If you’re a customer in a bar, a little extra Bacardi in your banana daiquiri is a good thing. If you’re the owner of that bar, however, those overpours can add up and cost you big time. This is just one facet of booze management that Nectar is aiming to solve, and as TechCrunch reports, the company just raised $10 million to help accomplish that.
Nectar is a hardware/software combo that uses specialized bottle caps outfitted with ultrasound tech for real-time pour monitoring. From the company’s FAQ:
Nectar smart caps use ultrasound to measure bottle levels in real-time. Once the bottle is poured and put back on the shelf it triggers a measurement to calculate the amount of liquor left in the bottle and exactly how much was poured out.
Nectar also offers a software only package that provides a software-based visual reference tool for bar managers to more easily count what’s left in their bottles during inventory checks.
Nectar’s visual inventory management tool
Nectar sells 20 caps plus the software for $99 a month, or there’s a 100 cap enterprise package that costs $399 a month. The software only inventory management package is $49.99 a month (if you pay annually).
While I’m being a bit snide about killing overpours (which some consider good customer service), the fact is that in the tight margin business of bars and restaurants, being able to better control your costs is important. Tools like Nectar can take what is a mundane and cumbersome task, going through your bar, bottle by bottle, and makes it more efficient and more immediate. It also builds in some accountability with staff who typically provide a little extra when their friends come in.
Additionally, insight into purchase patterns give bars the ability to see exactly what alcohols are popular and when, and create drinks and promotions to better harness that demand. Rum’s popular on a Saturday night? Pina Coladas are half off! Or, whatever, you get the drift.
Nectar isn’t the only company bringing precise controls and data to the bar industry. Pubbino makes a smart tap to keep track of beer pours, and MyWah’s Edgar is a countertop wine dispenser that pours out pinots and more at their proper temperature.
Nectar’s fundraise was led by Dragon Capital.vc, and brings the total amount raised by the company to $14.6 million. Which is something I’m sure the founders are raising glass filled with an exact amount drink to.
