How the Alcohol Industry Shifted Post Pandemic

An Old School Industry Gone Digital

The alcohol industry hasn’t changed much over the years. Restaurant and bar owners would happily attend events or meet their sales agents in person. Before the pandemic, business in the alcohol industry was very old school compared to how digitalised other industries were. E-commerce made up for a very small piece of the market share. There were a few companies that would deliver alcohol directly to the consumer’s door (B2C), Vivino is a great example of such, but it wasn’t until COVID hit when the market really exploded.

I’d argue that the pandemic pushed the alcohol industry 10 years into the future. Consumer behaviour changed and industries had to adapt - this time, the alcohol industry couldn't look away.  Since 2019, online alcohol sales have grown 131%. According to IWSR (Drinks Market Analysis), the alcohol beverage industry is expected to reach more than €42 billion euros across the world by 2025. That’s a growth of another 66% within the next 3 years. Overnight, alcohol e-commerce platforms have become the hottest .coms in the world.

‍

Changing The Industry Forever

Vivino has shown the way of what a successful e-commerce B2C program looks like. A 103% increase, year over year, is impressive to say the least. Online sales currently account for 3% of the €380 Billion global wine industry, Vivino sold for €265 Million Euros in 2020 - the potential for growth is almost impossible to grasp. We’re seeing more companies move into this space, cellartracker.com, wine-searcher.com, wine.com and many more. But where are the B2B solutions?

While everyone else is focusing on building solutions for the private consumer, Drynk will become Europe’s first B2B marketplace where restaurants, bars, distributors and producers will be able to connect in a modern world.

‍

The Future of B2B E-commerce Marketplaces

Restaurants and bars will no longer be limited to the product lists that their distributors provide. They won’t have to deal with multiple orders across different communication channels - emails, text messages, phone calls, Instragram(!?) etc. They will have access to a much wider product selection by browsing through thousands of products that distributors have uploaded to their digital storefronts. Restaurant guests will enjoy better alcoholic beverages, while owners will be able to focus more on what they love - improving their menus, creating better customer experiences and much more. Ladies and gentlemen, say goodbye to countless hours of admin work and raise a glass to fine wine.

‍

On the other side, distributors and producers will be exposed to a much larger market of buyers. Through an always on, 24/7 e-commerce storefront, any buyer will be able to place an order at any time. Distibutors will be able to increase their sales through another distribution channel, while promoting new product released in their own branded storefront. Orders will become automated through Drynk sending the sales team notifications whenever an order has been placed. The days of sending customers PDF products lists are gone - businesses will now be able to enjoy the benefits of everything that the world of e-commerce has to give.

‍

Last, but not least - data will allow producers to understand what products are trending and forecast what to produce next. This is a huge step towards producing products based on real insights.

‍

Welcome to a new universe of managing beverage orders. Welcome to Drynk.