Cap on his head, red basket in hand, Mohammed is hurrying this Thursday evening.
It is 9:30 p.m.
The Cajoo “store”, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, is entering a rush period.
This start-up specializes in the delivery of local groceries.
She was over-solicited the day before.
An unexpected number of orders even forced the warehouse to shut down for more than an hour.
Ghiles, in relaxed attire, is responsible for printing the order forms which fall into the system every three minutes.
“With the reopening of the terraces, it makes sense.
Many clients gathered in their apartments after 9 pm… and called on us.
»The application allows delivery in less than a quarter of an hour to Paris, Lyon (Rhône), Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), Bordeaux (Gironde), Montpellier (Hérault) and Lille (North).
Satisfy deconfined customers ahead of time
The service was launched in February to meet the new needs of urban dwellers. The early closure of stores complicates food shopping, and prohibits the purchase of alcohol after dark. Clara, 20, studies applied foreign letters in Amiens (Somme). “Before, we could get supplies in neighborhood grocery stores. Now we order on our phones. We divide the price between friends, except when someone pays for their tour… But that is rarer! "
Health restrictions are far from having put an end to evenings in front of a game, a dinner or a birthday cake.
Cajoo's logistics are designed to satisfy these deconfined customers ahead of time.
In charge of operations, Mamadou inspects the shelves, where the products are arranged from the most purchased to the least requested.
The first three are only devoted ... to alcohol.
There are reserves of beers in packs and individually, spirits, champagnes and sparkling wines.
Vodka, beers, but also cigarettes and laughing gas
"The curfew has caused an accelerating effect", concedes Henri Capoul.
The co-founder and boss of the company believes in his tool for the long term.
“In the coming months, we will have new moments of life, large gatherings in the apartments, in the parks, on the quays.
Our application will also be perfectly adapted.
"
For now, the application stops working from 12:30 a.m.
Night owls have to turn to other operators, more expensive but open all night.
Some apps have been known for a long time, such as Kol or Allo Apéro.
Merchants of a completely different kind have swarmed in recent months: individuals, ready to brave the curfew for a few tickets.
Individuals deliver alcohol to Snapchat at night during curfew.
They sometimes offer other products like cigarettes.
LP / Robin Korda
On Snapchat, a popular social network for young people and traffickers, simple keywords like “alcohol”, “aperitif” or “drink” can be found on their accounts.
The best communicators multiply the advertisements in photomontage and video clips.
Filmed behind the wheel, a car slices through the night near Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin).
Rap thoroughly into the speakers.
The lyrics seem tailor-made: "There's Red Bull, there's vovo
(Editor's note: vodka)
", sings rapper Hooss.
“There is everything you need!
"
Vendors offer à la carte prices, sometimes including bonus products, like hookahs or whipped cream traps, the gas of which is used as a hilarious drug.
In Paris, we were able to provide, during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, vodka, sodas, beers and cigarettes for a few tens of euros.
Prohibition atmosphere
It was first necessary to show a white paw.
The seller is wary of our Snapchat account, which is almost blank.
He demands a photo of our "evening".
Fighting commotion.
A few bottles are hastily stacked on a coffee table.
The light is subdued.
The cliché, poorly framed.
The point, a bit blurry.
The subterfuge visibly satisfies our interlocutor.
A 125 cm3 scooter parks at the foot of the building a quarter of an hour later.
A young man in fashionable clothes, luxury sneakers on his feet, a thin beard and round glasses, opens the trunk.
His half-open helmet flips left, right to watch the surroundings.
Prohibition atmosphere.
We pay cash - no choice - he leaves immediately.
The night has only just begun.
Read alsoMeal delivery: how the Covid-19 crisis boosted the sector
These entrepreneurs represent a tiny minority of those involved in the delivery of alcohol.
The early evening hours still belong to Uber Eats and Deliveroo scooters and bikes.
The two major providers of home meals have rushed into this market due to the health crisis.
The first has multiplied by 20 its number of points of sale, supermarkets and partner grocery stores last year in France.
The company now has 2,500, including nearly 200 wine merchants.
Deliveroo, its main competitor, refuses to share quantitative trends.
The platform formerly dedicated to restaurants has offered many local shops since 2020 and a first partnership signed with Franprix.
Their names "marketed" towards young people sometimes hide banal neighborhood grocery stores.
"Alcohol is seven or eight orders out of 10"
This is the case with “Couche Tard Market”, a mini-market on Boulevard de Clichy (18th arrondissement).
Placed on his scooter, a delivery man smokes a cigarette for a break.
Behind him, other two-wheelers come to fill their bags through a half-lowered iron curtain.
"Alcohol in the evening is seven or eight orders out of 10," he calculates.
Me, I find that normal.
People must see each other well with friends, otherwise they will go crazy!
"
In the 16th arrondissement, Marine, 21, is one of these occasional users.
"I'm so lazy to cook myself that I order all the time," laughs this student in eco-management.
Suddenly, it's also my first instinct for alcohol.
"
The young woman, who ensures that she does not party "too often anyway", has difficulty resisting "snacks" and "dinners" which continue well after the curfew.
“In my group, we all had Covid-19 or almost.
My parents are vaccinated.
It's not that we don't care, but it's been going on for so long… ”
On Snapchat, a popular social network for young people, many accounts have been created with confinement.
LP / Robin Korda
All of these solutions cost a little, if not much more than buying in a supermarket. But the Internet offers unbeatable prices to the most far-sighted minds. Two years ago, Gwendal, a science student in IUT, wanted to organize a “big party” for his 19th birthday. Without a car, "hassle" to go shopping. Above all, he notices on Amazon that “alcohol is much cheaper than in the supermarket”. The merchant site is full of attractive offers, such as in the days of “packs of six bottles of Absolut”. Today, the platform even offers inexpensive vodka boxes: 45 euros for three liters!
As a regular customer, he has an “Amazon Prime” account, which makes delivery free and fast. The big box arrives directly at his home, in the parents' house…. who are kindly invited to leave that evening. He has kept this habit and occasionally buys bottles individually. They are delivered to him or directly to the address of the party. Practical, especially during weekends with friends in the countryside.
"Our delivery partners check the identity cards of customers: no minor can buy alcohol on our site", reassures a spokesperson for the company. The e-commerce giant does not communicate on its sales performance. Competition is lurking. French Cdiscount and large retailers, such as Carrefour or Leclerc, compete for broken prices. Their delivery ranges are constantly expanding. Die-hard partygoers are definitely pampered.
