The Happiest Hour, a company which alerts customers to food and drinks deals, has switched to offering a platform for breweries to market their takeaway and delivery offerings during the crisis.

The Happiest Hour, which was launched in 2004 by Chris Canty, has built its model around promoting the latest happy hours and deals from venues, alerting customers to the nearest deals in their area.

Canty explained that “student poverty” and the hunt for reliable happy hours prompted the launch.

“We like to think of ourselves as one big blackboard,” Canty said.

Now the company is diversifying in the wake of the shutdown of the hospitality industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With no venues offering food or drinks deals or happy hours, The Happiest Hour founders have decided to use the platform, which sees 100,000 users a month, to help breweries and other producers market their takeaway offerings to a potentially new audience.

Canty explained that breweries could list themselves on the site, marking themselves as takeaway and listing any relevant details. Then consumers can be linked through to them through their contact details.

The website and app platforms have 1,500 venues listed, and for those still offering takeaway drinks and food, it could offer a larger audience to support their ongoing sales.

Canty explained that the Happiest Hour team wanted to try and help the industry in a very challenging time.

“Overnight we went from listing 2,000+ venue specials to almost zilch, and suddenly we had this platform just sitting there, with all these existing users, just dormant,” he said.

“Then Tallboy and Moose Brewery popped up on my Facebook feed spruiking takeaways, and the idea came – promote venues who are offering takeaway/delivery and support the industry.

“Let’s see if we can help them keep the money trickling in.

“We realise the public are doing it tough right now, but if they have the means to buy a takeaway meal or a few cans from a nearby pub, bar or brewery, use the app and see where they can.

“The industry needs every little bit.”

It’s free to list your business on the Happiest Hour, Canty said.

“If breweries are already on our platform, they can just log in and tag any takeaway offers. If they are not they can go to https://thehappiesthour.com/bar-owner-registration/,” Canty said.

He said that the future might look difficult for the industry as a whole, but with government stimulus packages and resources out there to help, the hospitality industry could diversify and open up new sales channels.

“I can’t see venues opening anytime soon, so I think government stimulus packages for casual workers and inventive ideas from venue owners to diversify (like takeway and delivery) is the best way forward for the next few months,” he said.

“We’re fully committed to helping the hospitality industry come back bigger and better once everyone is safe and the restrictions are lifted.”

Find out more or sign up to the Happiest Hour.