconds.”
Currently, more than 80% of World of Beer's locations with kitchens have implemented the app. World of Beer established a deadline of Jan. 31 for all of its remaining locations to begin using the system, Belliveau says.
World of Beer is a perfect example of the type of customer FusionPrep founder, Chon Nguyen, 32, targets with the app and software. “We want to get aligned with brands experiencing significant growth,” Nguyen says. “We shine most when we're growing with a brand and handling their openings exclusively.”
Nguyen came up with the idea for FusionPrep when he visited Carmel Cafe in Tampa. He went into the kitchen and noticed large binders of recipes, checklists and more. His immediate thought was that an iPad workflow system would be a great replacement.
Fusion's grow-with-the-restaurant strategy seems to be paying off. Nguyen declines to share revenue figures, but he says sales increased 103% year-over-year in 2015. The prep service is used in more than 300 kitchens throughout the United States, Canada and Dubai.
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