Since 2013, e-commerce platform ReserveBar has specialized in selling luxury spirits and wine — now it wants to supply your next tailgate, too.
The company is making a bid for a piece of the fast-growing RTD market with this week’s launch of Get Stocked, a website focused on craft beer, hard seltzers, canned wine and ready-to-drink cocktails that will offer more than 600 SKUs ranging from limited releases and regional brands to category mainstays from the likes of Cutwater, Crafthouse Cocktails and Topo Chico.
The announcement comes on the heels of ReserveBar’s introduction of on-demand service this past October, which guarantees delivery in under two hours in select markets. In 2021, ReserveBar acquired Minibar Delivery, which positioned the company to access the fulfillment network, thousands of retailers, and technology to integrate the same delivery services to its premium and education-focused site.
On Get Stocked, well-known names like Kraken, Dogfish Head and Cutwater will be available alongside beverages founded by people of color, LGBTQ people, and and women, such as Mom Water, Two Chicks, Cool Cat, Funkytown Brewery, Kawama, all of which are part of ReserveBar’s Spirited Change Initiative, a program aimed at growing minority-owned businesses in the alcohol industry.
The new website represents the convergence of two of the pandemic’s beverage industry winners: alcohol e-commerce and canned cocktails. Beverage alcohol e-commerce grew 43% during the pandemic across 10 key markets, according to IWSR data, and RTDs are expected to represent 20% of U.S. e-commerce value by 2024.
Meanwhile, RTD volumes (including all alcohol bases) have been growing faster than any other major drinks category since 2018, and are expected to significantly outperform the wider beverage alcohol market over the next five years, according to the IWSR.
“As this market continues to surge, we realized there is a major segment of the beverage alcohol market that we refer to as can occasions or cooler occasions, like tailgates, camping, picnics, barbecues,” said Derek Correia, ReserveBar president. “It has become increasingly complex for consumers to navigate the proliferation of offerings in this area.”
With craft beer, over hundreds of hard seltzers and now over 30,000 SKUs of canned cocktails on the market, Correia added that the choices are overwhelming for consumers. The new site aims to help customers plan those social occasions by offering curated products, content, education and speedy delivery.
The majority of Get Stocked business is expected to be on-demand delivery, which is fulfilled via a local retailer in the company’s network. While shipping costs can create barriers to online purchasing of lower-priced items like RTDs, Correia argued that in some cases consumers will be willing to pay those costs to get their hands on new or hard-to-find products.
The company’s marketing strategy will focus more on occasions than demographics, though the site’s audience is expected to skew younger than ReserveBar, with the bulk of customers in the 21-to-45 age range. Marketing will be targeted in key geographies where the company has strong retailer penetration, product availability and good pricing. Campaigns will highlight seasonality and occasions such as tailgating, pool parties, beach days, concerts, and other outdoors activities. Like on ReserveBar, Correia expects the site to serve as a launch platform.
“We intend to be leaders in providing access to the greatest new products, flavors and limited time offerings,” he said. “This will be the case across all categories, and we have great relationships with brands and distributors so we can work closely with them to get those exciting new products in front of our customers.”