Beirutis who love their booze will soon be in for a treat.
Woozy, a mobile app available both on Android and iOS, will soon be launched in Lebanon. The app lists bars, their opening hours, events and dress code. But the real perk is its subscription part. For $10, users will get a free drink daily at one of the listed bars.
This model has been successful in Jordan, where the app launched more than a year ago. It is now used by about a third of alcohol consumers there; 27 of the top venues in Amman are partners.
In Beirut, the app’s founders are aiming for 45 venues at launch, which they are planning for around the beginning of July.
The clients are, of course, happy to get a free drink, but what about the venues?
Co-founder Marcel Manasra says the app is a win-win for all.
“Bars switch the marketing budget from cash to product. From a business point of view, the best product a bar owns is the drinks ... that’s their skill.”
In the long run, staff members get tips from the app if they perform well, as users can rank the experience of the free drink.
Manasra and his partner, Rashid Haddadin, both 25, get their revenue from subscriptions. Otherwise, they declined to comment on the company’s capital and revenue.
{"preview_thumbnail":"https://cdn.flowplayer.com/6684a05f-6468-4ecd-87d5-a748773282a3/i/v-i-8…","video_id":"8c19a9d6-103a-48b4-878a-8d6cd89dcce0","player_id":"8ca46225-42a2-4245-9c20-7850ae937431","provider":"flowplayer","video":"Arab League Warns Iran on The Oman Tanker Shoot"}
The clients Woozy brings to the bar are also beneficial for the venue, they say. “Some higher-scale places in Jordan didn’t trust us because we hadn’t launched and they were already popular. After a bit, they saw the audience. Cool, open-minded people, bargoers, people who are willing to spend [more than their free drink], not make problems, mixed groups and couples, people who just want to enjoy their night out,” Haddadin says.
After their initial suspicion, those venues joined Woozy, he adds.
The app also features a system of ranking users according to their consumption. For those concerned about their privacy, Manasra and Haddadin add that they don’t sell user data to other companies, saying they believe the data is and should remain private.
The pair also say they are critical of conventional rating systems and try to do things differently.
“Review systems are not that fair. People use them to abuse places; sometimes they’re not very accurate and it hurts the venue and sometimes hurts the customers,” Manasra says. “On the app, there’s a flagging system, in which you can enter your complaint. Then we contact the venue to see what really happened. So we keep it internal to fix the actual problem instead of sharing it everywhere.”
Through Woozy, the two founders hope to change people’s mentality around leisure.
“Savings and quality don’t have to be separate. If you’re getting good quality and you’re saving, that makes you smart - it doesn’t make you poorer,” Manasra says.
They also have ambitions to grow their service into something that can compete with foreign companies and inspire users to choose local apps. They say they believe this is possible and advise other young entrepreneurs to keep working on their own projects and networking.
In addition to launching in Lebanon, the app will also move into Malaysia and Indonesia, with expansion to Turkey and Greece on the cards.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
