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Pernod aims to eliminate bar queues with connected glass

Pernod Ricard is enhancing its digital marketing efforts with the launch of a connected glass for Havana Club rum that sends cocktail orders directly to bar staff.

The connected Havana Club glass is said to offer a solution to lengthy wait times for drinks

The French drinks group partnered with technology startup BlackSheep to create the innovation, which was unveiled last week at the Plaza Havana Club in Paris.

BlackSheep aims to “modernise order taking” in restaurants and bars with a web app that does not need to be downloaded. The ordering and paying process is completed in three clicks.

The new Havana Club-branded glassware is equipped with a near field communication (NFC) enabled chip that connects to a smartphone and allows consumers to place their drinks orders.

Users then either wait at their table to be served or head to the bar to collect their drink after receiving a notification.

Pernod Ricard said the connected glass is “the latest example of the group’s digital ambition” that “goes beyond traditional communication between brands and consumers and helps establish new interactions with them”.

Since one in three people forgo a purchase if the wait exceeds more than 10 minutes, according to Pernod Ricard, the technology aims to “simplify the consumer experience and make it as pleasant as possible”

The same technology seeks to improve the at-home drinking experience with a ‘Cocktail Club’ app, which provides cocktail ideas, recipes and shopping lists based on the ingredients a user already has at home and how many guests they are catering for.

Pierre-Yves Calloc’h, global digital acceleration director at Pernod Ricard, said: “I am proud to be able to launch this project, which aims to create new habits among consumers to bring cocktails to their homes.

“In addition to the development possibilities that the connected glass offers, it perfectly meets the group’s digital policy, partnering with startups that offer innovative solutions to given problems in order to constantly improve the experience of conviviality.”

Pernod Ricard’s digital strategy was further enhanced earlier this month with the launch of an additional 300,000 Malibu ‘smart bottles’.

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