Hooked, a new app that helps students save money has come to MSU.
The app, known as Hooked, recently came to MSU at the beginning of this semester, according to the app’s co-founder, CEO Tim Rothwell.
The app is free and is currently used by 35 restaurants in East Lansing.
“We’re quickly getting a lot more (restaurants) on board,” Rothwell said.
Stephanie Smith, a communication junior, said she found out about the app via email.
Smith said she has only used the app once, but thinks it will save her money in the future when she eats around campus.
Rothwell said the app has been honed to cater to university-based communities, such as university students, professors and staff. Though marketing efforts are mainly directed toward campus, the app is not exclusive to university students, Rothwell said.
“We wanted a product like this in college,” Rothwell said.
The app is currently active at five universities — MSU, University of Michigan, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois.
Samantha Brock, a manager at Sweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac N’ Cheez, said the company approached the store and got them involved with the app.
“We have a dedicated market manager who meets with all the local businesses,” Rothwell said.
She said the company tries to hire a recent graduate from the university that the app is launching at, to get someone who has ties to the community.
Brock said Sweet Lorraine’s, which opened Sept. 15, 2014, uses the app to do advertising and marketing.
“We’re a new store, just like they’re a new app around here,” Brock said.
Most businesses want to increase traffic during lulls in the day, so the app tries to make deal schedules that will best suit their needs, Rothwell said.
Brock said one deal they had, which offered a free mini mac n’ cheese, attracted about 130 new people to the store.
Smith said the app brought her in to try the mac n’ cheese for the first time.
“I was like, OK they have a deal for it, I’ll go,” Smith said.
Rothwell said they “always keep the app fresh with deals,” and the deals are exclusive to the app.
The company is taking Hooked nation-wide this fall, Rothwell said, and their goal is to gain two dozen universities on the app per year.
