If you’ve purchased more than your average share of wine over the past year, you are not alone. According to Wine Intelligence, consumption during the pandemic’s lockdowns surged in the U.S. and UK.
Last year, Barefoot led the nation’s wine brands in total sales with nearly $675 million. For Jennifer Wall, winemaker with the brand, “bottling lines keep rolling” even as life has changed drastically around the world.
Wall, who has been with the company since 1995, said that it has been a journey watching Barefoot’s growth over the years.
“I was 26 years old, and at that time we were selling around 140,000 cases in only four states … only four types, and now we’ve grown to be the largest bottled wine brand in the world,” she told Cheddar.
She has since become an innovator within Barefoot. Last year, Wall was part of the development of the only wine-based seltzer available nationwide. With hard seltzer the largest alcoholic beverage category, she said it was important to provide wine lovers with a similar option.
Wall's journey to beverage innovation began with four years of experience in the wine industry already under her belt before joining Barefoot, in what was an industry largely bereft of women.
“My peers and mentors were mostly male, so that was quite different than it is today. Today, in 2021, I’m really honored to work alongside some really fabulous and brilliant female winemakers,” Wall noted, advising women who wish to get into winemaking to pick from a wide variety of options now open in the field.
"There's tons of opportunity in the wine industry and with a lot of room for promotion and growth."
In addition to wine-based seltzers, Wall is also helping the company expand its new line of Fruitscato, fruit-infused moscato wines.
“It’s the hottest category in wine right now," she explained.
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Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
