Shraman Mitra
While many of us would love to tap out our favorite beverages and keep them fresh in the refrigerator, traditional barrel kegs take up an obscene amount of space. The other solution, including an entire tap system, is quite costly and challenging to clean. Aiming to solve this issue, entrepreneur Tim Louks introduced Square Keg, a perfectly portable and compact keg that can hold up to 128 ounces of your favorite beverage. With Tim appearing on ‘Shark Tank‘ season 14 episode 8 to present his product, we decided to jump in and trace the company’s growth.
Square Keg: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
The creator of Square Keg, Tim Louks, completed his Bachelor of Arts in Business, Communication, and Life Sciences from Eastern Washington University in 2011. While he already had work experience as a Mortgage Loan Originator, a Sponsorships & Promotions Intern, and a Territory Sales Manager before college, he worked as a Director of Transformer Sales and Account Manager at Critical Power Exchange during his university days. In 2011, Tim joined Burkhart Dental as an Accounts Manager before moving on to Stryker, where he worked as a Sales Representative specializing in Orthopaedics Sales.
While Square Keg was established in 2017, Tim joined Spok as an Enterprise Sales Director in 2019. Nevertheless, he currently divides his time between his own company and his work at Stryker. Being a beverage enthusiast, Tim knew that the general public preferred to tap their favorite beverages instead of storing them in cans or bottles. While a drink on tap remains fresh for a long time and does not go flat, it is also easier to consume and produces less waste. However, the traditional barrel kegs available for purchase in the market were massive and not ideal for storing in regular household refrigerators.
The only other alternative was to get a complete tap system which turned out to be extremely costly, and along with taking up quite a bit of space, it was tricky to wash and clean. Tim knew that most people would not be willing to spend so much on a tap system and was determined to devise a solution to this problem. That was when he hit upon the idea of a square portable keg that would take up less space and not compromise on the volume.
As the name suggests, the Square Keg comprises a 128-ounce square container with a tap attached that can be easily stored inside a refrigerator or a cooler. It also uses 16-gram CO2 Cartridges to keep drinks fizzy, is relatively easy to clean, and can be stacked on top of each other for more storage.
Square Keg is Thriving Today
Although Tim came up with the idea of the Square Keg all on his own, he put a small team together and had to create several prototypes before coming up with the design they had initially aimed for. He then had to deal with business patents, brand design, and other necessities while trying to find a viable manufacturer to work with. Unfortunately, the business didn’t enjoy much traction on Kickstarter or other crowdfunding services, but Tim refused to give up and eventually brought his creation to the world.
From the beginning, Square Keg enjoyed a positive reception and received rave customer reviews. With time, Tim also allowed people to customize their kegs and even laser etch their name on the product, which naturally increased sales. Besides, he introduced several versions of the original keg, including a mini one and a nitro keg made especially for frothy nitro beverages.
Tim, who now co-owns the company with his wife, Birgitta, gushed about their success and future plans in an interview and said, “Overall, customers are having a lot of fun with it. People find cool new uses for it that we’ve never even thought of. The market is telling us, ‘We want a bigger size.’ We are developing new products as well as an option for wine in the next few months.” People interested in getting their hands on the Square Keg can purchase it from their official website.
While the mini keg and the nitro keg cost $249 and $399, customers can expect to pay $20 to get their name etched on the product. Additionally, the company sells faucets, tap systems, CO2 cartridges, and transport caps, which fall in the price range of $6.99 to $199.99. Besides, customers can also pick up a square keg cap for $21.99 or a carry bag for $39.99. It is inspiring to witness Tim’s success, and we are confident Square Keg will reach greater heights shortly.
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