Have you ever brought home a bottle of wine and found that you didn’t like it – but you powered through it because you hate to waste it?
Vinebox has a new idea. What if you could receive a sample glass that enabled you to taste before you buy the bottle? Flaviar.com has created this business model for whiskey – why not try it for wine?
Vinebox, 1,2, 3
You start by taking a quiz that helps to identify your favorite flavors like strong versus light coffee, deep berry versus subtle stone fruits like apricots, spicy stuff like siracha versus mild foods, etc. As they build up your profile, you receive what looks like little test tubes of wine that fill a glass. You can get, for example, three wines from the Rhone Valley to determine which wine you love best. Then you can order a bottle of the one you prefer.
Subscriptions cost about $25, and you get 3/3.4-ounce glass vials of wine. The quantity is a little less than a full glass of wine.
They have three plans, monthly, three months or yearly with varying prices. They only sell wines not found in retail, so you are bound to find some interesting wines that you won’t show up at your local grocer or specialty wine shop.
Vinebox protects the wine from becoming oxidized through a patented technology. From my past life at Nomacorc, I’m not sure if this might not lead to reductive tastes since wine does need a little bit of oxygen to develop full flavors. They also ship the samples via refrigeration to ensure that the wines are kept fresh in the heat.
Each wine comes with tasting notes as well as the wine’s graphics printed on the vial.
Marketing Wine – A Twist
Some important lessons for marketers to observe from Vinebox:
- How can you shift the business model so consumers can sample a product before purchasing?
- Can you curate hard to find products that don’t show up in stores, so consumers have an incentive to purchase?
- Wine by the glass in a restaurant typically costs $10, so their pricing isn’t much more expensive than you would find at a restaurant. Of course, restaurant markups tend to be very high (sometimes 3X) what you’d pay at retail.
- The quiz idea allows Vinebox to customize your selection. Something that is on trend with consumers who love their lattes with a dash of this and a splash of that.
Subscription business models are trending. Getting a sampling of wine by the glass may be an opportunity to get wine into the mouths of more consumers.
Do you need to find a way to disrupt your category? Can I offer you a taste of something new? Call me at 919 720 0995 or email me at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com to connect. Care for a pinot?
Photo courtesy of Vinebox
