A few weeks ago I had a lengthy phone chat, whilst sitting drinking coffee in my kitchen, to the brilliant Karen Hardwick. WSET educator of the year and all around drinks buff. Karen had previously worked with Kingsland drinks and has been ensconced in the industry for decades. We discussed everything from family, friends, tea, booze and mountains of pandemic laundry. We also delved deeper into her newest project. Running the Drinks.tv app, a very millennial innovation with a nineties twist. Think QVC meets TikTok. The live streaming video ecommerce platform was founded in 2020 by Sam Jones and Eric Zhang and is now ranked number 1 shopping app in the UK, beating Amazon and eBay.
The Concept
The concept is simple – live app based shopping. Where consumers are able to access real people selling real products. Without the need for a marketing budget or purchasing pricey advert space. This has been profitable in China with the 2015 social commerce platform, Pinduoduo, now valued at $208 billion. That particular app works by bestowing users with a cheaper unit price if they introduce their friends. For example, one person could buy an item for $100 or five could each buy it for $70.
Sam Jones, cofounder and former managing director at Wish, is keen to keep the platform as real as possible. He said “The last thing we want is fakes salespeople, there are enough of those on TV. We want real people who only share products that they love. If they do this, we pay a % of commission to them. We help them build a brand and a business for them online”.
An App, you say?
The drinks.tv channel is such an exciting opportunity and really broadens shopping horizons for the consumer. I asked Karen what she thought the draw would be and how she hoped it would influence the drinks industry. Karen was excited to use the platform to showcase smaller vineyards and those who were very good at what they did but were not as familiar with social media or had little set aside for a marketing budget. This was an excellent way to bring equal opportunities and enable vintners with small batches to connect with an audience. It allows consumers to ask questions in real time and get real answers and it enables knowledgable presenters to engage with an audience who’s paths wouldn’t usually cross. (Not everyone has a Soho House membership. I am not THAT bitter.)
Sam, “believes that the OOOOO drinks app willl go all the way into the vineyard, brewery or the distillery. Karen will recruit experts to stream live from various locations, delivering an educational and entertaining offering that also offer a purchase option. A bit like a documentary film with a BUY button.”
Drinks TV is 1 of the 25 TV channels on the OOOOO app, Drinks TV will launch as its own app soon. Karen was keen that the platform was a standalone so that it could act as a prestigious vehicle in its own right.
There is a tendency to assume that drinks experts are, for want of a better term , booze hounds but Karen was keen to point out that her favourite tipple is a strong cup of Yorkshire tea without sugar. Although when asked her favourite alcoholic drink, it was a Burgundy for nights in or a premier cru chablis for special occasions. We both agreed that the one thing we couldn’t drink was tequila, although the least said about that the better!
Mindful Drinking
Drinks.tv will also focus on mindful drinking and will have regular cocktails hours which showcase no and low alcohol beverages and mixers. Jones wife, Sarah Louise, head of operations headed “one year no beer.” The brand really do practice what they preach.
Stewardship
In accordance with the idea of stewardship and responsibility is the highlighting of English wines and in particular English sparkling which has really taken off in the past decade and much more so in the last three years. The app will be pairing with an English sparkling brand (I’ll tell you more soon but as of now it’s a secret!) they will pop in and out of the vineyard showing us every step of the way from harvest, pruning, blending, fermentation.
Cocktail Hour
There will be weekly make a longs and regular anchors. So far, Clara Ruben, a former sommelier at Gordon Ramsay. Who has a special interest in tea as well as wine! will take us on tours of beautiful vineyards as we sip wine in our gardens. Not to mention, the formidable, Danny from Soho House who will create some signature cocktails and talk us though the spirits. Often live from the distillery.
It’s safe to say that this pandemic has changed the way we shop, drink and the way we spend. We have realised that something has to be special to be worth our time and energy and the Drinks.tv app will offer us just that. A specialised, interactive and informative platform which benefits both the consumer and the retailer. What’s not to love?
