55+ Startups Using Tech To Design Your Best Happy Hour
Cannabis-infused drinks, hangover remedies, alcohol-free booze — here are the startups coming to disrupt the happy hour.
Whether you call it happy hour, apéro, or aperitivo, the couple of hours right after work and before dinner is a key drinking occasion for major alcohol brands.
For instance, Italian beer brand Peroni launched a citrus-flavored beer last year to cater to early-evening drinkers, while spirits giant Diageo launched a happy hour skill on Amazon Alexa earlier this year.
At the same time, startups are riding the craft spirits, cannabis-infused beverages, and alcohol-free trends, offering innovative products to happy hour drinkers. Others are making it easier to get your favorite drink with subscription services, on-demand delivery, or home appliances.
We used the CB Insights database to identify 56 startups disrupting the happy hour and organized them into 10 categories, from bar tech to hangover cures.
To tap into the craft spirits and new alcoholic beverages trends, major alcohol companies such as Diageo, AB InBev, and Pernod Ricard have all started to invest in emerging brands. They also help startups by giving them access to their well-established distribution channels.
But a far bigger threat than craft spirits is looming on the horizon.
As more and more states and countries legalize cannabis, people may shift their consumption from alcoholic drinks to cannabis-infused beverages.
At the same time, health-conscious consumers are increasingly looking at alcohol-free drinks that reproduce the taste or characteristics of alcohol.
Alcohol companies will need to pay attention to these trends if they want to still be serving the happy hour occasion in the coming years.
Scroll down to see the full list of companies in the graphic.
CATEGORY BREAKDOWN
Craft Spirits — These startups are producing craft spirits ranging from whiskey with Misunderstood Whiskey to a Greek liqueur called mastiha with Kleos Spirits. Companies here are independently owned and produce lower volumes of spirits than the brands owned by large spirits companies such as Diageo or Pernod Ricard.
Bar Tech — Companies in this category bring big data and online features to bars and restaurants. SteadyServe Technologies ($21M in disclosed funding) provides connected scales to track beer levels in kegs, while SevenFifty Technologies ($8.5M in disclosed funding) offers a marketplace for bars and restaurants to connect with alcohol beverages distributors.
New Alcoholic Drinks — Ava Winery aims to produce molecule-based wine without grapes, and Mark Cuban-backed BeatBox Beverages offers boxed punch containing orange wine. This category also includes new types of packaging, such as canned wine from MANCAN Wine and portable wine glasses by Electric Sky, as well as alcohol-infused sparkling water with Mighty Swell Cocktail Co.
Celebrity-Backed Spirits — Following George Clooney’s successful sale of his tequila brand, Casamigos, to Diageo in June 2017, other celebrities have invested in the spirits business. For example, actor Ryan Reynolds took a stake in American gin brand Aviation, and Jeremy Piven invested in Mezcal El Silencio.
Anti-Hangover Solutions — These startups are developing solutions to prevent or cure hangovers. Morning Recovery has raised $8M to bring its herbal solutions to the market, while ZBiotics uses probiotics and Thrive+ offers a blend of vitamins.
On-Demand Delivery Services — These companies offer on-demand wine and spirits delivery. US-based Drizly is the most well-funded startup in this category, with $35M in total funding.
Alcohol Appliances — Startups like Plum and 10-Vins are creating wine by-the-glass pouring machines to enhance the way wine is dispensed. This category also includes home brewing appliances such as PicoBrew and Minibrew, as well as a capsule-based cocktail machine developed by Beam Suntory-backed startup Bartesian.
Subscription Services — This category includes companies that offer subscription-based wine and spirits delivery services. Winc — which creates a taste profile for users based on how much they like salt, citrus, and other flavors, then sends users a personally tailored selection each month — is the most well-funded startup in this category, having raised $42M.
Cannabis-Infused Beverages — With more and more states and countries legalizing cannabis, the cannabis-infused beverages category emerges to compete with alcoholic drinks. Startups like California Dreamin’ offer cannabis-infused sodas in a format similar to a bottle of beer while Cannabiniers is developing a non-alcoholic beer infused with cannabis called Two Roots.
Alcohol-Free Wines & Spirits — Riding the low- or no-alcohol trend, these startups offer alcohol-free alternatives to replace wines and spirits. Alcohol-free wine is a popular category with Le Petit Beret and O.VINE both offering grape-infused water that tastes like wine. On the spirits side, Seedlip has developed the first alcohol-free gin. The startup is backed by Distill Ventures, Diageo’s venture arm.
DISRUPTING THE HAPPY HOUR MARKET MAP COMPANIES
Company - Select Investors - Category
10-Vins - InVivo Invest - Alcohol Appliances
Bartesian - Beam Suntory - Alcohol Appliances
Kuantom - AcceleRise - Alcohol Appliances
Minibrew.io - Hoving & Partners, VOC Capital Partners - Alcohol Appliances
PicoBrew - Spring Creek Investments, ZX Ventures - Alcohol Appliances
Somabar Duke Angel Network - Harvard Angels - Alcohol Appliances
Wine Plum - Khosla Ventures - Alcohol Appliances
Le Petit Beret - BPI France, Credit Agricole, InVivo Group - Alcohol-Free Wines & Spirits
O.VINE - N/A - Alcohol-Free Wines & Spirits
Seedlip - Distill Ventures - Alcohol-Free Wines & Spirits
Tost Beverages - N/A - Alcohol-Free Wines & Spirits
Morning Recovery - Altos Ventures, Slow Ventures - Anti-Hangover Solutions
Thrive+ - N/A - Anti-Hangover Solutions
ZBiotics - N/A - Anti-Hangover Solutions
BruVue - NC IDEA - Bar Tech
EBar Initiatives - Equity Gap, Gabriel Investment Syndicate, Jenson Funding Partners - Bar Tech
HOOCH - Blue Scorpion Investments, Revelis Capital Group, Warner Music Group - Bar Tech
Provi - Hyde Park Venture Partners, Ludlow Ventures - Bar Tech
Pubinno - Alchemist Accelerator, Nexus Ventures - Bar Tech
SevenFifty Technologies - Formation 8 - Bar Tech
SteadyServ Technologies - N/A - Bar Tech
California Dreamin’ - Y Combinator - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Cannabiniers - N/A - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
CERIA Beverages - N/A - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Mirth Provisions - N/A - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Rebel Coast Winery - Boost VC - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Tarukino - N/A - Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Aviation Gin - Ryan Reynolds - Celebrity-Backed Spirits
Mezcal El Silencio - Jeremy Piven - Celebrity-Backed Spirits
Apologue - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Broken Shed Distilleries - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Caledonia Spirits - FreshTracks Capital - Craft Spirits Brands
Cambusier - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Freeland Spirits - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Kleos Spirits - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Misunderstood Whiskey - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
New York Distilling Company - Brainchild Holdings - Craft Spirits Brands
Pomp & Whimsy - N/A - Craft Spirits Brands
Stolen Spirits - Liquid Asset Brands, Spirit Investment Partners - Craft Spirits Brands
Ava Winery - Horizons Ventures - New Alcoholic Drinks
BeatBox Beverages - Mark Cuban - New Alcoholic Drinks
Briggs Original (Boston Cranberry) - N/A - New Alcoholic Drinks
Cafe Agave - N/A - New Alcoholic Drinks
Cranes - Seedrs - New Alcoholic Drinks
Electric Sky - ZX Ventures - New Alcoholic Drinks
Gik Live! - University of the Basque Country - New Alcoholic Drinks
MANCAN Wine - N/A - New Alcoholic Drinks
Mighty Swell Cocktail Co. - CAVU Venture Partners - New Alcoholic Drinks
Drizly - Atlas Venture, First Beverage Group, Polaris Partners - On-Demand Delivery Services
KOL - N/A - On-Demand Delivery Services
Minibar - Great Oaks Venture Capital - On-Demand Delivery Services
Saucey - Altpoint Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas - On-Demand Delivery Services
Bright Cellars - BrightStar Wisconsin, CSA Partners - Subscription Services
Flaviar - ACE & Company - Subscription Services
Maivino - Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator - Subscription Services
Winc - 500 Startups, Amplify, Bessemer Venture Partners - Subscription Services