Barbecue tech startup fires up sales in Kansas City
April 19, 2016 | Kat Hungerford
Kansas City is firing up the grills for its favorite season.
And no, it isn’t springtime or summertime. It’s barbecue time.
This barbecue season, Kansas City food tech startup Tappecue has cooked up a new online platform to complement its existing meat thermometer. The platform — launched last week — is called SessionBook, which allows grill- and smoke-masters to digitally perfect their barbecue recipes.
With the platform, users can review their cook session data to test and fine-tune recipes to create award-winning foods, said Jacob Bourret, marketing vice president of Innovating Solutions, owner of the Tappecue brand.
The Tappecue thermometer sends real-time temperature data to its phone app, enabling cooks to keep an eye on dinner while away from their grill, smoker or slow-cooker. With the addition of SessionBook, users can upload play-by-play Tappecue thermometer data, along with images, notes, recipes and more to track and perfect their barbecue processes.
Bourret sees Kansas City, with its barbecue-centric culture, as the optimal place to test and launch Tappecue products.
“We couldn’t ask for a better city to launch Tappecue,” said Bourret. “When we first launched, we were bootstrapping so we didn’t have an excess of cash flowing in to market and advertise (the product) — which means we had to get creative. Fortunately, KC has many barbecue competitions yearly.”
The company gained permission from the Kansas City Barbecue Society to hand out flyers and talk to competition participants at the society’s events. Grassroots marketing efforts like these were, and continue to be, the root of the company’s success, according to Bourret.
“People (at the competitions) got to meet the inventors and see our passion and enthusiasm for the product,” he said. “Now, our customers share that same enthusiasm and spread the word for us – from the heart of KC to the rest of the world.”
Since its July 2013 launch, Tappecue has doubled in revenue every year, with a total of 2,000 units sold to 1,700 customers. The company expects to again double those numbers by the end of 2016, according to Bourret.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
MyAnIML earns NSF funding, patent; now facing new phase of growth with industry validation
Thanks to a recent federal grant — along with a newly secured patent on its first-of-its-kind, proprietary facial recognition tech for cows — MyAnIML is proving its place as a leader within a herd of ag innovation, Shekhar Gupta said. The Overland Park startup received a 250,000 Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation…
KC’s next LGBTQ+ space wants to be more than just a raging club; How this permanent takeover aims to better reflect queer nightlife
Westport nightlife is set for transformation as a sweeping expansion adds seven late-night hotspots to the historic entertainment district — anchored by a new bar catering specifically to Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ community. Q Kansas City — a collaboration with Lance Pierce of Queer Bar Takeover — is expected open its doors in October at 504 Westport…
Chef brings Urban concept back to Troost; $25K GIFT grant boosts fight against gentrification
Chef Justin Clark’s latest venture — an eatery that blends Asian and soul food influences — aims to not only blur the boundaries between menus, but break down dividing lines within and between communities. “The goal was to create familiar items that everyone actually can relate to as Americans, but then again, we add some…
How one small town Missouri entrepreneur built a professional video business in a town of 10,000
Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it. HARRISONVILLE, Missouri — Byron Brooks received his first video camera…