Whether it’s to your home, to an office party, or to your seat at a Blue Jackets game, Refill brings the booze to you. A rebranded Alcohol Deliveries, the mobile application is gaining traction and markets with its delivery technology.
Refill is another in a lineup of Lumos Accelerator companies to come out on the other side a stronger business.
“We were looking for an opportunity to grow and find those that have that expertise and advice in the startup world,” Reynolds says of their reason for seeking the program.
Not only has the business grown, it underwent a rebrand with the help of Dynamit. Connections and advice from the accelerator has helped Refill with everything from laying a more tactical groundwork for their business, to getting in front of investors.
Before the accelerator, Refill was primarily focused on at-home delivery, but, “We see these different segments just beyond consumer,” Reynolds says, since widening Refill’s focus to include corporate clients and in-seat delivery at stadiums. The app recently landed a deal to partner with the Columbus Blue Jackets to offer in-seat delivery to Club Level fans through the ARENA app during home games.
“We have retailers, brands and even professional sports teams calling from all over the United States to inquire about our Refill app and in-seat delivery capabilities,” Reynolds says. “Our challenge is to strategically scale to carefully selected markets without growing too fast. It’s the problem every entrepreneur and every startup dreams about.”
Even just during the accelerator, “We’ve seen our sales increase just tremendously,” Reynolds explains. “We’ve seen downloads increase tremendously week over week and month over month.”Â
Since wrapping up the accelerator, Refill has also engaged with Rev1 Ventures as a portfolio company. Reynolds says they are not only excited to be working with one of the top venture firms in the U.S., but, “Rev1 Ventures has provided key feedback since Concept Academy back in early 2015. Rev1 Ventures working with us also validates what the Lumos advisors saw in Refill – a high-growth business that will yield revenue.”
New markets are up next for Refill. Cleveland is on the docket this month, then the company will actively be scaling to other cities outside of Ohio.
It’s a testament to the biggest lesson Reynolds learned during the accelerator.
“Think big,” he says. “It’s kind of hard, I think, for a lot of startups or people in the Midwest to think big for your company.”Â
The goal is to become a verb the way ride-sharing apps like Uber have. With delivery apps for groceries, to food, to flowers, Refill is tapping into a rapidly growing market – and finding a number of segments to fill.
“We continue to have conversations with a variety of potential partners and users and we’re beginning to see that saturation,” Reynolds says. “Retail is an evolving industry and with foot traffic in many stores down, stores see Refill as a critical distribution channel and customers are ecstatic that they get their time back.”
For more information, visit alcoholtogo.com.
