16: Turning Canned Wine Into a Million-Dollar Opportunity, With Maker Wine’s Sarah Hoffman - Business of Drinks

When Sarah Hoffman had the idea to put premium wine into cans, she had no idea how revolutionary it was. But soon, she and her co-founders were convincing winemakers to trust them with their wines — and were kickstarting an entirely new category with their company, Maker Wine. In this episode of Business of Drinks, Sarah tells us how her background in digital marketing led her to launch the company, which makes high-quality, affordable wine available to everyone. Sarah explains how she learned to navigate the three-tier system, what she’s discovered about wine consumers, and how Maker scaled to 22,000 cases of wine, making more than $1 million in sales annually. Join Sarah, Erica and Felicity as they discuss who the new wine consumer is and what they’re looking for, how to reach them with Zoom and other digital channels, and how a group of outsiders navigated the complex world of wine, for fun and profit — and where there are still opportunities to be found. Key takeaways: How Maker raised $2.3 million in funding Early growth strategies to scale on a shoestring How data is informing Maker’s brand strategy Transitioning from DTC to omnichannel How Maker grew its quarterly Can Club to more than 2K subscribers The success of limited edition drops for Millennials  How to leverage influencer and UGC advertising Stay tuned for our next episode dropping on 12/27.  Shoutout to our sponsor! A big round of thanks to AccelPay — a leading ecommerce solution for bev-alc brands. From a one-tap, compliant checkout to comprehensive sales data, AccelPay has you covered and can make your existing website a storefront. For an exclusive 10% off your account, visit: https://www.accelpay.io/bod About Erica Duecy, host: Erica Duecy is co-founder of Business of Drinks, a podcast and content consultancy, and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies. She also has led digital editorial teams at Architectural Digest and Saveur magazines. Her content, podcast, and video programs have won more than 40 digital and editorial awards. She is a WSET Advanced-certified wine and spirits communicator, and author of the cocktail book Storied Sips (Random House), about the real-life stories behind the world’s most famous cocktails.  To learn more about Erica Duecy: https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/ https://twitter.com/ericaduecy   About Felicity Carter, host: Felicity Carter is co-founder of Business of Drinks, a podcast and content consultancy. Also the Editorial Director of Areni Global, the London-based fine wine think tank, she was previously Editor-in-Chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, a trade magazine she built into a global must-read, with subscribers in 38 countries. She is a regular media commentator, appearing on platforms as diverse as CNN, France24 and the New York Times, and has consulted to New Zealand Wine and the Dutch government. Felicity is an international wine judge as well as a regular keynote speaker at the wine industry’s biggest conferences and events. Her work has appeared in The GuardianUS, The Sydney Morning Herald and numerous other publications.  To learn more about Felicity Carter:  https://twitter.com/felicitycarter https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicity-carter-a5754380/ https://www.instagram.com/carter.felicity/ And if you like what you heard, help us spread the word! Follow Business of Drinks, and rate and review our episodes on any platform where you’re listening. It helps us find new listeners. Thank you!

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