The Vino Beano strives to be the “go to” merchant for wine enthusiasts in the UK, bringing to the market high quality, yet affordable, lovingly produced wines.
The Vino Beano Limited (Company No. 08545158) is an alternative wine merchant specialising in bringing fine, artisanal wines, exclusively to the UK market, as well as providing clients with the complete wine experience.
We have five unique selling points:
1) Our approach:
We are moving away from mainstream brands within the wine world and focusing on those hidden gems that have yet to find a way to the UK market. We extensively scour the globe for high quality wines from unrepresented artisan producers all over the world. From the classic “old world” estates in France, Italy, Germany and Spain to the “new world” and revolutionary new producers in USA, South America, Australia and New Zealand. We look for the best wines in the world, so you don’t have to.
2) Our impact:
By representing smaller, artisan wine makers, we aim at supporting local growers who are passionate about producing high quality wines and perpetuating good business practices in the industry. This not only enables us to put quality products on your table, but allows us to protect traditional production methods and the wine industry’s sustainability.
3) Our people:
Vino Beano’s Master of Wine, Robin Kick, is only one of only 338 in the world (at June 2016). With one of the best palates in the world, she will help ensure the wines we offer are of the highest quality, while still representing return on investment.
4) Our network:
Counting with a Master of Wine also opens the business up to a vast contact base and a network full of opportunities, in addition to credibility in the industry. We also have a bespoke database of 22,000 CEO level executives, many of whom are The Vino Beano’s target market.
5) Our personal touch:
We are investing significant amounts of time and funds into actively sourcing the finest unrepresented wines in the worlds. This commitment to finding and bringing high quality products to the UK, supported by extensive research and our own personable touch, is enabling us to establish strong partnerships with dedicated growers.
Our mission is to make knowledge about the wine industry easily accessible to our customers and increase awareness of independent artisan producers, their products, their traditions and their story – including both their past and their future – to ultimately promote and protect sustainable wine production methods.
There are many existing fine wine merchants operating in the e-commerce and retail space. A majority of whom sell the main, well-known fine wine brands from key regions from across the world. We believe this space is now over-populated. This has increased competition in this marketplace, leading to saturation of the market and cost competition. For this reason, margins are being driven down. If the demand was still there, the effect would be lessened, however, since the ‘crash’ of the fine wine market in 2011/2012; the demand for these brand wines, particularly in the Middle East and Asia has dropped drastically.
Given this, there is no scope for new business to move in to this space in our opinion. Particularly with the increase in ‘wine investment companies’; where wines are sold massively over the current retail price, on the basis that they are expected to increase in market value to cover the ludicrous margins that are placed on these wines and eventually give the buyer a profit (if at all).
Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 shows that from 2010 to 2015, value of the ‘top 50’ fine wines on the market had a 5-year high of 445.56 (index points) on 28/08/2011 and a 5-year low of 261.37 on 20/11/2015; stating a drop in value of 42% (source: www.liv-ex.com). This further demonstrates the downturn in the fine wine investment market and a huge negative factor in the existing wine merchant model.
Existing merchants rely on the branded wines to sell their products. People come to them for such products, because they know of them. However, with the downturn in the high end wine market, we don’t see this continuing and feel that existing merchants are not prepared/willing, in a variety of ways, to aggressively go out and sell new products to counteract the downturn in the higher end.
Having sold our first vintage of one supplier, we have built up a following, making each vintage thereafter far easier and more rewarding for everybody. Taking these wines to people is the only way for us to generate the awareness and give the quality an opportunity to speak for itself.
1) Private/Retail Sales
Selling selected fine wines, by the bottle or full case, to private individuals via the e-commerce website, or via the promotional retail unit.
2) Trade Sales
Selling selected fine wines to bars, restaurants and other catering establishments.
3) Broking/Sourcing Commission
Providing a platform for private buyers/collectors to sell on their wines to our network
4) Experiential wine education: “The VB Experience”
The Vino Beano offers customers the unique opportunity to not just purchase the finest undiscovered wines from around the globe but also, provides them with the chance to learn about the artisan ways in which they are produced, and the wine industry in general. With an educative approach, customers are offered the chance to appreciate the complexity behind each of our wines, the story of their names, the history of their estates and what the producers hope for the future.
To bring the wine enthusiast and the wine artisan producer one step closer, we provided customers the opportunity to meet at curated events in the UK and guided trips to represented regions across the world. This personal touch aims at creating a loyal customer base and community with a true passion for good wine – ensuring a successful and sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace.
From a strategy perspective, The Vino Beano’s market penetration plan is based on a targeted and aggressive customer facing sales campaign. It will aim at generating substantial interest in the short term for our unique products, resulting in immediate revenue. We expect to be profitable from the beginning of year Two (2018), with significant revenue growth year on year. The medium term goal for The Vino Beano is to have wide industry presence with a focus on high reputational value, as a highly respected and trusted business.
Our sales strategy is based on a combination of online and offline activities that we want to build after the funding round:
Digital/Online Marketing:
Public Relations:
Events/Promotions:
Promotional Retail Unit:
Relationship building:
Our team is composed of high qualified professionals focused on executing our vision and pursuing our growth plan.
Managing Director
Rob is a highly experienced finance professional who, over the last 15 years, has worked in a key financial and organisational capacity with SMEs, plc and global organisations in various sectors. More recently, Rob has started up, strategically invested in, and served as a Board member for various growing, and profitable organisations; giving him a well-rounded and seasoned head for business.
Along with a head for business, he is also a fine wine enthusiast. What started as a job, became a hobby, and ultimately is now an obsession. He learned in great detail how a wine merchant operates during his time with a reputable merchant; including general day to day operations of a merchants, sales strategies, key metrics, logistics, and specific financial reporting. His experience and head for business, along with his passion for the products will be a key driving force of the business. Rob will head up the sales and operational side of the business.
Over the last two years, Rob has spent his time learning more about the industry and building an extensive industry contact base to ensure The Vino Beano is an instant success.
Buyer/Master of Wine
Robin is a Master of Wine (MW), the most prestigious title in the world of wine, which means entry into the world’s best wine community.
Her introduction to wine came while studying wine at the Université du Vin in Suze-la-Rousse in France’s Rhône Valley. She then worked as a wine specialist at Christie’s auction house in Los Angeles, California for a number of years before returning to Europe to continue her wine education, worked as a buyer for Goedhuis & Co, a large independent wine merchant in London.
She is a now well-respected buyer, taster, award judge and consultant in the industry. Her reputation, knowledge, experience, and palate are key assets to the operation of the business. Through her MW network and community, she has an extensive contact base all over the World; and being based in Lugano, Switzerland puts her in the centre of the key European wine regions.
Robin will spend her time developing relationships with growers and key agents, finding those hidden delights and strategically helping The Vino Beano bring them to market.
Senior Account Manager (Private Clients)
Jack is an enthusiastic and driven individual, whose detailed knowledge and passion for all aspects of the wine world has been intensively developed over the past ten years.
With initial experience in the high street with Threshers and Oddbins, and three years spent developing and running management training courses in both the public and private sectors, Jack decided it was time to return to the wine world. Moving back to his native London, he took up the position of Personal Wine Adviser with one of the biggest merchants in the market, Laithwaite’s Wine, as a member of its prestigious Classics team.
Outside the world of wine, Jack is a seasoned traveller and has an active interest in music and sport, with his remaining time split between the two – and of course, socialising with friends, family and colleagues, especially if it involves fine food and wine.
Marketing/Communications Consultant
Barry Walker is a Public Relations and Marketing professional with over 25 years’ experience working with UK and International food manufacturers, producers and distributors.
Barry has assisted a number of international food groups present their products to a European audience, including working with the Bajan government and devising its ‘Taste of Barbados’ programme; the success of which resulted in the development and implementation of a similar programme for the island of St Lucia with its ‘Taste of St Lucia’ initiative.
Barry is a food writer, blogger, expert on Italian cured meats, as well as a regular judge at various food expos including judging the Salumi category during the 2015 Bellavita Expo in London.
Recently Barry set up the Hampshire Salami Company, which now cures local produce plus makes Salumi and Salami in the true Italian style. In his quest for knowledge, Barry found few books on curing meat Italian style, so is now writing his own.