"As for many others, the pandemic was a real spanner in the works for my original business plans, but I then realised it was an opportunity to start something new."
Carl Peters, owner and founder of Decent Drop
An at-home wine and cheese tasting experience, established during the first lockdown, has seen incredible growth over the last four months.
Carl Peters, owner of Decent Drop, was about to sign on for a bar in Altrincham when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and after pausing the deal, he landed on the idea of bringing some version of a bar experience to peoples’ homes. Carl quickly set up the business and within four months has seen unprecedented growth with orders increasing 500% on average month on month.
Available across the UK, Decent Drop offers a unique experience: a curated menu of six wines, paired with six cheeses sent to customers who are then invited to join an interactive Zoom tasting session or host their own wine and cheese night with their friends and family.
Looking ahead, Carl intends to build on this continued growth and is now gearing up for a season of ‘Virtual’ Office Christmas parties.
Carl said: “As for many others, the pandemic was a real spanner in the works for my original business plans, but I then realised it was an opportunity to start something new. I wanted to ensure that the good folks of Great Britain continued to consume great drinks and have a great social experience, despite the restrictions.
“We’ve already seen an amazing response and our Zoom calls have been busy with customers really enjoying the tastings. I then realised that there was another angle to the tastings – private and office parties. Every bar I’ve ever worked in, or owned, has always had a great ‘after work’ crowd and I realised that with office life looking a little different, people may be missing out on the social aspect of their work environment.
“Decent Drop has already proven the perfect way to get a work team together for a virtual social and we have now witnessed a big appetite for our online tastings from folks who work together and are kind of missing each other, sometimes more than they would like to admit!”
The private tasting option is also proving to be the ideal platform for client engagement, particularly in the legal and financial services sectors. The experience serves as a way of keeping in touch with clients in an informal way and as a replacement for the typical social and business development events that people would usually be attending at this time of year.
Carl continued: “The Christmas parties are filling up our diary for the coming months and although we want nothing more than for the bar industry to be back on its feet, we recognise that the restrictions are making large parties difficult to arrange.
“What’s more, because we offer the public tastings each week, our vouchers are a great Christmas gift for team members who can then choose to purchase a tasting kit for a time to suit them.”
The public Zoom tasting sessions take place on Saturday evenings at 7.30pm and run for around 90 minutes. The informal video call, included as part of the experience, enables customers to discover a little more about the wine and the pairings.
Decent Drop’s wine menu comprises of a broad range of red, white and rose wines and six British artisan or continental cheeses.
Carl concludes: “Our main aim with Decent Drop is to bring a unique experience to those who may not have tried this kind of thing before. We wanted to ensure an offering that was both fun and informative and could serve as a kind of ‘night out’ from your living room.”
Decent Drop also offer Gin and Tonic tasting kits. Those ordering from Decent Drop can purchase all tasting kits from the website or they can contact Carl directly to discuss the private tasting packages on offer.
