Next Glass
Next Glass is a Charlotte, NC-based software platform serving the global beverage alcohol industry, offering producer ERP/SCM (Ekos, Ollie), retailer digital menu tools (Untappd for Business), embedded payments (PaySmart), and consumer discovery (Untappd, ~12M users) to craft producers, restaurants, bars, and beverage brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCharlotte, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Next Glass does
Next Glass, Inc. is a privately held, Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered software platform company backed by Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), operating an integrated B2B and B2C ecosystem for the global beverage alcohol and adjacent industries. Founded in 2013, the company has assembled its stack through seven strategic acquisitions: Untappd (consumer discovery, 2015/2016), BeerAdvocate, Oznr, and Hop Culture (2020), Ollie Order (Canadian omnichannel marketplace, July 2021), FermentAble (December 2021), and Ekos (U.S. craft beverage SCM/ERP, October 2025). Its portfolio serves three customer groups: producers (Ekos and Ollie for production, inventory, compliance, B2B ordering; PaySmart launched March 2026 for embedded ACH payments), retailers/venues (Untappd for Business, Untappd for Business Premium with Wine-Searcher, Untappd for Business Websites, Untappd Spotlights), and consumers/producers of marketing intelligence (Untappd consumer app with ~12M users, BeerAdvocate, Hop Culture, Untappd Insights, Untappd Marketing).
The platform's technology centers on a cloud-based SaaS stack — producer ERP/SCM (Ekos, Ollie), B2B menu publishing and digital signage (Untappd for Business), D2C eCommerce (Oznr, Untappd Shop), embedded payments (PaySmart), and consumer/community apps (Untappd, BeerAdvocate, Hop Culture) — unified through APIs and integrations with Toast, DoorDash, Salsify, Amazon Signage Stick, Wine-Searcher, Royal Swinkels, QuickBooks, Xero, Square, and VIP. The proprietary Untappd Beverage Catalog covers 3M+ beverages from 22,000+ breweries and underpins the Untappd Community Awards (expanded to 100 countries in 2026), Untappd Insights, and the Spotlights ranking algorithm. AI is applied in the LLM-powered "Design with AI" menu customization feature, AI sales and support conversational agents, and personalization/recommendation engines.
Next Glass monetizes through multiple streams: recurring SaaS subscriptions (Untappd for Business, Ekos, Ollie, Oznr, Untappd for Business Premium, Mug Club), per-invoice transaction fees via PaySmart ($0.26 promotional rate), marketplace commissions (Ollie's B2B/B2C activity across 300+ brands and 2,000+ buyers), advertising and sponsorships (Untappd Marketing, Untappd Recappd sponsorships), data licensing/syndication of the Untappd catalog to retailers and platforms, and consumer eCommerce via Untappd Shop and Hop Culture boxes. The company employs roughly 100 teammates across seven countries (~80% remote outside Charlotte), with a global footprint spanning the U.S., Canada (Vancouver, via Ollie), and the Netherlands (Enschede, via Untappd Shop), and serves customers in 75+ countries with consumer reach across 180+ countries.
Next Glass firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Next Glass
- Legal name
- Next Glass, Inc.
- Website
- https://nextglass.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Next Glass is a Charlotte, NC-based software platform serving the global beverage alcohol industry, offering producer ERP/SCM (Ekos, Ollie), retailer digital menu tools (Untappd for Business), embedded payments (PaySmart), and consumer discovery (Untappd, ~12M users) to craft producers, restaurants, bars, and beverage brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Next Glass is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlotte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Next Glass business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscriptions: Recurring SaaS subscriptions across Untappd for Business (used by nearly 20,000 venues in 75+ countries), Ollie (nearly 600 craft beverage producers), Ekos (over 1,200 active producers), and Oznr. Premium tiers (e.g., Untappd for Business Premium powered by Wine-Searcher) provide higher ARPU.
- PaySmart Transaction Fees: Per-invoice ACH fee model with no subscription, platform, or implementation fees; promotional $0.26 per invoice rate for 6 months for customers enrolling by April 20, 2026. Designed for U.S. alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage producers.
- Advertising and Sponsorships: Targeted advertising solutions through Untappd Marketing, including sponsored campaigns (e.g., Untappd Recappd 2025 sponsored by Crescent Canna) and Behaviorally targeted ads across the Untappd ecosystem.
- Marketplace Commissions and B2B Ordering: Ollie facilitates B2B and B2C transactions between producers, wholesalers, retailers, and logistics providers across hundreds of brands and 2,000+ buyers, generating commission-based revenue from marketplace activity.
- Data Monetization / Catalog Licensing: Untappd's catalog of over 3 million beverages is licensed/syndicated to partners such as Salsify, DoorDash, and retailers, enabling product content enrichment across digital shelves.
- Consumer Freemium and eCommerce: Free Untappd consumer app with optional merchandise and curated beer box sales through Untappd Shop (launched in select U.S. states Oct 2023 and in The Netherlands in 2024) and Hop Culture online shop, plus subscription-based Mug Club memberships via Oznr.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Untappd for Business - SaaS subscription with premium tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Ekos - 2-year price freeze for existing customers post-acquisition |
| Subscription | Annual | Ollie - Craft beverage SaaS subscription |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | PaySmart - Per-invoice ACH pricing with promo |
| Freemium | Other | Untappd Consumer App - Free |
| Freemium | Annual | Untappd Recappd - Free end-of-year experience |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Oznr Mug Club - Recurring brewery subscriptions |
Go-to-market motion5 records
Next Glass product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Next Glass operates an integrated B2B and B2C software, data, eCommerce, and marketing ecosystem for the global beverage alcohol industry. Its portfolio includes producer-facing ERP/SCM platforms (Ekos, Ollie), retailer-facing digital menu and marketing tools (Untappd for Business, Oznr), the newly launched PaySmart B2B payments platform, consumer-facing beverage search/discovery and community platforms (Untappd, BeerAdvocate, Hop Culture), and Untappd Insights for business intelligence. The platform connects 1.5 billion+ consumption moments across 180+ countries, serves 16,000+ SaaS customers in 75 countries, and supports B2B and B2C transactions through the Ollie omnichannel alcohol marketplace.
Product overview
Next Glass is a platform-plus-modules architecture offering an integrated B2B and B2C software, data, eCommerce, and marketing ecosystem for the global beverage alcohol industry, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The portfolio centers on a connected stack of producer-facing ERP/SCM solutions (Ekos and Ollie, the latter via the Next Glass Commerce division), retailer-facing digital marketing and menu publishing tools (Untappd for Business and Oznr), the newly launched PaySmart B2B payment platform (embedded within Ekos and Ollie), consumer-facing search/discovery and community platforms (Untappd, BeerAdvocate, Hop Culture, Untappd Insights, Untappd Marketing), and supporting modules such as Untappd for Business Premium (with Wine-Searcher integration), Untappd for Business Websites, the AI-powered Design with AI menu design feature, and the Untappd Shop B2C eCommerce experience. Next Glass has grown through seven strategic acquisitions, and its products are designed to work together — for example, integrating Ollie Order and Ekos Order Hub with Untappd for Business to facilitate frictionless B2B alcohol ordering between producers and retailers, while Untappd's consumer reach feeds Untappd Marketing, Untappd Insights, and the Untappd Community Awards to support producer and retailer decision-making and demand generation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Untappd: World's largest online community and platform for search, discovery, ratings, and reviews of beverages, beverage producers, and retailers.
- Untappd for Business
- Ekos
- Ollie
- Oznr
- BeerAdvocate
- Hop Culture
- PaySmart
- Untappd Insights
- Untappd Marketing
Products and services
- Untappd for Business Industry-leading digital menu, signage, and marketing solution for the food and beverage industry, delivering tools to manage menus, websites, customer engagement, digital signage, events, and consumer promotion. Used by nearly 20,000 restaurants, bars, breweries, and other alcohol retailers in over 75 countries; includes an AI-powered menu design tool, mobile app, and Untappd for Business Premium tier with wine and spirits via Wine-Searcher integration.
- Ekos Market-leading, all-in-one beverage management solution for craft breweries, distilleries, wineries, cideries, and cannabis beverage producers; streamlines production, tracks inventory, manages compliance (including pre-built TTB and COGS reports), and fulfills B2B orders. Integrates with VIP, QuickBooks, Xero, and Square. Acquired by Next Glass on October 27, 2025; over 1,200 active producers on the platform.
- Ollie Affordable, turnkey software platform for craft beverage producers covering production management, inventory, reporting, CRM, B2B ordering, and front-of-house tooling. Founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2019 and acquired by Next Glass in July 2021; serves nearly 600 craft beverage producers, with plans to integrate Ollie Order and Ekos Order Hub into a unified B2B ordering experience.
- Untappd The world's largest online community of drinks enthusiasts with over 11–12 million users globally, empowering users to search, discover, rate, and review their favorite beverages, producers, and retailers; offers the Untappd Shop B2C eCommerce experience (in select U.S. states and The Netherlands) and the Untappd Recappd year-in-review experience. Owned and operated by Next Glass since 2015.
- PaySmart Purpose-built, low-cost payment platform for U.S. beverage producers, unifying orders, invoicing, EFT payments, and reconciliation within Ekos and Ollie; replaces paper checks and third-party portals with automated EFT payments triggered the moment an invoice is delivered. Launched March 31, 2026 with a promotional rate of $0.26 per invoice for six months for customers who enroll by April 20, 2026; no subscription, monthly platform fee, or setup/implementation fees.
- Oznr Craft producer and consumer eCommerce platform allowing producers to manage memberships, special releases (including the Mug Club recurring subscription feature), and everyday eCommerce needs to serve their consumers. Acquired by Next Glass in late 2020; functionally merged with Ollie for B2B2C capabilities.
- Untappd Insights Business intelligence platform built for breweries, distributors, retailers, and beverage marketers seeking to make informed, strategic decisions, leveraging Untappd's underlying consumer, check-in, and rating data.
- Untappd Marketing Suite of targeted advertising solutions designed to help beverage brands — both B2C and B2B — connect with engaged Untappd audiences at the right time and place.
- Untappd for Business Premium
Companies that use Next Glass
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles4 records
Next Glass technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability11 records
Feature8 records
Next Glass partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Next Glass competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Toast: Leading restaurant POS and SaaS platform serving SMB food and beverage operators; directly overlaps with Untappd for Business on digital menu management, online ordering, and venue engagement, and is now an integration partner (Toast Partner Ecosystem). Comparable business model: vertical SaaS + payments for restaurants/bars.
- Restaurant365: Cloud ERP/accounting/inventory platform purpose-built for restaurants; comparable business model (vertical SaaS) and overlapping ICP with Untappd for Business and Ollie, particularly on back-office and operational workflows for multi-location F&B operators.
- Olo: Public B2B SaaS for restaurant digital ordering and off-premise fulfillment; comparable target customers (multi-unit and SMB restaurants) and similar revenue model (per-order/take-rate + subscription), with direct overlap to Untappd for Business on digital menus and to Ollie on B2B beverage ordering.
- Vivino: Consumer-facing wine discovery and ratings app with marketplace; the closest direct analogue to Untappd on consumer-side beverage discovery, ratings, and eCommerce — comparable on data asset, mobile-first community, and B2C monetization.
- SevenFifty: B2B marketplace and SaaS for wine and spirits producers, importers, distributors, and retailers; closely comparable to Ollie's Canadian alcohol marketplace and Untappd for Business Premium's wine/spirits menu capabilities in product, customer base, and category focus.
Broad incumbents
- Yelp: Public consumer reviews and discovery platform with B2B advertising products; comparable to Untappd on consumer ratings/reviews and to Untappd Marketing on venue-targeted advertising — a much broader incumbent outside the beverage vertical.
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Public commerce platform with restaurant POS and eCommerce modules targeting SMBs; comparable to Untappd for Business on SMB SaaS, online ordering, and venue marketing — broader portfolio across retail and hospitality.
- Block (Square): Diversified SMB commerce and financial technology platform with Square POS, Square Banking, and Cash App; comparable to Next Glass on payments (PaySmart vs. Square), SMB SaaS, and ecosystem integrations into restaurant and retail workflows. Much broader portfolio, not beverage-vertical.
Emerging players
- Breww: UK-based brewery ERP and production management SaaS; directly comparable to Ekos and Ollie on producer-side ERP/SCM, sales, and B2B ordering for craft beverage — competes internationally (UK/Europe/Australia/New Zealand) where Next Glass's footprint is still developing.
- Cellr: Beverage-industry marketing and consumer engagement platform helping alcohol producers build direct-to-consumer relationships; overlaps with Oznr (memberships) and Untappd Marketing on the producer-to-consumer engagement layer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Next Glass social profiles
Digital presenceNext Glass compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Next Glass financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Next Glass leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Next Glass subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries11 records
Next Glass funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Next Glass M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A6 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Next Glass
What does Next Glass do?
Next Glass operates an integrated B2B and B2C software, data, eCommerce, and marketing ecosystem for the global beverage alcohol industry. Its portfolio includes producer-facing ERP/SCM platforms (Ekos, Ollie), retailer-facing digital menu and marketing tools (Untappd for Business, Oznr), the newly launched PaySmart B2B payments platform, consumer-facing beverage search/discovery and community platforms (Untappd, BeerAdvocate, Hop Culture), and Untappd Insights for business intelligence. The platform connects 1.5 billion+ consumption moments across 180+ countries, serves 16,000+ SaaS customers in 75 countries, and supports B2B and B2C transactions through the Ollie omnichannel alcohol marketplace.
Is Next Glass a public or private company?
Next Glass is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Next Glass founded?
Next Glass was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Next Glass based?
Next Glass is headquartered in Charlotte, United States, in the North America region.
How does Next Glass make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are paySmart Transaction Fees, advertising and Sponsorships, marketplace Commissions and B2B Ordering, data Monetization / Catalog Licensing and consumer Freemium and eCommerce.
Who are Next Glass's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Toast, Restaurant365, Olo, Vivino and SevenFifty. Broad incumbents are Yelp, Lightspeed Restaurant and Block (Square). Emerging players are Breww and Cellr.
Does Next Glass have an API?
Yes. The Untappd for Business API is available to Untappd for Business Premium customers, enabling programmatic access to leverage Untappd for Business's databases of beer, wine, and spirits items for menu publishing, content management, and integration workflows. Specifics on protocol (REST/GraphQL), authentication method, rate limits, versioning, and sandbox are not stated.