How did we help?
- 33,500 registered venues throughout the UK
- 38,000 claims submitted so far
- The website was planned, built and launched in 5 weeks
Case Study
Return Your Beer
Helping pubs and bars reopen after the COVID closure.
In April 2020 Budweiser Brewing Group approached Venn during a very challenging time, with the idea to save the free trade industry, rescuing millions of pounds, jobs and turning the taps back on through a one-of-a-kind platform.
33,500
Venues
33,500 venues registered on the site.
24
Brewers
The platform had 24 participating brewers.
274,000
Claims
In total 274,000 kegs were claimed for by users.
Claims Dashboard
Separate brewer access for the approval of claims.
Reactive Claims Form
Drop down beer and cider claims form featuring over 700 product options.
In partnership with Budweiser, Heineken, Molson Coors, Carlsberg, Marstons & Asahi we built an industry leading, secure solution to support the pubs, bars and restaurants.
As lockdown bared down, the hospitality sector were greatly affected. Covid-19 caused the immediate closure of pubs, bars and restaurants, dramatically affecting the incomes and livelihoods of millions of people. As an industry that is so close to our hearts, we were grateful to take on this challenge and work alongside the British Beer and Pub Association to provide a service that would allow those affected to restock and re open as soon as possible.
Venn have been impressive partners to work with on the Return Your Beer project in tackling an unprecedented challenge facing the UK beer industry following the Government’s decision to close the on-trade.
The Challenge
An estimated 30 million pints were stuck in beer barrels in pubs that were locked down. Not only did the brewers need their kegs back in order to restock, but the venues had already paid duty on beer that was now spoilt.
As lockdown closed pubs, bars and restaurants, 60,000 independent Free Trade Venues were left with no way of claiming back duty, destroying or returning their unused kegs. With 50% of these venues supported through group relationships, 30,000 outlets needed a fully digital solution in line with the HMRC guidelines.
The Solution
What started as an initial idea from Budweiser Brewing Group, soon became the go to solution for the majority of the industry with a total of 24 brewers using the platform for claim approval and processing.
The site launched on June 1st, gaining a spike of 100,000 unique users in the first 24 hours. With tens of thousands of venues pre-registered, the popularity increased exponentially in the first few weeks.
The volume of traffic to site required specific security measures to manage the data load on our servers. Using advanced infrastructure monitoring, we engineered strategic solutions and optimised the database to improve efficiency and user experience.
Features and Functionality
- Responsive, claim based website with a secure backend login, featuring three different account levels, single venues, groups and brewer accounts
- Group account features such as bulk CSV uploads to register multiple venues
- Evidence-based programme with multiple user steps and image storage (700,000 stored images to date)
- Secure brewer log in and ability to manually approve claims
- Secure system with proficient evidence submission, fit for the criteria of HMRC
To read the full project story and learn more about our collaboration with the brewers, head over to our blog.
Return Your Beer
Return Your Beer
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