This kind of tavern does not have a physical store, sells common wine and beverages in the tavern, and is also paired with snacks, dice, etc. It looks like a small-scale entrepreneurial project that is stable and profitable.

has a hot side job every year, and this year's "Internet celebrity side job" seems to be the turn of online taverns. This kind of tavern does not have a physical store, sells common wine and beverages in the tavern, and is also paired with snacks, dice, etc. It looks like a small-scale entrepreneurial project that is stable and profitable. However, is this really the case? Will it be a good business worth entering?

is now popular with "light asset entrepreneurship", but after all, it is just because you can lose less when you stop loss at in time.

In the past few days, the workers who are rarely on holiday have finally had time to have a small gathering with their friends, and they are indispensable to drink some wine.

Of course, it is a recognized fact that young people today do not like liquor, but prefer to drink lightly. The fashionable "slightly drunk" has also become the "wealth code" of many taverns.

If you are a surfer who loves alcohol, you may have discovered a newest way to drink.

Whether it is short videos or Xiaohongshu notes, "online taverns" have become popular, which is a blessing for home-based drinking enthusiasts, and it is also a small-scale entrepreneurial project that seems to be profitable and profitable.

, a small tavern, does not have physical stores, not only sells common wine and beverages in the tavern, but also comes with snacks, dice, playing cards, and even small lanterns, which can allow you to enjoy the atmosphere of the tavern without going out.

Some Xiaohongshu notes claim that starting a business and opening an online tavern, "can earn 80,000 yuan a month."

We are naturally curious, how much money will be made in online taverns without physical entities? Is it really a good business worth entering as some operators say?

01 What is more comfortable than slight drunk is that Xiaoxiong is at home slight drunk

. Xiaoxiong, who works in Haikou, first tried online taverns two months ago because he saw the promotion when he browsing , Douyin .

"That day, I happened to be at home with my friend, and nothing happened, so I just decided to try some drinks." She said, "It tasted quite good, and I ordered three more times afterwards." New product developed in the Ashin store. /Photo provided by the interviewee

The bear used to go to bars, but he rarely went out in the past two years and no longer went there. "I can't drink very much. The drinks in the online tavern are just right for me. They are cheaper and delicious compared to bars."

orders wine online, and they give you a lot of cup accessories and snacks every time. She ate, drank and chatted with her friends, and then fell asleep after the end.

Going to the bar once costs commuting and a considerable consumption cost. If you can have a drink at home, it is undoubtedly a "cheap romance".

What's more, for social terrorists, drinking at home avoids a lot of unnecessary social interactions, and there is no embarrassment of accidentally getting drunk and losing control.

The concept of "slightly drunk at home" is actually popular earlier than online taverns. Young people who want to save money and energy pursue relaxation and healing, constantly looking for "plain replacements" in bars and pubs.

They are no longer satisfied with the pre-mix that can be bought with shopping software, but instead learns "wild ways" from the Internet, trying to make the delicate taste that pre-mix halter lacks.

Convenience store bartending tutorial. /Screenshot of Xiaohongshu

In the past two years, on major social platforms where young people are active, "convenience store bartending" has been popular, and people can see people showing off their achievements in bartending using convenience store products (mainly good-looking photos with atmosphere). Of course, bartending tutorials are indispensable. Netizens share with each other and unlock various formulas:

• white rum + Sprite + mint leaves = mojito
• vodka + grapefruit juice +cranberry juice = sea breeze
• lemon tea + vodka = Changdao ice tea

...

Do it yourself is full of fun, and you can also have a sense of surprise of "opening a blind box".

However, some lazy people don’t want to spend time selecting materials, and some professionals even question the convenience store bartending tutorial "is not authentic" and "will drinking like this become a waste."

Liu from Beijing also likes to drink. She bought a set of bartending tools. In order to learn bartending, she also worked part-time in the bar.

During the epidemic, because she could not go to the tavern, Liu had ordered drinks and takeout from convenience stores several times, but she was not satisfied. The packaging is random, the insulation bag is not sealed well, the ice bag is mostly melted and is wet. "It feels like I'm just packing it and giving it to the deliveryman." In order to find a solution to drinking at home,

has made some attempts and has also seen videos of online taverns on Douyin, and finally decided to do a side job and open a house.

online tavern sells the experience of "slightly drunk at home". has the taste of a bar-style bartender, and consumers don’t have to worry about making it. Everything is delivered to the door by the store, which is fast and cost-effective. Coupled with the gift of dice, playing cards and other gadgets, it is perfect for young people to get together.

package for sale in online taverns. /Photo provided by the interviewee Ashin

"After I started working in an online tavern, I realized that many people around me were doing the same thing. There are many new taverns on the takeaway platform. When I ordered coffee, I saw that this coffee house also made drinks and takeaways at night. Suddenly, the wind in the online tavern started to blow." Liu said.

02 Entrepreneurship is risky, so light asset entrepreneurship

There is no doubt that the "slightly drunk" market is expanding rapidly.

CBNData's "2020 Young People's Wine Consumption Insight Report" shows that the number of people who spend in the 1990s and the per capita consumption amount showed an increase trend, while the growth trend of the post-95s was the fastest. Young people advocate "drinking in moderation" and "healthy and slightly drunk" and like to try more trendy alcohol.

According to incomplete statistics from " Daily Economic News ", in 2021, low-alcohol liquor brands received more than 30 financing rounds, and many well-known investors ended.

In addition, young people also "drink" the chain tavern Helens. In 2020, Helens' revenue was 819 million yuan. In September 2021, Helens was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a market value of 30 billion on the first day of listing, becoming the "first tavern stock".

However, the good times did not last long. Helens released its first half annual report this year showed that it had turned from profit to loss, and it closed 69 stores in the first half of the year. The highlights of the past, "low prices" and "socialization", are facing pressure from rising costs and repeated epidemics respectively.

At the same time, the entrepreneurial environment in 2022 is not optimistic, and some people think this is "the most difficult year to start a business." People's willingness to consume has decreased, and capital has become more cautious in taking action. Especially in the early stages of entrepreneurship, a lot of money is required, and it takes a long time to recover costs, which discourages many people from entrepreneurship.

Therefore, as an entrepreneurial project, the main focus is "light asset entrepreneurship".

Without physical stores, there will be no rent and renovation costs. If you do it alone or with a few friends, you can also deliver it yourself or book an errand service. You only need to buy some base wine , beverages, fruits, snacks, etc. Even if you can't sell it for the time being, most of the things can be put in, without fear of expiration soon.

" operating cost is very low, mainly spending on bartending and distribution." said Ashin, who runs an online tavern in Haikou.

He originally opened a barbecue club. During the period when business was suspended due to the epidemic, customers always came to inquire whether they could deliver barbecue and "ton-ton barrels". So, based on the original store, he tried to develop some new products, and opened this online tavern with the bartender half a year ago.

Axin thinks that with the current entrepreneurial environment, online taverns should be a good business. As a young man who likes to drink, he actually knows the best what his group wants and is easier to seize business opportunities.

Ashin told the reporter of " New Weekly ": "First of all, the threshold for this industry is not high, and secondly, the error tolerance rate is very high. Because the investment cost is low, even if you try and make mistakes, you may have learned a lot of skills, such as bartending, editing, publicity, etc. Entrepreneurs can try to do it for a few months first. Even if they lose money, at best they lose some materials, and they will not suffer heavy losses if they exit."

Shuangzi from Beijing started building an online tavern in July this year.He said: "Do your job during the day and sell wine at night, and the time can be staggered." His initial investment cost was only 7,000 yuan, which was not much.

But Shuangzi believes that online taverns are acceptable as side business, and if they are regarded as the main business and devote themselves to it, it is actually not easy to do. "If you do it well, you will basically transform into an offline physical tavern in the later stage. If you don't do it well, as far as I know, there are many online taverns that die from promotion difficulties."

03 Acquaintance business is still difficult to do

When a reporter from "New Weekly" searched for "online taverns" on Xiaohongshu, he found that the majority of notes were the operators' promotion of their own stores. The second is the tutorial on how to open an online tavern. Few consumers spontaneously shared their experience of buying wine.

Xiaohongshu screenshot

further click on these notes, with the most likes being hundreds, and the fewest notes, and most of the fans of the store’s homepage do not exceed one thousand. The phenomenon like

indirectly illustrates the biggest difficulty in online tavern operation.

"Promotion is really difficult." Shuangzi said, "Online taverns are not physical stores, nor are they purely online stores. Because we want to ensure the taste of the wine, it must be adjusted in real time, so it cannot be sold nationwide, but can only be in surrounding areas. However, because there is no store and cannot be placed in mainstream takeaway platforms, there is a lot of promotion resources." Most online taverns place order channels are to add friends through homemade mini programs or WeChat. This means that if you do not actively promote it, it will be difficult to obtain stable orders.

The business radiation range of online taverns is usually within three to five kilometers around, and the coverage group is not large, so they are still doing "acquaintance business", and repeat customers who need to continue to repurchase.

Da Liu started the side business of an online tavern at the end of June this year, and the business situation was not as good as expected.

"At present, my friends are taking care of the business. If they want to drink, I will send it over, or they will come to my house to drink directly." She said, "I have followed many online tavern bloggers, and many people can't hold on after updating it for a while. I also added a few wine stall owners offline, but later I found that they all stopped doing it one after another."

social media and offline stall traffic were drained, and Liu tried all kinds of methods, "It's just a very beautiful idea after all."

Shuangzi has also tried many channels and has been "kicked out" by many community groups. At present, it has found a better promotion method, which is to publish advertisements on the confession wall of surrounding universities. This is how the first order that was only available half a month after opening.

He got along with college students, and occasionally helped bring some things and small gifts when delivering goods, and also achieved his original intention of starting a business "wanting to make more friends".

Ashin’s tavern is well run, with more than 2,000 fans on Xiaohongshu. "It would be nice to have 5% of the local people," said Ashin.

On the contrary, people from all over the country often send private messages to him to ask him how to start a business, so he simply took relevant online courses. Now, some students have achieved initial business results.

There is a student who used to be self-media before, but after opening an online tavern, he "drifted". "He said that everyone who adds him now wants to learn to open a pub, and he gradually changed to only selling courses."

cannot sell alcohol, and eventually became a class seller, which is also a dilemma for online pub entrepreneurs. In addition to the difficulty of promotion, another hidden danger cannot be ignored.

At present, online taverns are in some kind of gray area that is not yet fully standardized. To operate the catering industry, a business license and a food business license are required, but in most places, there are physical stores that meet the standards in order to obtain these certificates.

"I learned that some of the colleagues did not apply for these certificates because it would be more troublesome to apply for no store." Shuangzi admitted frankly, "If someone complains, they will face fines. But I have never heard of anyone having this situation. After all, everyone has just started to do it not long ago." In order to be as compliant as possible, Shuangzi tried every means to obtain a certificate, specifically for food stores operated online.

Now, Shuangzi’s tavern basically has several orders every day. At most, there are 10 orders a day, and sometimes there may be no order. The early investment has recovered, and he has invested more money in promotion. He hopes to open a physical store when he saves enough money.

When asked whether it is true that "Xiaohongshu says that online taverns can earn 80,000 per month", Ashin said: "Anyway, I can't do it, but there are people who can do it. To be honest, it would be good if the monthly turnover can be 40,000, and the profit is about 25,000."

Some people say that online taverns earn 80,000 per month. /Screenshot of Xiaohongshu

, but Ashin does not recommend following the trend and entering the game. "You must consider it well and make sure you are suitable before doing it." He believes that this industry will soon have very capable regular troops joining.

"When this industry becomes popular, capital will enter the market and standardize the industry. At that time, with big brands, small stores may not have much room for survival unless you can make unique products."

Ashin's prediction is not unreasonable. After the competition in physical taverns has entered a fierce stage, the delivery of wine is likely to be "rolled".

In addition to more and more catering brands starting to cross-border layout and open taverns, a reporter from "New Weekly" also found that some new drinking brands that specialize in takeaway cocktails are emerging.

In the final analysis, the key to ordinary people who start a light asset business may not be how much money they make, but it is easier to stop losses in time. After all,

online taverns have only been born soon. How will they develop in the future and whether consumers will pay for it will take time to tell us the answer.

[1] Young people prefer slightly drunk taverns, not to buy drunk | Supernova Finance

[2] Young people don’t buy it anymore? It is difficult to "get up" after "slightly drunk" of low-alcohol wine: brands gathered together and bubbles emerged | Meijing Toutiao

[3] Helensi restored "rationality" | New retail business review

[4] Is online tavern a new market for low-alcohol wine? | Whole Food Online

Author: Arui; Proofreading: Xiangyang

Source official account: New Weekly (ID: new-weekly), a magazine and an era's body temperature.

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