Problem
"Canned wine isn't as good as bottled wine" – until now
We put bottle-quality wine in a can, because we believe consumers deserve great wine no matter what the vessel is. Oh, also, canned wine up until now has been... not tasty. Cans are infinitely recyclable, cheaper to ship, safer to enjoy poolside, at a festival, on a plane or boat, and convenient enough to throw into your beach- or hand-bag. Craft beer elevated the can years ago. It's wine's turn. And we're not even charging a premium for it.
Opportunity
Canned anything is hot, canned wine is ablaze
The canned wine market rivals the bottled wine market. Wine is, more than ever, about the taste versus the fancy bottle it's housed in. That said, we understand what you hold in your hand speaks volumes about you; so Canvino's head designer and partner, Subodh Samudre, made the cans beautiful too. Additionally:
- The trend towards outdoor entertainment, vacations, events, and dining plays enormously in favor of the convenience of canned wine
- Events, indoor and out, have for many years been increasingly banning glass from their service. This trend will not reverse
- The global canned wine market is expected to grow at 13.2% annually between 2021-2028
Drinkcanvino.com launched with fanfare in 2020
Product
Wine for a Clear Conscience.
Every wine is only as awesome as the weakest part of the process. That’s why we raise our grapes with the same rigor we apply to crafting the wine itself. Our team of expert viticulturists obsess over every detail. There’s no weak part here.
Our vineyard partner and entire team have a passion for the world around us. Everything we do from start to finish, we deeply consider its effect on the environment and sustainability. From solar power to a worm farm (yes!), everything we do is designed to make you feel good inside.
All our wines are gluten-free and vegan.
Traction
The pandemic? We launched anyway, and successfully
Direct sales & distribution networks in 38 states (blue and orange states below. A moment of silence, if you will, for the grey ones.)
2021 accounts: CA, FL, NY and TN
- Upscale restaurants and bars
- Large nightclub and hospitality groups
- National hotel chain representation – poolside + grab-and-go
- Large supermarkets and upscale grocery stores
Retail and online growth continues
In 2022, we'll begin our push into select grocery chains whom we have established relationships with, such as Whole Foods Market, Albertsons, and Safeway.
Our approach is to provide wine-obsessives as well as those new to wine with a great product in the convenience of can.
Customers
Social media, culture and marketing
Customers love the look of the cans, the purpose behind the juice and our talented team of experienced brand creators & influencers
ABC show The Ultimate Surfer, hosted by Kelly Slater, will bring Canvino to a global audience with our product placement deal for seasons 1, 2 and 3. Season 1 premiered August 23, 2021.
Continuing social, influencer and cultural reach in '22
Business model
What we are going to do
Build a brand people love, with all the characteristics of brands they love, in order to get acquired by a big company.
In any unit based business there are two ways to drive your return on capital and become an acquisition target:
- either you have very high returns on capital,
- or your have high turnover on capital,
With a current gross margin of 40%, or 66% return on working capital, a short production cycle of 3 weeks and an inventory to cash conversion cycle of 14 weeks we have both.
We’re building our business with a three phase approach:
Phase 1 (2020):
Brand development | Value | Viability | COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY
Phase 2 (2021–2022)
Marketplace entrance
Phase 3
Grow | Sustain | Attract Large Scale Partner | Exit 2022/2023
Market
“In the spring and summer months, as nice weather and widespread vaccinations become a reality, we anticipate more outdoor and on-the-go sipping,” Drizly says. “Canned wine is poised for growth as a portable, single- serve offering.”
-Drizly, Forecast for canned wine in the retail market
In case you missed it, here's yet another article charting how exciting the canned wine business is and will continue to be.
Competition
Our trademark will be the Xerox or Popsicle of canned wine
At the rate we’re going, Canvino will become the ubiquitous word to describe all canned wine, giving us a leadership position from which we can look over all others. And even when a new brand comes in and tries to compete with us, no one can match our quality at our price-point, with our brand story.
Being a “wine-lover’s wine” will always be core to our success as the market continues to grow.
Bottle-quality wine, inside a can, and a a beautiful one. We're like a sheep in wolf's clothing, and the wolf is wearing Commes Des Garçons.
Vision and strategy
Exploring new markets
While the USA leads the way in adoption of canned wine, trends and opportunity lead Canvino to Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in 2021.
We're looking to establish the brand in global markets using our bottle-quality Californian wine, and then launch additional versions of Canvino using local wines for a higher profit margin.
Funding
Key partners
Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional
Chris approached us with a strong interest in Canvino. He was drawn by the shared belief we had in sustainable farming methods and empowering women in the wine-making space which is traditionally dominated by men. Our high-quality wines were icing on the cake. Chris approaches his craft in the same way we do: with care, thought and consideration to how it will make people feel.
Introducing our newest board member and partner, Mitchel Elsen
As a debonair international businessman, he doesn't just hang out with (and produce content for) sports celebs, he's now also a committed dilettante vintner, focused on growing Canvino into a global force to be reckoned with in commercial wine.
Founders
Agata Podedworny (Founder) graduated from New York University with a degree in International Business and Marketing. She then entered St John’s law school, graduating in 2001. She then began working internationally in import and export, forming a family business, Cracovia Imports, a turn-key import and distribution resource for small brands. Her fluency in Polish, coupled with years of experience with a multitude of suppliers in Poland as well as wider Europe, Agata is an industry leader in national and international logistic and compliance matters from supplier to end consumer.
One of the first women to own her own liquor brand, her proprietary creation, Alchemia Infused Vodka, exited to a publicly held company, Panache Beverage Inc.
A leader in spirits, Agata sparked a marketing frenzy by being an infusion when others were just a flavor. When launched, the words “naturally infused” were foreign to an industry dominated with artificial additives, today it is the only verbiage on a bottle that drinkers will accept. The brand was given numerous awards and lead the industry as one of the only epicurean, and “farm-to-shelf” spirits.
Today, Agata is a partner in Liquid Asset, a fully integrated food and beverage consultancy firm.
James Dale (Founder) was born in India and raised in New Zealand.
In the 1990s, he was a sales and business development manager for Brown Forman Australasia, working on brands like Jack Daniel’s, Baileys, Galliano, and others. In 2003, James was then recruited by 42 Below Vodka to be the brand’s North American partner. As the leader of the U.S. market, his marketing strategy resulted in unfounded instant gratification formula for brand establishment and a successful eight-figure exit to Bacardi.
James invented an innovative off-premises-sales-first approach to premium vodka, drawing consumers to retail after they experienced the brand at their favorite bar, club or restaurant.
Dale’s strategy would forever change the marketplace and paved the way for his next success, Wodka Vodka. This time around he didn’t take on the “top shelf” market and attack bottle service, he created a stronghold in the value brand slot, frustrating the competition by importing Polish vodka and basing the brand on volume sales, fun billboard campaigns and, most importantly, keeping the price to the consumer reasonable while giving him the great taste of an ultra-premium brand.
Dale was able to take a portfolio of brands, lead, by Wodka Vodka public, prior to forming his own brand launchpad, Liquid Asset, a fully integrated food and beverage consultancy firm, that both holds stakes in brands and build brands for others within the space.
Sam Saunders (Founder) is an award-winning and globally-recognized creative leader and brand builder who has created in almost every industry and medium imaginable, from TV and print to digital, experiences and inventions.
As an active international speaker and thought- leader, Sam has spoken at numerous creative conferences around the world – including 16 talks at Cannes Lions. During his ad career, he worked with global powerhouses like M&C Saatchi, SS&K, JWT, VMLY&R, McCann, BBDO, Apple, and We Are Social – where he was the Chief Creation Officer for North America – as well as starting several ad and innovation agencies in NYC, one of which sold to a private equity group.
Sam also considers philanthropy as an important part of his life, co-founding Hopeland, an orphan charity, alongside Deborra-Lee Jackman (Furness) in NYC in 2014. Sam is currently based in Australia and is heading up Canvino's international expansion down-under.
Nicholas Schroeder (Founder) is a serial entrepreneur whose endeavors emphasize quality, endurance and irreplaceability. Fresh out of the Courant Institute for Mathematics, he tried his hand at the most entrepreneurial of occupations, options trading, specifically coffee options. The 2008 bull market in coffee left him feeling invincible so he turned his hand to food.
After that experience, his belief that the strength of the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf was stronger than ever. Nicholas then entered the alcohol industry with two of the best—James Dale and Agata Podedworny—as well as a third experienced in advertising—Sam Saunders—in 2015. Bringing Cangria to market ahead of the RTD explosion may seem like a mistake to some; but it is from those relationships with winemakers, grape growers, distributors and retailers that has allowed Canvino to rise quickly.
Nicholas is also closely involved in the management of his family firm Schroeder Environmental focusing on aspects like regulatory risk, government relations, bidding efficacy and investment.
Nicholas’s focus for Canvino is relentlessly on the unit economics and making sure the marginal revenue flows through to the bottom line.