Deliveroo has announced that it’s branching into booze deliveries, promising its iOS and Android users average alcohol arrival times of just 20 minutes in a number of UK cities.
The move follows a successful trial period. The service will see Deliveroo work with a couple of high-profile partners – BrewDog and Majestic Wines – as well as a number of independent merchants such as Vagabond Wines and HonestBrew.
We actually started to notice a spike in all things alcohol on Deliveroo about a week ago, when a handful of dedicated craft beer retailers started popping up in our apps alongside popular restaurants such as Pizza Express, Wagamama and Byron.
A quick look this afternoon confirmed these suspicions, with “Wine” and “Beer'” now nestled alongside “French” and “Italian” categories as the handful of options available to us, should we decide it’s time to get tiddly at the office.
How often the lauded 20-minute delivery time is achieved remains to be seen. Based on our overall experiences with Deliveroo, we see no reason to be overly sceptical – it’s usually very quick.
The new service will initially be available in only a handful of UK cities including London, Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester. Previously, you could order alcohol through Deliveroo from select restaurants, but only alongside a food order.
Will people warm to paying Deliveroo for the privileged of supping IPAs and premium plonk instead of just nipping to the nearest Costcutter for some Blue Nun?
Only time will tell, but there’s reason to be optimistic if you’re London-based start-up Deliveroo, given how ubiquitous the service has become in parts of the UK.
The news follows the recent expansion of Uber into the food-delivery space with UberEATS, and represents further competition for more “traditional” online takeaway operations such as Just Eat and hungryhouse.
We’re planning to test out Deliveroo, UberEATS and more traditional takeaway services in the near future, so stay tuned for a more in-depth comparison.
If you haven’t downloaded Deliveroo yet, it’s well worth a spot on your homescreen – get it for iOS here or Android here.
Watch The Refresh: The best tech gossip and reviews every week
Would you pay a small service charge to have better quality booze delivered to your door? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
