Delivery.com buys alcohol-delivery startup BrewDrop

Steven Loeb · April 12, 2016 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/44b3

The purchase will increase Delivery.com's alcohol-ordering customer base by 10% right away

Editor's Note: Our annual Vator Splash Spring 2016 conference is around the corner on May 12, 2016 at the historic Scottish Rite Center in Oakland. Speakers include Nigel Eccles (CEO & Co-founder, FanDuel), Andy Dunn (Founder & CEO, Bonobos), Mitch Kapor (Founder, Kapor Center for Social Impact); Founders of NextDoor, Handy, TubeMogul; Investors from Khosla Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Kapor Capital, Greylock, DFJ, IDG, IVP and more. Join us! REGISTER HERE.

Good news boozehounds: its about to get even easier for you to get your alcohol any time you want it.

That's because Delivery.com announced on Tuesday that it has acquired on-demand alcohol delivery company BrewDrop. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Founded in 2013, the Austin, Texas-based BrewDrop connected users with licensed retail stores who maintain and sell their own inventories. BrewDrop didn't actually make the deliveries; instead, the local liquor stores, who partnered with BrewDrop, would pack the orders and make the deliveries under their liquor licenses.

Basically the company operated as a mobile platform for local businesses to be able to deliver their product on-demand.

The companies did not say what would happen to BrewDrop going forward, VentureBeat is reporting that the app will shut down once the acquisition closes. 

As part of the deal, BrewDrop Co-Founder Andrew Bell will join delivery.com as Director of Market Development. His job will be to start expanding alcohol delivery to other parts of Texas, including Dallas and Houston. Bell is the only member of the BrewDrop team that will be making the transition to the new company.

For Delivery.com, which currently has more than one million users and an online marketplace of more than 12,000 restaurants, wine and liquor stores, grocery stores, and laundry/dry cleaning providers, the acquisition has one clear benefit: it expects its alcohol-ordering customer base to increase by 10 percent right off the bat. 

It will also give the company a foothold in the Texas marketplace, allowing it to continue to expand across the country.

"Whether you’ve used the BrewDrop app in the past or not, this is great news for everyone that loves easy access to beer, wine, and liquor," Delivery.com wrote in a blog post. "With a stronghold in Austin, delivery.com now has a springboard for continued expansion in Texas and throughout the U.S., and not just for alcohol, but food, groceries, and laundry too."

The alcohol delivery space is surprisingly crowded, though it has been seeing some consolidation lately.

The biggest company offering a similar service is Drizly, which has raised over $17 million in funding. There's also Thirstie, which has raised $2 million; Drinkfly, which was acquired by Thirstie in February; Minibar, which has raised $1.8 million; and Booze Carriage, which Minibar acquired last year.

This is the third acquisition for Delivery.com. It previously acquired Eats Media, owner of restaurant portal and social networking site Eats.com, in 2009, and laundry delivery service Brinkmat in 2013. 

VatorNews reached out to Delivery.com, and to BrewDrop, for more information about the acquisition. We will update this story if we learn more. 

(Image source: blog.delivery.com)

Support VatorNews by Donating

Read more from our "Trends and news" series

More episodes