April is Alcohol Awareness Month. What better time to take a close look at one of our nation’s most heavily regulated industries and the inventive ways entrepreneurs are innovating within this realm?
The ratification of the 21st Amendment may have officially ended this nation’s failed experiment with alcohol Prohibition, but the policy hangover has had lingering effects. From dry counties to bans on Sunday sales, the sale of alcohol is severely restricted in a confusing patchwork of local, state, and federal regulations. Homebrewing was not legal in all 50 states until 2013 (and homebrewers still cannot legally sell their product). Eighteen states maintain a state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages. But, even in this stifling economy, intrepid businesses are finding new ways to serve thirsty consumers.
One real‐world example of this is Klink, formerly known as DrinkDrivers, a rapidly growing start‐up with a strong foothold in the nation’s capital. The app‐based alcohol delivery company relies upon the mechanisms of the sharing economy—which has faced its own share of difficulties from overzealous regulators—to navigate the treacherous legal landscape of the American alcohol industry.
The concept behind Klink is a simple one: modern consumers want the ease of on‐demand goods and services, deliverable at the touch of a button, wherever they are. Yet, Klink is not an alcohol provider in the traditional sense.
Unlike many other businesses in the sharing economy, Klink is stringent in its adherence to the laws and regulations governing alcohol sales. When you place an order, the company does not itself process your payments or deliver your alcohol. Instead, Klink plays the role of middleman, partnering with licensed liquor retailers, providing an easy‐to‐use online platform to connect alcohol providers with customers and occasionally running localized marketing campaigns.
Tomorrow at noon, I’ll be moderating a live‐streamed lunchtime discussion featuring my colleague Matthew Feeney, who is Cato’s leading expert on the sharing economy; David Ozgo, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS)‘s Senior Vice President of Economic & Strategic Analysis; and Klink’s Founder and CEO, Jeffrey Nadel.
We’ll be discussing the ways in which Klink is navigating the treacherous regulatory waters of both the sharing economy and the alcohol industry, the regulatory hurdles standing in their way, and what this means for the future of tech innovation and alcohol sales. The panel will be live‐streamed, and at‐home viewers are encouraged to participate in the Twitter discussion—and tweet their question—using #CatoDigital.
