Jokr, a grocery delivery firm, will now be delivering alcohol to New York City customers, Grocery Dive reported. Deliveries will be made in 15 minutes or less.
Jokr will bring beer, hard seltzer and cider from several local and national brands, including Talea, Finback, Folksbier and KCBC, according to the report. It’s hoping the announcement drives more customers to use its service as it attempts to bolster its stature in the on-demand grocery market.
Jokr said it is the first 15-minute delivery service to offer alcohol in New York City, the report stated. The company debuted in June with 1,500 items, and it now touts around 2,500 products.
Jokr U.S. operations head Zachary Dennett said, per the report, that the goal “is very much to deliver all the things you need super rapidly. And as our customers help us understand what else they want, as they type into our search bar, we will go ahead and expand.”
Jokr is not alone in the startup scene; there are several companies looking to bring products to customers that are working from “strategically placed” dark stores, according to the report. Other companies include 1520, Fridge No More and Gorillas.
Additionally, alcohol has been in demand for eCommerce in the last few months, the report stated. DoorDash has said it plans to add beer, wine and spirits in 20 states as well as Washington D.C. Uber Eats said it is rolling out an “everyday essentials” online shop that will include alcohol via a collaboration with Gopuff. And 7-Eleven said it plans to roll out an alcohol delivery program with Minibar Delivery.
The new interest in alcohol delivery has likely come from the increase in eCommerce since the pandemic began.
In July, Jokr was raised $170 million in a Series A funding round. Dennett told PYMNTS later that month that the company is out to change the way consumers shop.
Read more: Jokr’s 15-Minute Grocery Delivery Out to Change Consumer Shopping Habits
“We’re seeing customer behavior is very sticky because once [they] stop planning ahead and [they] realize that [they] can just make the grocery choices [they] want the minute [they] want them, it’s kind of hard to go back to that planning,” he said.