Millennials want more variety in their wine, as well as more convenient, Amazon-like purchasing options. Tech hasn’t ignored the shifting landscape.
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To underscore that fact, Vivino, an app which allows users to rate wines and delivers bottles to your door, announced a $20 million Series C. Like the company’s $25 million Series B, SCP Neptune took the lead on Vivino’s Series B. The wine startup, according to Crunchbase, has raised a total of $56.3 million.
Its latest raise is likely propelled by the sheer mass of Vivino’s userbase as well as its growing marketplace ambitions. The app is home to 29 million wine drinkers, an increase of 16 million users since the company raised its Series B in 2016, according to the firm.
And while the company plays host to wine curation and reviews, it’s also increasing its retail presence. A la Amazon Prime, Vivino offers an unlimited free wine shipping program through a $47 a year subscription. The startup intends to use its latest raise to increase awareness of this program. According to CEO and Founder Heini Zachariassen, the company sees “half of those purchasing wine from us opting into try Premium.”
It has sold $100 million in wine since Vivino was founded in 2009.
Competiton
Of course, Vivino isn’t the only company looking to deliver wine to customers. Two public market comps, Blue Apron and retail giant Amazon, offer wine delivery services. But Vivino appears confident in its position in the market.
“We’re not making big reactionary moves to others jumping in the market. Vivino has slowly and carefully built a community of over 29 million wine drinkers who trust our rating system and who can now can shop from the largest online wine marketplace via a seamless purchase experience,” Zachariassen told Crunchbase News. “That trust coupled with our focus on growing the selection of wines available for purchase is what we believe makes us a clear category leader.”
Expansion
The company is also embracing the masses of wine data it has gathered, more firmly demarcating it as a tech company. Vivino, according to Zachariassen, monetizes and shares data with “producers, distributors and even general interest media.”
“There is no other database like it regarding wine and it’s an enormous part of our business,” explained Zachariassen. “We will be growing the data side of our business in the months to come.”
The company also aims to increase its global presence. Although the U.S. market accounts for 50 percent of the Vivino’s revenue, the company intends to expand into emerging markets, such as Hong Kong, bolstered by increased partnerships. The company will likely need to move aggressively on this strategy to achieve its goal of selling $1 billion in wine by 2020.
iStockPhoto / Ivan_Mogilevchik
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