Cocktail kit delivery service Cocktail Courier has bought liquor e-commerce provider Thirstie as the latter faced weaker demand, Modern Retail reported.

“We thought that if we built ‘Shopify for alcohol brands’ compliantly, it would be enough to move a lot of products,” Thirstie co-founder and CEO Maxim Razmakhin told Modern Retail.

Razmakhin added that many consumers preferred purchasing liquor at a shop, noting that “there is little incentive for them to pay a shipping fee and wait when they can get it locally”.

Razmakhin, who knew Cocktail Courier’s founders, began discussing with them how their respective businesses can complement each other.

The Thirstie co-founder said that while his company benefited from the pandemic, it also faced tougher competition from other alcohol delivery services and big delivery apps such as DoorDash, Instacart and UberEats.

Razmakhin further explained that direct-to-consumer alcohol sites have between 1 per cent and 2 per cent conversion rates but through cross-promoting kits from Cocktail Courier to the brand sites, the conversion rate jumps to about 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

“[Cocktail Courier] figured out how to create delicious, creative cocktail kits and deliver them in a compliant manner,” said Razmakhin.

Moving forward, Thirstie will continue to prioritise working with large alcohol companies, such as William Grant & Sons, Bacardi, and Grey Goose.