New social gifting platform, Gratafy, launched today, Oct. 23, 2012. Gratafy enables people to easily and instantly send food and beverage items (i.e. glass of wine, cocktail, special dessert) and other experiences like a round of pool to Facebook friends as gifts using Gratafy’s mobile applications. It also provides restaurants, bars and other nightlife venues a unique, social way to extend their menu and services outside of their four walls.
WHERE: Gratafy is now live in more than 40 local restaurant and nightlife venues across Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland, with more coming online daily. Merchant partners include Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Tom Douglas Restaurants, Tilth, Tavern Law, Duke’s Chowder House, Cactus Restaurants, Barrio Mexican Kitchen & Bar, Purple Café and Wine Bar, Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, Barolo Ristorante, The Coterie Room, Luc, Rover’s Restaurant, The Parlor Billiards, Suite Lounge and a host of others. Merchant list available here.
HOW IT 1. Download the free app for iPhone or Andriod www.gratafy.com
WORKS: 2. Choose a lucky friend from Facebook you’d like to acknowledge
3. Select your friend’s favorite restaurant, bar or nightlife venue
4. Pick an item off the Gratafy menu and purchase it as a gift for your friend
5. Gratafy will send the gift to your friend and notify them of your kindness
6. Your friend can instantly redeem the gift in-venue with the server/bartender via Gratafy’s mobile app. See How It Works here.
WHO: Gratafy was co-founded by long-time friends, Seattle natives, and UW graduates Brian Erke and Ryan Halper. The Gratafy team is based in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.
“Life is all about experiences. It feels good to send a gift to a friend or family member and show your appreciation for them. We want to make that experience easier. ” – Brian Erke, Co-founder and CEO
“We offer our merchant partners an end-to-end solution that enables them to sell their products online, reach customers outside their venue and bolster brand awareness via new social platforms.” – Ryan Halper, Co-founder and COO