Turning Three Paper Passport Programs into an Engaging Mobile App for Taste of Nova Scotia

Taste of Nova Scotia (TONS), a non-profit marketing association representing the province’s restaurants and food producers, had three popular paper passport programs—the Lobster Trail, the Chowder Trail, and the Good Cheer Trail for craft beverages. TONS wanted to modernize their passport programs by incorporating them into a single mobile app—and asked Daruma Tech to help.

Client Overview

Taste of Nova Scotia (TONS) is a non-profit, membership-based marketing association representing over 200 restaurant, producer/processor, and industry members. Its mission is to promote Nova Scotia’s products on the international stage, promote Nova Scotia as a culinary destination, and support the province’s “Buy Local” initiatives.

Challenge

TONS had three popular paper passport programs—the Lobster Trail, the Chowder Trail, and the Good Cheer Trail—that offered users lists of restaurants, bars, and markets offering local specialties. After Nova Scotia shut down nearly completely at the height of the COVID pandemic, TONS realized it was more critical than ever to find engaging new ways to attract both tourists and locals back to the province’s many small businesses. TONS also realized that taking their loyalty programs digital would help shoppers get better information faster. But they weren’t sure an app incorporating three separate trails would be technologically feasible.

Discovery

TONS chose Daruma Tech for their app development because of Daruma Tech’s successful track record building mobile passport apps, including the Ohio on Tap app, which won the state’s RUBY award for excellence in tourism promotion. We started by asking TONS executives about the wants, needs, and pain points of their membership, and learned that a priority for them was promoting both members participating in the passport programs (such as markets and restaurants) and those who were not (such as growers and wholesalers). Among their ideas for keeping Nova Scotia food and drink front of mind for app users was an in-app recipe database highlighting Nova Scotia-grown ingredients.

Solution & Implementation

Daruma Tech identified the Explorer App platform as the best option for delivering the level of customization TONS needed. The final Taste of Nova Scotia app lets users explore any of the three trials (and also see nearby stops on other trails). The app also included the recipe database TONS requested, so users can continue to enjoy tastes of Nova Scotia from anywhere in the world.

Results

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