BOCA RATON, FL, UNITED STATES, April 6, 2022/EINPresswire.com/ — Diners, shoppers, and tourists across North America will soon have even more options for engaging with their favorite places and locally made specialty products while discovering new ones, thanks to the new suite of upgrades to the pioneering mobile loyalty apps for the tourism, hospitality, and specialty products market developed by Boca Raton, Florida-based software developers Daruma Tech.

With the enhancements to the apps, guilds and other organizations will have the ability to promote more than one product line, or “trail”—such as locally made spirits, wine, or regional culinary specialties. The series of apps—including the Maryland Craft Beverages App commissioned by the Maryland’s Distillers Guild, Wineries Association, and Brewers Association; the Vermont Brewery Challenge App for the Vermont Brewers Association; and the Taste of Nova Scotia app, which showcases the province’s food, craft beverages, and related events —incentivize app users to learn about and visit each region’s specialty producers and retailers by offering directions, lists of available items offered, and information about special events and offers at each location, along with opportunities to earn points towards prizes by using the app to check in at participating retail establishments they visit. Users can also map out and save their own customized trails using the app and choose between focusing on a single trail or specialty product or pursuing multiple trails simultaneously.

The new enhancements to the apps and their backend platforms offer participating establishments versatile new ways to engage their visitors. Among these enhancements are the option to offer digital coupons (which retailers can renew or revise at will), membership functionality to offer the most loyal customers exclusive benefits, and multilingual (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French) functionality to offer international visitors a welcoming and immersive experience.

A growing number of guild and association leaders are discovering mobile loyalty apps to be a more convenient, powerful, and flexible alternative to traditional paper passport programs as well as an effective way to attract and engage new audiences. Among these leaders is Melissa Corbin, executive director of the Vermont Brewers Association, who began her leadership six years ago with the mandate to improve the online presence of the association and its member brewers through a new webpage and marketing initiatives, such as digitizing their popular paper passport program.

“So, we were trying to move with the times and give people the opportunity to engage with the passport program through the mobile app. We were hoping to tap into an expanded audience and increase the foot traffic that our tap rooms saw because of the mobile app. And we definitely feel like that has been very successful,” Corbin said.

Corbin added that the app has also helped boost engagement at other association-sponsored events, such as festivals. “The consumer engagement at our festivals is pretty cool, because people are able to engage with the app to see all the beers that are being offered at the festival as opposed to just walking around,” she said.

The Vermont Brewers Association chose Daruma Tech to build their app because of the positive feedback Corbin had heard from colleagues in other states about their apps. “I’m pretty tight with my guild leaders in New England,” she said. “And so, I kind of watched from the sidelines to see how Paul [Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association] was working through the kinks of his app in New York. And once things were pretty well dialed in. Vermont signed up.”

Daruma Tech has been impressed with Corbin’s vision, passion, hard work and leadership over the years and credits her for the success Vermont has achieved as well as her advocacy in digital upgrades for loyalty / passport programs. Corbin added the app was funded in part by grant money she successfully solicited from the State of Vermont, which recognized the app’s potential to raise the profile of Vermont’s craft breweries, boost tourism, and increase economic growth and activity.

For more information, contact Rick Griswold at 561-990-1625