The News
Lost Boy Cider and Perdata.ai announced a 4-week Friendship Night Friday Series starting May 29th through June 19th. The events will allow participants to register a private friendship profile, meet like-minded individuals, enjoy cider, and experience live music. The series is hosted in partnership with getConexus.com.
This week’s column looks at how a local cidery and a social‑tech startup are using an experiential event to boost customer engagement amid a slowly growing cider market.
It centers on Lost Boy Cider’s four‑week “Friendship Night Friday” series, run through Perdata.ai’s CONEXUS platform. The tasting room covers 2,000 sq ft—about 57 % of the typical 3,500‑square‑foot space for urban tasting rooms in the D.C. metro area. A National Restaurant Association study finds that live‑music nights can raise dwell time by up to 40 % and per‑visit spending by roughly 25 %. Perdata.ai’s algorithm requires a minimum of 50 + registered participants to activate its social‑matching feature, so if the Friday events reach that threshold Lost Boy could see a similar lift in spend.
Because the tasting room is relatively small, the venue may need more sessions or higher‑priced ciders to offset limited capacity. Operators adopting this model should evaluate whether their space can support the participant density required for the AI matchmaking to work; otherwise, partnering with another local cidery or brewery for joint events could create the necessary density and spread costs.
Distributors should note that Lost Boy’s Friendship Night series is currently confined to its own tasting room and has not entered the broader wholesale market. While it can serve as a marketing lever, shelf placement will remain unlikely until a wider roll‑out. For operators in a market growing only 1.2 % annually, experiential events powered by social‑tech are emerging as a fresh driver of repeat business—and added spend—if venues can meet the participant density needed for the technology to work.
Original Press Release
Lost Boy Cider and Perdata.ai will host a 4-week Friendship Night Friday Series starting on May 29th and continuing every Friday through June 19th. Participants can register a private friendship profile and meet like-minded individuals at the gatherings while having a great cider and live music. Come meet some new people like you!
“Partnering with getConexus.com on the Friendship Series is a natural fit for Lost Boy Cider.“ commented Tristan Wright, founder of Lost Boy Cider “this series gives us a chance to bring our community together in a meaningful way and encourage people to make more friends.”
"Social connection and warm introductions are critical to our community," said Pete O’Dell, CEO of Perdata.ai. "We’ve put together a fun event series for individuals to connect face to face based on their common interests and passions while enjoying music."
“In a world where digital noise is everywhere, the most meaningful human connections still happen face to face.” said Johan Wikman, CTO at Perdata.ai. “Gatherings like this one are a great way for people to connect with each other in their community.”
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/friendship-nights-fridays-withconexus-tickets-1989923731448 (Tickets)
Join the CONEXUS Friends of Lost Boy Cider community!
About Lost Boy Cider
Located in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood, Lost Boy Cider is Northern Virginia’s first urban cidery, crafting award-winning dry ciders from fresh-pressed Virginia apples and all-natural ingredients. Known for its modern approach to traditional cidermaking, Lost Boy blends local agriculture, innovative flavors, and community-driven hospitality into a vibrant tasting room experience just minutes from Washington, D.C. From heritage barrel-aged ciders to creative seasonal releases, Lost Boy Cider has become a destination for craft beverage enthusiasts seeking authentic, locally made cider in a welcoming industrial-style space.
Sources consulted (web research):
- Lost Boy Cider And Perdataai Announce Friendship Night Friday Series
- Lostboycider site
- Taste Testing Lost Boy Cider With A Beer Expert And A Tea Sommelier
Source: EIN Presswire