Just when it seems like one startup has a market cornered, the fast-paced cycle of the retail tech world always has another competitor raring to take on the establishment.
That’s the goal of Minibar, a liquor delivery service rivaling Drizly, and the startup may be putting itself in a promising position with its latest announcement to allow users to set up recurring deliveries. Lara Crystal, cofounder of Minibar, told TechCrunch that her company attracts a good deal of business from companies looking to stock up for regular meetings and parties, so making the process of the beer-and-wine run that much simpler was a win-win for both sides.
“Fifteen percent of our business is from corporate clients, whether they stock up on beer to have a complete kitchen or host a monthly happy hour,” Crystal said. “For office managers, the idea of running out to get mixers and beer for the office can be a real hassle, so we wanted to make things easier on them.”
The announcement continues what has proven to be a momentous year for Minibar, as TechCrunch also reported on the startup’s March 2015 acquisition of competitor Booze Carriage. The acquired company actually predated Minibar by about two years, but its user base of nearly 25,000 customers was folded into Minibar as a result of the merger.
To date, Minibar operates in 15 cities and has raised a total of $1.8 million in funding. However, it still has a long way to go before it can start to knock at the door of Drizzly, a company that keeps signing new deals with influential partners in the industry. If Minibar can’t become corporate America’s new drinking buddy with its subscription service, it may not have the backing necessary to become top dog in the liquor delivery world.
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