Hooch (application)

Hooch appDeveloper(s)| Hooch.co

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Initial release| December 1, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-12-01)
Operating system| iOS, Android, Web
Website| www.hooch.co

Hooch is a location-based subscription drinks mobile app that provides users one alcoholic beverage per day redeemable at a number of bars and lounges based off the user’s location.[1][2][3] The app is most commonly used as a marketing tool but has branched out to provide data and events services to the restaurant and nightlife industry, making it more of a general social media application.[4] Hooch app allows user authentication through Facebook profiles.[5][3] The company launched a premium product, Hooch Black, and a blockchain-based advertising network, Tap Coin, in 2018.[6]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Product
* 2.1 Hooch Black
* 2.2 Tap Coin
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## History

Hooch co-founder Aleksey Kernes conceived of the idea of Hooch while working as a doorman at Hotel Chantelle.[7] Kernes wanted to reward loyal customers with drink tickets but found current systems burdensome and not scalable. Following an initial prototype of the Hooch app, Kernes recruited Lin Dai as CEO, who departed his post as Chief Marketing Officer at Keek, which had gone public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Jared Christopherson joined as Chief Revenue Officer and cofounder after leaving social-media marketing firm Yellowhammer.[3][1] The three bootstrapped the app’s build out from Dai’s apartment at Caledonia in New York. In an interview with Forbes , Dai explained that he decided to cofound Hooch just before his wedding and broke the news to his wife on their honeymoon.[1]

In 2015, TimeOut New York uncovered Hooch’s app in beta phase and listed it as one of the five best drinking apps in New York City.[8] 2016 the company raised a seed round of $1.25 million in funding led by Blue Scorpion Investments in early 2016. In October 2016 the company announced a larger seed round in the amount of $1.5 million[9] that included celebrity investors Russell Simmons, Chris Burch, Shaun White, Leonard Blavatnick, Baron Davis, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Ritter and Maxwell.[10]

As of 2017, Hotel Chantelle is one of over 500 venues where Hooch customers redeem a drink. Kernes remains its doorman. Actress Rosario Dawson joined Hooch’s list of celebrity investors in fall 2017.[11]

## Product

Hooch markets itself as a cost-saving lifestyle app for consumers and a predictive-analytics and revenue tool to its clients, which range from alcohol brands to restaurants.[12][13] As of 2017 Hooch is available at over 500 bars and lounges in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Austin, San Diego, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. The company claims over 140,000 app users.[14]

In 2016 the New York Post reported that along with the redeemed drink through the Hooch app, the average user purchases $100 to $140 in other drinks and food at the participating restaurant.[9] Adweek reported that Hooch’s data trove from its user base enables the company to identify local drink purchasing trends in real time. Specifically, the report said that Hooch “was able to predict that the Moscow Mule would dominate California before the trend was recognized in popular culture.”[5]

### Hooch Black

In 2018 Hooch launched a subscription-only membership service under the "Hooch Black" label that includes discounts on hotel bookings purportedly at prices lower than Expedia and Travelocity.[15] The Hooch Black network includes 100,000 hotels.[15][16]

### Tap Coin

In 2018 Hooch announced a $5 million funding round led by Warner Music to build out blockchain technology, called Tap Coin, as its next product.[17] Blockchain media publications reported that Tap Coin, a utility token used on the "Tap Network," is a decentralized advertising network.[18] Tap Network claims a more efficient media expenditure for advertisers as a decentralized versus centralized ad network at 60% compared to 0.1%.[6]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Free Drink App Hooch Is Growing A Market By Giving Its Products Away". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2017/04/03/free-drink-app-hooch-is-growing-a-market-by-giving-its-products-away/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
2. ↑ "Paramount Pictures Puts A New Twist On Marketing With Hooch App And Suburbicon Film". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2017/12/04/paramount-pictures-puts-a-new-twist-on-marketing-with-hooch-app-and-suburbicon-film/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Score a drink a day with Hooch, a subscription-based cocktail app". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/07/score-one-free-drink-a-day-with-hooch-a-subscription-based-cocktail-app/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
4. ↑ "The founders of Hooch, which gives you free drinks at participating bars, are divided on whether hangover cures really work". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/hooch-founders-free-drinks-app-hangover-cure-2017-12. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "How This Drink App Is Using Data to Engage Customers in Real-Time". Adweek. http://www.adweek.com/digital/how-this-drink-app-is-using-data-to-engage-customers-in-real-time/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Tap Coin Takes Hospitality Industry to the Next Level". Cryptovest. https://cryptovest.com/news/tap-coin-takes-hospitality-industry-to-the-next-level/. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
7. ↑ "Why the new Hooch app is the greatest deal in L.A.: $99 buys you 365 cocktails". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-hooch-app-20160114-story.html. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
8. ↑ "A new drinking app called HOOCH is buying you one cocktail per day". TimeOut. https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/blog/a-new-drinking-app-called-hooch-is-buying-you-one-cocktail-per-day-020516. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Hooch raises $1.5M more for subscription-based cocktail app". NY Post. https://nypost.com/2016/10/10/hooch-raises-1-4m-more-for-subscription-based-cocktail-app/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
10. ↑ "Why you need to know about Hooch and how they attracted investment from celebrities". Huffington Post. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-you-need-to-know-about-hooch-and-how-they-attracted_us_59e78482e4b0e60c4aa36716. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
11. ↑ "Rosario Dawson is the latest celebrity investor in an app that provides months of free cocktails". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/rosario-dawson-invests-in-free-drink-app-hooch-2017-9. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
12. ↑ "Cocktail app Hooch secures US$1.5m funding". The Spirits Business. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/10/hooch-raises-us1-5m-to-expand-its-cocktail-app/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
13. ↑ "How A Drinking App Uses Smart Data To Understand Customer Behavior". Huffington Post. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-a-drinking-app-uses-smart-data-to-understand-customer_us_58f62c1be4b01566972252d1. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
14. ↑ "PARAMOUNT DISRUPTS WITH FREE DRINK HOOCH APP AND SUBURBICON". Chief Marketer. http://www.chiefmarketer.com/paramount-disrupts-free-drink-hooch-app-suburbicon/. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Hooch Raises $5 Million to Expand Its Drink-a-Day Platform and Elevate Membership Experiences". Alley Watch. http://www.alleywatch.com/2018/05/hooch-raises-5m-expand-its-drink-a-day-platform-and-elevate-membership-experiences/. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
16. ↑ "8 Coolest NYC Drink Spots on Hooch's Free Drinks App". New Theory. https://newtheory.com/8-coolest-nyc-drink-spots-on-hoochs-free-drinks-app/. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
17. ↑ "Drink-a-day Start up Hooch Raises $5 Million to Prepare Blockchain-based Tap Coin Introduction". bitcoinexchangeguide. https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/drink-a-day-startup-hooch-raises-5-million-to-prepare-blockchain-based-tap-coin-introduction/. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
18. ↑ "Tap Coin is Advertisers' First Real Step Towards a Decentralized Ad Network". bitcoinwarrior. https://bitcoinwarrior.net/2018/08/tap-coin-is-advertisers-first-real-step-towards-a-decentralized-ad-network/. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

## External links

* Hooch CEO Lin Dai interview at NYSE
* Hooch television interview on Tap Coin blockchain technology

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