With a CHF 200’000 grant, Wecheer has joined the portfolio of startups that received the FIT Digital Growth loan. The ad-tech startup developed a smart bottle opener that records the place and time a bottle is opened as well as the brand of the beverage.
Over a billion bottles are opened each day, but beverage producers lack information on where or when their brands were consumed, yet this information could help them target their digital marketing campaigns.
Wecheer, the Lausanne based startup with offices in Phu Nhuan (Vietnam), developed a smart bottle opener (see photo) that links the brands directly with the bartenders who serve their products. The connected device records the time, location and brand of each bottle as it’s opened and transmits the data in real-time. The system also includes a tipping mechanism whereby bartenders receive a commission for each bottle they open with Wecheer’s opener.
Two years following its foundation, Wecheer has already equipped nearly 3,000 bartenders in Vietnam and Mexico with its device, resulting in about 4 million bottles opened so far this year. Thanks to its success, the FIT Digital program has awarded Wecheer a CHF 200,000 FIT Digital Growth loan. The funds will enable wecheer to implement its business development strategy and increase the number of bars using its technology. The company’s goal is to double the number of users next year and expand into many other countries.
About FIT
The Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT), established in 1994, provides loans and grants to high-tech startups based in Vaud. It delivered a total of 6 million francs in funding to 44 companies in 2018. FIT is part of the Innovaud platform. Innovaud is Vaud Canton’s innovation agency. Innovaud works closely with the FIT and performs an initial screening of FIT funding applicants. Innovaud also offers a range of support services to FIT funding recipients.
(RAN)
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