The Wine List Smashes its Crowdfunding Target
Over £500k raised to grow the subscription wine service
Since the start of 2020 when much of the world was plunged in to lockdowns and many of our lives became lived online there has been an explosion of online wine tastings and associated subscriptions, all aiming to keep us entertained while being stuck at home. These varied from wine enthusiasts sharing their passion, local wine shops moving online, to nationwide chains offering great value.
One of those that has stood out for me has been The Wine List. A few things drew me to them, not just their excellent marketing, modern look and feel, and flexible subscription options but more so their unique offering in that they provide subscribers with a 12-part wine course. In addition to learning about the wines in your box that month you also get to learn about how to taste, the fermentation process, how terroir and weather impact wines, and a whole range of other topics. The aim being that at the end of 12 months you're more confident in your wine knowledge, without having to spend time going through formal courses like the WSET.
The Wine List has had a great 2020 with now over 1,300 active subscribers up from just 100 about a year ago at the end of 2019. They've grown Monthly Recurring Revenues (MRR) to an average of £45k over the last six months with £71k in November and have shipped over 20,000 bottles of wine.
On the back of that success and growth the founder, Josh Lachkovic and his team, chose to raise growth funds through the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. With a target of £375,000 in order to build and grow a new online learning platform with videos, quizzes and a community, shoring up their back-office operations and customer service, and getting their own warehouse and fulfillment centre set up. All helping to increase margins and give greater opportunity for growth.
They have now smashed that target and successfully been funded at over £505,000 from 442 investors. Around £320,000 of that came from their lead investor, Haatch, who are an Angel Investor with some successful technology start-ups in their portfolio.
The Wine List has shown the industry what can be done with a good digital strategy and a bit of investment in effort and cash.
If you want to try out The Wine List use this link and the code TEACHME30 at checkout to get 30% off your first box.
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