
How Much Should a Website Cost in 2025? A Guide for Restaurants, Bars, and Breweries
Posted by Untappd Team, February 6, 2025
In today’s digital world, having a well-designed, functional website is essential for restaurants, bars, and breweries. It goes beyond having social media. A great website can help attract new customers, showcase menus, accept reservations, and even drive online sales. But one of the most common questions business owners ask is: How much should a website cost in 2025?
The answer depends on several factors, including the type of website, features, complexity, and whether you choose a DIY solution or hire a professional web developer. Costs can range from a few hundred dollars for a basic website to tens of thousands for a fully customized, feature-rich platform.
This guide will break down website costs for restaurants, bars, and breweries, helping you understand the pricing landscape and choose the best solution for your business
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Websites vs. Social Media: Which Is Best To Grow Business?
Posted by Untappd Team, January 14, 2025
In today’s world, both websites and social media platforms are crucial for a brewery, bar, or restaurant’s online presence. However, consumer habits show distinct preferences for each, depending on the context of their search or interaction.
In this guide, we’ll go over the basics, walk you through how to leverage these tools effectively, and show you how understanding these trends can help your venue better meet your customers’ expectations.
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How to Start a Brewery in 2024
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, February 27, 2024
UPDATED: 2/26/2024
Without a doubt the craft beer industry has faced some serious headwinds over the past few years. Overall, the Brewers Association reports that in 2022 the industry has seen “mixed signs of recovery.” According to the organization’s Year in Beer 2022, there are now 9,500 breweries operating in the United States, with 550+ new ones opening and only 200+ closing in 2022.
With so many breweries in the marketplace, the road to success isn’t the unpaved path it used to be. We’ve seen former financial advisors, consultants, head brewers, and many more all begin their own businesses. But whether you’re looking at a serious career change or a brewer taking the next step, the question remains the same: Where do you begin when figuring out how to start a brewery?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve laid out all the important considerations and steps you’ll need to take if you’re looking to open your own taproom or production space.
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Craft Beer Labeling: What Makes A Good Craft Beer Label (2024)?
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, February 2, 2024
UPDATED: 2/2/24
You can brew the best milkshake IPA on the planet. But, if your beer label doesn’t catch the eye of the consumer and meet all the requirements mandated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), your beer won’t stand out on the shelf. Or even make it to the shelf.
“A beer label is the number one way consumers will interact with your brand,” says Matt Tanaka, Founder of Stout Collective, a design-driven creative studio rooted in beer that designed over 500 beer labels last year alone. “In a world with 9,000+ craft breweries in the United States alone, you have a fraction of a second to catch a consumer’s eye on the beer shelf. It’s a really competitive space. The way to compete is with label design.”
To say it simply: Your beer label will determine if someone buys your beer.
“You really can’t overstate how important your brand is,” says Tim Corcoran, co-founder of Massachusetts-based Coastal Mass Brewing (nee Channel Marker Brewing), whose distinctive labels have set the tone for the brewery and consistently impress a loyal following. “Your can label designs are the first thing you should think of when it comes to a brewery’s branding, in addition to your logo.”
When considering something as important as designing the perfect beer label, there are several things that need your consideration, starting with legal compliance. From the visual design to why you can’t use the abbreviation IPA to pressure sensitive versus shrink sleeves, we’ll show you how to create the perfect beer label.
(Above Artwork by Matthew Houle)
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How to Design a Brewery Logo And Develop Your Brand (2024)
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, January 19, 2024
UPDATED: 1/19/24
Brewing great beer is important but if you can’t represent the soul of your brewery through your branding, no one will understand who you are. With over 9,700 breweries operating in the United States, your beer will only set you apart so much from the pack.
“How much better can your Hazy IPA be than the next guy?” says Ben Butler, former co-founder of the now-closed Necromancer Brewing and Top Hat, an award-winning design and marketing agency in Pittsburgh. “If two brands are sitting on a shelf right next to each other, you’re probably going to grab the one you’re more interested in. Branding now has the final say.”
For better or for worse, gone are the days of succeeding based on beer merit alone. In 2024, people want to hear the unique story that brought your company into the business. They want to connect with who you are as a brewery, learn about nuances that make you different, and understand your beliefs and values as a business.
But it can be challenging to answer the questions: Who are you? Who is your brand? And how can you visually represent your brewery in a few short words, colors, and illustrations?
We asked the experts at some of the top beer-focused design agencies around the country to share how they attempt to answer these questions, how to design a brewery logo and what makes the best ones work.
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All About Untappd Badges (2023)
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, March 9, 2023
Untappd is the world’s largest community of beer enthusiasts with over 1o million registered users. At its core, Untappd is an app that invites people to socially share the beers they’re currently enjoying by “checking them in.” Curious about what your friends are drinking or where they’re hanging out? Just check out their Untappd profile.
In April 2021, Untappd hit over 1 billion check-ins worldwide, making it the premier social platform to engage with a community of dedicated craft beer drinkers.
And in 2022, the community registered its one billionth badge earned. What is a badge you ask? Well, for a brewery, beer business, taproom, or bar, one of the best ways to tap into this hyper-engaged community is through Untappd badges.
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How to Choose the Best TV for Digital Menu Boards (2023)
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, January 27, 2023
UPDATED: 1/27/23
As bars, breweries, and even restaurants have evolved, writing menus on chalkboards has become a thing of the past. Today, digital menu boards have become a streamlined, easy way to display what’s on tap, driving customer engagement and saving your team valuable time.
Digital menu boards can make an impression on your customers, ultimately adding to your bottom line. As one of the latest trends in digital signage, these boards can give customers a sleek, modern way to read what you have on hand and in stock.
While many establishments use a good ol’ fashion TV to show their offerings, there are plenty of options that are both reasonably priced and high quality. In fact, there may be too many options. But if the number of TVs on the market seem daunting, don’t fret.
We’ve sifted through the multitude of options to show you which ones are the best to display your menus.
After all, if you’re choosing to showcase some of the now three million beers in Untappd’s database on your digital menu board (as of 2023), you’ll want the best, most reasonably priced display.
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Should Breweries Make Non-Alcoholic Beer?
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, November 22, 2022
A few years ago, a beer without alcohol in the United States seemed crazy. But today, non-alcoholic beer has become a growing trend in the U.S. So much so that many American craft breweries have taken a stab at making their own versions of non-alcoholic beer.
Beverage e-commerce site Drizly reported that NA category shares rose twenty-four percent on the platform year over year compared to the same period in 2021. More than one hundred non-alcoholic brands including beer, wine, cider, and spirits now live on Drizly, a seventy percent increase from last year. In the United States specifically, Statista reported that non-alcoholic brands contributed to over $414 million in sales.
While on a global scale, leading global alcohol industry market research firm IWSR reported in its IWSR Drinks Market Analysis that volume of no- or low-alcohol beverages grew by thirty-one percent year over year in 2022.
Basically, all signs point to non-alcoholic beer trending, if not growing into something more.
As a result, over the past few years, many craft breweries have added innovative, flavorful non-alcoholic beers to their portfolios. And entirely non-alcoholic beer brands are emerging in the market.
For instance, major established brands like Brooklyn Brewery, Boston Beer Co., and Dogfish Head have all crafted their own NA beers.
And solely non-alcoholic beer producers such as Athletic Brewing Co. are changing the status quo.
We predict this beer trend will continue to grow and that soon Americans will be drinking non-alcoholic beer all year round. So now the big question becomes: Is it worth your brewery investigating and investing in starting a non-alcoholic beer line?
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The 11 Best Restaurant Logos in the Industry
Posted by Grace Lee-Weitz, October 17, 2022
Wondering what elements make up a great business logo? We put together a whole guide here.
With that in mind, we won’t get into too much of the nitty gritty, but suffice it to say that your restaurant or brewery logo is like a firm handshake. It’s often the first and sometimes only thing people see and helps set the tone for what your customers and potential patrons can expect.
A visual representation of your brand, your logo shows who you are as a business. All within a tiny little illustration or graphic.
So while it may seem like a small detail, it’s really a big one.
“Branding now has the final say,” says Ben Butler, co-founder of Necromancer Brewing and Top Hat, an award-winning design and marketing agency in Pittsburgh, in our guide to designing and developing a brewery logo.
Nail your branding and you’re already on your way to success. And it all starts with your logo.
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How to Take Mouthwatering Food Instagram Photos for Your Restaurant
Posted by Sarah Buckholtz, July 8, 2022
As a restaurateur, it takes considerable and thoughtful effort to build not just an appetizing menu, but also one that’s profitable.
With the cost of ingredients continuing to rise, business owners are seeking out more creative and strategic approaches to market their menu to patrons in high volume. But how to lure them in?
Like the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
While it’s common for menus to exclude pictures of the food, Instagram is a perfect platform to show off all the tantalizing dishes you prepare.
Taking attractive photos of food and posting them on social media is a low-cost, effective way to drive more traffic to your business—while also demonstrating your restaurant’s culinary skills and style.
If you’re a restaurateur looking to utilize the tools of food photography and technique to engineer your menu on social media, you’ve arrived at the right place.
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