As the coronavirus pandemic forced bars and restaurants across the country to shut down, Gary Vaynerchuk's Empathy Wines is making a big splash in the online wine business. Now, the startup has been acquired by alcohol giant Constellation Brands.
After just 18 months in production, founder and media personality Vaynerchuk told Cheddar it was the perfect time to sell Empathy.
"The reality is, Constellation's infrastructure allows me to deliver on my dream of making the best $20 wine in the world," he said.
Empathy Wines sold 15,000 cases in its first year, raking in more than $3.5 million. Now it joins an umbrella of brands under Constellation including Corona and Svedka. Robert Hanson, president of wine and spirits at Constellation Brands, said the company wants to capitalize on Empathy's strength in the digital wine sales space.
"Empathy is an incredible brand," he said. "They balance art and science in terms of how they build the brand in the marketplace."
The company's online success is not only attributable to "the deep understanding of how to do marketing in 2020," Vaynerchuk said, but also from his experience understanding customers' wants and needs regarding wines.
"I literally grew up in the wine business and stood on the wine store floor for almost two decades and interacted with people and really just had a real sense of where the palate was these days," he added. As a young man, Vaynerchuk worked in his family's wine shop.
The new deal, according to Hanson, will bring opportunities for both companies to collaborate without impeding Empathy's successful approach to marketing in the digital space.
"We'll keep Empathy as a standalone brand, obviously, to drive the growth that we think is possible with the Empathy Brand specifically. On the same score, leveraging Gary's partnership with me. We've known each other a long time and think quite similarly about business development," he said.
As more states pull back on reopening plans due to a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases, Constellation Brands' priorities remain online, Hanson noted.
"We're very much focused on making sure that we win in digital commerce. That's why this investment with Empathy was so critical," he said.
Bambu Ventures's Kyle Pretsch dives into Lemonaid’s $10M buyout, down from 23andMe’s $400M price tag, and what’s next after Chrome Co.’s dramatic pivot.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
Grove Collaborative’s CEO shares how the company is reinventing everyday goods with sustainability at the core and working toward a plastic-free future.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens shares plans for affordable housing, community-led growth, and why private and public grocery stores could be key to food equity.
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
Tom’s Guide Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer breaks down Apple & Amazon's latest product drops—what's hot, what's hype, and what really matters for users.
