The already heated alcohol delivery app war in D.C. has a new contender with the launch of Minibar Delivery in the District this week.
"We're really excited to be in D.C.," said Lindsey Andrews, co-founder of the New York City-based Minibar. "D.C. is full of busy people who don't want to do another errand, which is exactly who we want to help out."
Minibar offers a web and mobile app platform to connect people with liquor stores for delivery of all kinds of alcoholic beverages and mixers, similar to its rivals in D.C. like Drizly and Klink. What helps this year-old startup stand out from the crowd is a focus on party planning.
Alcohol-ordering apps usually have some recommendations in their blogs about recipes or gifts, but Minibar takes it to the next level by including a feature that helps you calculate how much of what kind of drinks to get based on number of people, how long the party will go for and even whether the party is during the day or at night. It makes sense as the next step for the rapidly maturing field of alcohol delivery, which has taken off at incredible speed.
"It was one of the last areas where you couldn't get things delivered at a tap of the button," Andrews said. "We offer more than that though. The party planning tool can really help you figure out how much you need to buy."
There are also smart filters to help narrow down what you might want to buy at a party and Minibar will even recommend wine pairings. It will take those kinds of features to get noticed, especially as there are more and more promotions from other alcohol delivery startups such as Klink's team-up with Bud Light and Drizly's promotion with Miller Lite.
So far, things have been going very well for Minibar. The startup has been expanding quickly, with more than a dozen areas of service around the U.S.. Minibar closed a $1.8 million seed round of funding last July, but it's also bringing in revenue through charging a percentage fee for each delivery made by the liquor stores it partners with. Minibar is not available everywhere in D.C. yet, but you can see where the company will deliver in the map below.
"We're biting off what we can chew," Andrews said. "We'll grow from there."
It's good timing for the company's launch as St. Patrick's Day is around the corner. Andrews said she expects plenty of orders for Guinness and Jameson to start rolling in this weekend, although her personal preference is rosé champagne or a nice sauvignon blanc. Despite starting during a particularly big drinking weekend, Andrews said that Minibar will be ready and able to handle whatever orders come in.
"Coordinating orders and timing is really the key to what we do," she said.
