Remember when you first told
your friends you wanted to start
a brewery?
“You’re going to what?!” Goodbye 9
to 5, goodbye benefits, goodbye sleep. You
knew it wouldn’t be easy, but did you know
you would end up being not just a brewer,
but also an accountant, bartender, janitor
and everything in between? Running your
own business, whether brewery or bakery,
is about having an infinite passion, learning
as you go and the desire to be the best you
can be. No one started a brewery to make
the second-best beer or be the second coolest
taproom.
When Secret Hopper launched, they
had an extremely similar checklist to your
average brewery owner. They had a love for
craft beer, a desire to grow and hope to help
as many breweries as possible reach their
true potential. Just like your friends who
first questioned you, Secret Hopper also
had that little hiccup moment.
In early May 2017, Andrew Coplon
texted his wife, Stacie, “I’ve got a great idea
for a business. We’re going to be a mystery
shopping company for breweries called
Secret Hopper.”
Stacie was used to her husband’s constant
stream of ideas and quickly responded
from her former job at an animal hospital,
“That’s stupid.”
Andrew bought the domain, built the
site, created a rough business plan, discovered
how expensive lawyers can be and
never looked back.
Secret Hopper’s mission is to help
breweries reach their goals – to be as successful
as possible and to create the most
memorable experience for guests. In craft
beer today, everyone is making great beer.
Secret Hopper aims to help breweries focus
on the little things that ultimately make a
big difference.
As the numbers of breweries in
Canada climbs past 1,000, the larger provinces
are seeing greater competition. From
2017 to 2018, the number of breweries in
Canada increased by 21.8 per cent. Quebec
increased by 10.5 per cent, Ontario by 15.4
per cent, and B.C. by 20 per cent. These are
new entrants to markets in a time when
overall beer production went down by 3.4
per cent. A brewery can no longer just make
decent beer and expect to survive long
term. Beer quality is merely one piece of the
pie. Craft beer is about making memories
that make guests crave to return. This is
how to survive.
How much does your brewery invest
in your brewery operation? A building?
Equipment? Ingredients? No need to
answer – this number probably is pretty
large. Now how much time and money have
you dedicated to maximizing your guests’
customer experience? It’s vital not only to
take the steps to produce high quality beer,
but also to invest in the skills to run a successful
business.
Secret Hopper sends mystery shoppers
to visit breweries to provide objective feedback
on the taproom experience. Did the
bartender greet the guest with a smile? Did
the staff offer recommendations? Check ID?
Check back in a timely fashion? Offer beer
Best
Service
Forward
Secret Hopper provides a service for breweries to
obtain valuable customer feedback
By Andrew Coplon, Secret Hopper
46 § POURED CANADA § www.poured.ca
/www.poured.ca
