Dion Is The App That Turns “Let Me Buy You a Drink” Into Real-World Connection

In a world of endless swiping, ghosted DMs, and digital fatigue, something surprisingly analog is making a comeback: the bold, intentional gesture of buying someone a drink. Enter Dion, a new social app that takes you back to the basics of human interaction.

Whether it's a matcha on a Monday, a mezcal on a rooftop, or a martini at your favorite speakeasy, Dion turns drinks into real-life connection currency. Users can send a drink to someone they know — or want to know — with just a few taps, and have a chat on the app. The drink can be redeemed instantly at curated venues across New York, Miami, and Dubai — with more cities being added in the coming months.

“We’re the first app in the world that’s digitized the very old-school, epic social gesture of buying someone a drink,” says Miltos Kambourides, Dion’s co-founder and a hospitality entrepreneur. “There have been gifting apps that let you send a bottle to someone’s house, but that’s not the same. If I want to treat you to a glass of wine at your favorite place in LA, there was no way to do that, unless I call the restaurant and give my credit card. It’s cumbersome. Dion makes it seamless.”

From A Birthday To A Big Idea

The concept sparked during COVID, when Revekka Palaiologou, Dion’s co-founder and CEO and a former Bloomberg software engineer, found herself locked out of the UK and stuck in Greece, trying to send a birthday bottle of sake to her best friend in London. “It was her 25th at Zuma,” she explains. “I called, filled out forms, gave my credit card info — a very long process. The next day, she didn’t text me. I said, ‘Did you like the sake?’ She said, ‘What sake?’ She never got it.”

“It was painful,” she says. “And I thought — how is it so hard to send someone a drink?” She brought the idea to Kambourides, and turns out, he’d been hearing the same requests from others.

From there, Dion was born — first as a utility app, then quickly evolving into something much bigger: a new kind of social platform rooted in meeting. It’s a personalized distribution weapon for beverage brands, a discovery tool for venues, and for users, a way to connect in a more thoughtful, real way.

Less Scrolling, More Showing Up

At its core, Dion is about intention. “Unlike every other social app pushing content, likes, swipes, and more information, our idea is rooted in creating a digital connection that translates into a real-world presence,” Palaiologou says. “You send someone not just a like, but something of real value — a drink in a real place.”

And people are doing exactly that. The app has quietly built a significant user base and demand: 12,000 applications, 1,600 approved members, and over 5,500 drinks treated at more than 80 curated venues. (Think of it like the Venmo of drinks meets the standards of Raya.) Users can browse who’s out at select spots in real time, send a drink directly, or connect later with a treat redeemable anytime. (The app is also partnering with beverage brands and event organizers, like those of New York Fashion Week, to introduce people to the app and create more experiential activations.)

Right now 60% of usage, Kambourides says, is from people meeting someone new. “Romantic, professional, or just meeting cool people,” he adds. The other 40% is people reconnecting with those they know — whether it’s a birthday, a thank-you, a first round, or a “sorry I missed dinner” kind of gesture.

And for anyone wondering: yes, there are Dion love stories. “Someone contacted support and said, ‘When I joined Dion, I wanted to find someone. I sent drinks to 10 girls I liked. Now I’m dating one of them,’” says Palaiologou with a laugh.

Connection That Cuts Through the Noise

The app has proven especially popular among both men and women, but as Palaiologou notes, there’s an actual commitment in the gesture, which makes it attractive to those who are looking for something a bit more intentional. “It's casual enough not to feel [intense], but it's intentional enough to mean something,” she says. That gesture has meant something to those who are a bit tired of dating apps.

And with day venues now included in the experience (think smoothies, matcha, and coffee shops), the experience is moving beyond nightlife into all-day options.

“We see people sending coffee on Monday mornings, saying, ‘Let’s meet for a walk,’” says Palaiologou. “That’s why we call them day options and night options.”

And you don’t have to be on the app to receive a treat. One interesting thing they found is that people wanted to treat friends who weren’t on the app — like their mom, Palaiologou shares. “So now, you only need an account to send a drink. Anyone can receive one via a link.” You show it to the venue staff and receive the drink.

Creating True Community (And Romantic Connections)

With cities like LA, Vegas, Paris, and London in the pipeline, Dion is scaling quickly — but the focus remains tight: curating great venues, building community, and encouraging real-world interaction.

“We want to get away from all these zero cost actions and actually make thoughtful gestures part of everyday life again,” says Palaiologou. “It used to be martinis — now it’s also about matcha, smoothies, coffee. In the future, maybe flowers. The sky’s the limit.”

In a sea of content and passive interaction, Dion offers something refreshing: a low-pressure, high-impact way to show someone you’re thinking of them — and maybe meet IRL, too. “People need real connections more than ever,” says Palaiologou.