With Bars and Lounges off limits, Vrinda Singhal’s Swizzle grabbed the opportunity, shook it a little, stirred a bit, and served it just perfect to resolve every Cocktail lover’s dilemma.
The pandemic brought all social life – weekend outings, brunches, karaoke nights, late-night parties – to a standstill for us all. Cocktail lovers were left craving for their favorite cocktails crafted by the hands of professional bar tenders. To give credit, many of us Almost tried their hands on making that perfect Cocktail at home. But getting the right mix and taste is no child’s play.
The opportunity was out there and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for Ms. Singhal With standardize tastes, curated by professionals, Swizzle introduced cocktail kits to the market which have been a smash hit amid the lockdown. In an exclusive interview with DKODING Media, Vrinda Singhal, Co-founder, Swizzle, shares her roller coaster ride across Covid19 Lockdown and how adversity was converted into an opportunity
Inspiration and motivation behind Swizzle
The motivation behind Swizzle is a mutual love for cocktails that I share with my brother (Akshay Singhal, Founder of Log 9). We really loved cocktails and wanted to serve them at a housewarming party of ours. But gathering the ingredients and mixing them in the right quantities was a mess. And making it for so many people, let’s not even get there.
So we felt we had stumbled across a problem. If this was an issue for us, it must be the same for every cocktail lover. That’s where the idea for Swizzle came up. In fact, we searched for a suitable solution but couldn’t find any. We thought – “What if some kits or packs were available in which you could just add your alcohol and the cocktail would be ready?!” So, that’s how the journey began.
The challenges that came along the way
The journey till day was quite hard. Nevertheless, it was a rapid phase of learning. We learnt about the market trends and a lot other things that are required to start a venture. The most difficult part was educating the customers about the product. The brand messaging – telling customers what it is and how to use it, and that the alcohol added will have to be procured by them – was a challenging part. We don’t deliver alcohol and that had to be clearly communicated.
Solving a millennial problem
When it comes to making alcohol consumption related decisions, India’s YOLO (You Only Live Once) viz. a viz. Millennial population values experience, authenticity and convenience. Our clients are people who don’t want to just drink but want to make it an experience. One can order Swizzle cocktail kits from any of the three platforms i.e. Swiggy, Zomato and the Swizzle website. All the kits are prepared once the order is placed. The fresh kits are delivered in comfort of your home and one can make professional cocktails easily and quickly.
Swizzle’s USP compared to Competition
Our competition offers only stirred cocktail premixes and that too with preservatives. On the other hand, Swizzle is all about fresh cocktail kits which are intricate, taking care of all small details like proper garnish, ice, and a peg measurer , all of which are very important for a cocktail. All of this with no added preservatives. Swizzle already serves 20+ varieties of cocktails and is planning to launch more.
Reaching out to the customer
Advice to budding entrepreneurs
Build a team that shares your vision. It’s so important to build a good team with people who understand you and are ready to work as hard as you.
