A social app that banks on China’s booming wine market wants to get users under its influence

Drinking has been a social activity since mankind first figured out how to get drunk, sling his arm around his fellow mankind, and proclaim their platonic love for each other. But the alcohol content of today’s social media is relatively weak. Many of us look down on peers who share an inebriated status update or a selfie with beer in hand.

Why the taboo? Getting into the spirits is nothing to be ashamed of. Fortunately, a new social network in China aims to be a safe haven for the country’s amateur sommeliers.

Hesha, which loosely translates to “what to drink,” just popped the cork on the latest version of its app. The Shenzhen-based startup wants to connect China’s 130 million wine drinkers, who now make up the world’s largest market for the red stuff according to Vinexpo, a Bordeaux chamber of commerce organisation.

The concept is simple: build a flirty app for meeting strangers, add alcohol, and you’ve got a recipe for success. Those who are down to discuss this year’s best Cabernet Sauvignon can find a like-minded buddy, and those just looking to guzzle and cuddle can wind up happy, too.

Those familiar with Chinese social media will immediately recognize Hesha’s strong resemblance to Momo, which just filed for a US$300 million US IPO and claims to be the country’s third-biggest social app with 60 million active users. Indeed, Hesha founder Handon Hu modeled his app closely after Momo, including its core location-based person finder for meeting nearby fellow users.

“We target to achieve one million users by mid 2015,” Hu says. “While we focus on wine, we do cover other alcoholic beverages such as Chinese baijiu, beer, whiskey, cognac, et cetera.”

Users can follow and befriend other users, and the app definitely leans toward the dating genre like its NASDAQ-bound inspiration. But unlike Momo, which can really be a shot in the dark, Hesha users start out with some common ground. A good first impression is already made, which means women – a demographic most dating apps lack – will be more inclined to meet face to face.

“Wine drinkers are perceived as successful,” Hu says. “Young girls might want to know someone who drinks wine.”

A social bouquet with subtle notes of ecommerce

So far, Hesha’s users are about half male and half female. But Hesha has more ways to engage users than just one-to-one conversation. A Facebook-style newsfeed lets drinkers post status updates and pictures. It also lists local tastings and other events where users can mingle with their thirsty peers.

Originally, the startup made a barcode scanner app and database that would tell users about a wine, similar to Vivino in the west. When that app failed to gain significant traction, Hu decided to pivot into the social network that Hesha is today.

The scanner tech and database is still included in the app, though. Right now it can recognize over 41,000 wine bottles, providing basic info, reviews, real-time prices, and links to online wine stores in China where users can purchase them, usually Taobao and Tmall. After scanning a bottle, the wine’s profile can be posted on the user’s wall to ask if their friends would recommend it, or just to show off.