The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

f6kb3met
Jason Toff and Kelly Schaefer, seniors at Penn, fill PennDrinks boxes with 20 assorted drinks for delivery to thirsty students on campus. Credit: Toby Hicks

Unlike most Penn students, Wharton seniors Jason Toff and Kelly Schaefer spent their summer nights chatting online with Indian programmers.

The programmers were working on creating Toff and Schaefer's new Web site, PennDrinks.com, which launched last week after months of preparation.

The site allows users to order boxes of 20 different non-alcoholic drinks, ranging from soda to Vitamin Water, and have them delivered directly to their homes.

The idea was born through a conversation Toff had with a friend, who bemoaned the fact that people purchasing drinks are limited not by money, but how much they can carry back to their homes.

Toff and Schaefer then thought a drink-delivery Web site would be a worthwhile venture.

"I was thinking, 'This is my senior year, this is a good chance to do something risky,'" said Schaefer.

The two have invested thousands of dollars of their own money, turning their house into a warehouse for drinks, and so far they have been making deliveries themselves.

PennDrinks has a "drag and drop" design, which the two are hoping to patent, and is inspired by the simplicity of Apple products, said an iPhone-toting Toff.

To order, you have to become a member of the site. Since going live a little over a week ago, the site has gained 100 members, and about 40 boxes have been ordered.

One customer, Wharton senior Jessica Trief, heard about PennDrinks through one of Toff and Schaefer's housemates.

"When I heard about it, I was so excited," said Trief, who had previously been buying drinks from Allegro's Pizza. She said she found PennDrinks both cheaper and more convenient.

Prices on the PennDrinks Web site range from 70 cents for a can of soda to $1.90 for a Red Bull. There is an additional $2 delivery fee.

Toff and Schaefer credit the Internet for making their business possible, saying a Web site was much cheaper than any kind of physical store would have been.

"Fortunately, because of the Internet, we could make our own business," said Toff.

The two hope that PennDrinks will eventually become as the popular internet food-ordering site, campusfoods.com.

Their other goal? Going from red to black.

"First, we want to make our money back," said Toff.

And if some of their early customers have a say, both goals may be easily within their reach.

"As soon as I run out of drinks, I'm going to order again," said Trief.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.