A New Era
The journey of rediscovering Kelowna.
As many of you may know, I have recently, along with my good friend, Logan Hayman, been working endlessly prepping the launch of Taste Locally. Wow, what a journey it has been. Before I go on to explain how it all happened, let me explain the idea. Both Logan and I have a passion for the city of Kelowna. The people are amazing and the community has a unique sense of pride. It was this, that inspired our idea. Taste Locally is a deck of playing cards that double as discounts to local restaurants and several products.
How it works.
Each deck of Taste Locally contains 52 cards. 20 cards are good for $10 off your meal price at that restaurant that is on the card if you spend $30 dollars or more, not including tips, tax, or alcohol. There are 9 free coffees in the deck and 15 wildcards We approached local restauranteurs and pitched our idea. Bam! suddenly we started to gain momentum. This meant, I started to loose some sleep.
Each restaurant sells Taste Locally decks in their stores and accepts cards and offers out the discounts for as long as the deck is valid. Logan and I really pursued this with the idea to increase traffic flow to local businesses during the hard months. Because of this, we managed to develop a way that there is absolutely no upfront expenses for anybody that has signed up.
In addition to increased traffic flow and free marketing, each business owner stands to make 50% off every deck they sell. We’ve had people not even believe us when we described the idea. Is it ambitious? Absolutely.
How could I forget? You can even play any games with these cards! Neat, eh?
Why?
This is the grand question isn’t it? I’ve lived in Kelowna for over 10 years, I love it here. The people are gold! True, honest, and proud of the community. Because of this, I wanted to find a way to give back. Having invested hundreds of hours into the creation of websites, mobile web apps, card designs, and various other things, I truly believe in the idea.
Kelowna is currently on the edge of change and it’s time that we make a decision: (ps, there is only one right answer).
A — Continue down the rabbit hole of buying all of our food that we dine out on at huge global chains and support international CEO’s buying their fourth or fifth estate
B — Support the local entrepreneurs. The mom and dad who are working to have their kids in hockey, dance, and soccer. The local business graduates that are starting their first business and working at paying off their students loans.
Don’t get me wrong. CEO’s of large companies have done an incredible job building business empires, I respect their wisdom and knowledge in the business world. However, it’s time we go back to our roots. No longer will we need to eat food imported by trucks that drive across the nations and deliver food, when we can simply eat the food from out backyards that are being served in the local businesses.
Oh, and did I mention that $1 from every deck sold goes straight to the Kelowna Food Bank. Bam. What a Win-Win-Win! You saved money, supported a local business owner, and even helped the food bank. Way to go you!
The Big Dilemma.
From the beginning Logan and I chatted about where we should get these decks printed. We knew we had to get them printed in Kelowna. After calling almost ever print shop in Kelowna having quotes up to 700% over our budget it started to seem hopeless. We had quotes to print in China for 200% under our budget. It was tempting, but we simply couldn’t do it.
I sent out a tweet and some texts to friends. The most common response was I received back was Kelowna InstaPrint. Logan went over there the next day and explained our situation to Tyler. We emailed some, I sent him some mockups and he got back to us and met us exactly at the top of our budget. It was incredible. Huge thanks and shout out to them!
The Invitation.
I want personally invite you to our Taste Locally launch party that is taking place on November 15th, 2013 at The Bike Shop Cafe. We will present deck six month edition of our deck. This is really our trial run to see how the community responds. Do you think this is a great idea? Come out and support us! Buy a deck or two. They are fantastic as stocking stuffers. Wow, you totally forgot Christmas is soon, hey?
Get Involved.
I want to challenge you. Rather than buying a coffee at a huge chain restaurant, check out a local coffee shop. Whether they are part of the deck or not, we should be supporting local businesses over the large amounts of international organizations that are just working for the margin! Get in the game. Buy a deck from www.tastelocally.co (when the website launches in a few days. I’ve just got a few more pixels to push and some characters to type.), eat out, redeem, and feel great! You are a champ!
UPDATE: Unlike previously posted, we have updated the price for the christmas season! Decks are available for $25 online www.tastelocally.co or in store at any of the restaurants. If you want one for yourself and one for the stocking of your loved one, you can get two for $40.
