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Inside China’s New Social Network for Wine Enthasiasts

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A new social media app is bringing together China’s growing number of wine enthusiasts. Hesha, which loosely means “what to drink,” functions as a social network for China’s 130 million wine drinkers. The Shenzhen-based startup just released the latest version of its app, which allows users to find friends and dates based on mutual interests in alcoholic beverages. Though Hesha mostly focuses on wine, it also covers whiskey, Chinese baiju, and cognac, among other drinks. The new version of Hesha is now available for download on iOs, and the Android version is forthcoming. Hesha started out as a barcode scanner app and database that allowed users to access information about particular wines, such as real-time prices, reviews, and links to e-retailers like Tmall and Taobao where the wines may be purchased. When that failed to attract much attention, a social media component was added, which allows users to post photos and status updates and alerts them to local tastings and related events. However, the database and scanning functions are still included, and can currently recognize 41,000 bottles of wine. Users can also post a wine’s profile on their wall to ask for recommendations from their friends.

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