Can this app quench our daaru thirst?

When the pandemic forced the state government to allow sale of liquor via home delivery only a veteran in the alcobev industry confessed The pandemic has done what the industry has been lobbying for years Finally a landmark order even if it is till the lockdown lastsThe lockdown has led many enterprising masterminds to huddle reshuffle and create new business ideas Last Sunday we downloaded the twomonthold Spiritzoned app a digital liquor store and online alcohol delivery serviceFounded by Kushal Jaiswal the CEO of a tech company in Navi Mumbai and a retailing and distributor chain of liquor shops along with Yash Jaiswal and Aneesh Saggar it offers a contactless delivery model across IndiaAneesh Saggar Kushal Jaiswal Yash JaiswalThe team launched the idea as a phonebased model taking orders at a call centre and forwarding a payment link to its customers Every call that we monitored had us realise that if a particular choice of alcohol was not available the customer service executives could not recommend another That is when we realised we could change the paradigm by making it more visual than verbal We have done 20000 deliveries so far in Mumbai itself he says about the endtoend solution with a product catalogue tracking system and free delivery There are around 900 relevant brands in the market but shops are not large enough to display allThe hotselling items usually get display and you end up buying what you lay your eyes on But with us it is a supermarket for every brand available at MRP says Aneesh who handles logistics and operationsIt is now time to alter the future of the alcohol industry and deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience Using stateoftheart technology we are building an AIenabled intuitive platform to deliver alcohol safely and responsibly Kushal addsWe placed an order and heres how it wentThe app locates the nearest liquor shop to fulfil a delivery under two hours and offers a detailed product catalogueOnce signed in the app requests you to turn on your location and locates the nearest liquor shop to fulfil a delivery under two hours For example if you live in Andheri West on the backend they will check the stores available near you and present the alcohol that can be ordered Once you place an order the order goes to a shop where the staff makes sure it is packed in time and their personal delivery set up picks up the parcel and delivers itThe app disqualifies 25 years of age at entry We passed with flying numbers through a simple form and mobile verification and were led to the supermarket on our screen But at almost every step the app jerked forcing us to shut down and restartThe app has been designed for ease of use and displays categories such as vodka whiskey gin tequila brandy beer rum and wine It allows you to filter the search and opt for price sensitive viewing We clicked to scan the whiskey section but the search took 40 seconds to load When it did it showed us a wide range from Haywards Fine Whiskey R62 to Johnnie Walker Blue R28000 Each bottle has added information of alcohol percentage and region and a description about the spiritmdashinformative value addition The layout and categories surely broadened our choice but the 40second lag at every step marred the excitement At payment we got stuck and called customer care where we were informed that the minimum order needs to be of R1000We finally placed the order at 340 pm and received a notification that it had been accepted At 6 pm we clicked on the call option to enquire about the delay An SMS informed that we will have the order at our door in one or two hours We finally received it at 833 pmOur order of a couple of beers came with a complimentary packet of peanuts and a facemask The app is still in beta stage and work is ongoing at the backend For the time being we will stick to ordering from our local vendor who on call parrots whats available and delivers under 20 minutesCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news