Drizly, an Uber Company and a leading beverage alcohol e-commerce shop, today announced its ‘Sip with Purpose’ initiative — a new program dedicated to supporting and driving the growth of brands owned by members of historically underrepresented groups in the beverage alcohol industry.
This initiative includes a $4 million media commitment to raise awareness and support these brands, as well as the launch of Drizly’s Brand Accelerator Program and introduction of new ways for consumers to shop AAPI-, Black-, Hispanic-, Latinx-, LGBTQIA-, Native-American- and woman-owned brands on the platform year-round.
The year-long ‘Sip with Purpose’ Brand Accelerator Program is designed to drive equity within the beverage alcohol industry, according to a press release
. With applications for the inaugural class now open, as part of the program, three brands will gain access, training, and insights across the three tiers of the beverage alcohol industry — producers, distributors and retailers. The accelerator will include training sessions led by an advisory council of industry partners and the Drizly leadership team, introductory meetings with top retailers and distributors in target expansion markets, and additional mentorship opportunities. Participants will receive free advertising across the Drizly platform over the course of 12 months and access to Drizly’s premium data product to leverage marketplace insights to drive data-backed business decisions.Drizly is accepting applications for the ‘Sip with Purpose’ Brand Accelerator Program until Sept. 12, with final participants to be announced in Fall 2022. To qualify, one or more owners of a beverage alcohol brand must identify as a member of a historically underrepresented group, and hold at least 50 percent ownership of the brand’s equity or interests, amongst other criteria. Eligible brands are encouraged to apply today by visiting the application page, where they can also find additional guidelines and learn more about the program. Brands must apply themselves.
The ‘Sip with Purpose’ initiative is the next step in Drizly’s long-term commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This initiative provides new ways for consumers to support brands owned by historically underrepresented communities, including a centralized hub on Drizly for consumers to browse, discover and shop these brands year-round. The hub aggregates all AAPI-, Black-, Hispanic-, Latinx-, LGBTQIA-, Native-American- and woman-owned brands on Drizly and available in a shoppers’ area in one place to empower
consumers to “cheers” with brands that are made for them, by them. With consumers increasingly conscious of the types of brands they purchase and support, shoppers can additionally now search by brand ownership on the platform.Drizly introduced a strategic imperative to set the standard for DEI within the beverage alcohol industry in 2020. At that time, Drizly first launched the ability to shop by brand ownership to encourage consumers to discover products from historically underrepresented groups. Drizly also started implementing affinity month programming to celebrate and spotlight
these brands and began commitments to provide financial support to organizations that are furthering justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion within and outside of beverage alcohol, amongst additional DEI efforts internally.Brands that are interested in identifying on the platform as owned by a member of a historically underrepresented group can visit the DrizlySupplier portal to opt-in and attribute their products on Drizly.
“We have seen tremendous growth and demand for more diverse brands on Drizly over the last several years. The launch of our ‘Sip with Purpose’ initiative is meant to further support and invest in these brands’ continued success,” says Cory Rellas, Drizly CEO.
“This program utilizes Drizly’s e-commerce expertise, industry relationships, and consumer marketplace to bring greater awareness to these entrepreneurs and their incredible products.”
To discover drinks and brand stories owned by members of historically underrepresented communities, please visit the ‘Sip with Purpose’ hub on Drizly. To submit an application for Drizly’s ‘Sip with Purpose’ Brand Accelerator program and learn more, please visit the application page.