Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (NYSE American: VINE), the leading
producer of premium lower carb, lower sugar, and lower calorie
wines in the United States, celebrated its first year as a public
company today, noting its significant progress and outlining
several strategic initiatives to unlock the company’s growth
potential and deliver shareholder value.
Rick Nechio, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Vine Wine,
added, “On behalf of our entire organization, I am extremely proud
to celebrate Fresh Vine Wine’s first year as a public company. I
especially want to thank our shareholders, who have supported us as
our Award Winning wines essentially created a disruptive new space
in the wine industry. To date, we have established a strong base in
the direct-to-consumer (online), retail, and wholesale distribution
channels as we work to increase brand awareness, education, and
engagement with customers. As we continue to execute and refine our
sales and marketing strategy, we are actively launching digital and
promotional campaigns that we believe will accelerate products to
market and generate subsequent revenues. While we have
predominantly focused on establishing a scalable platform and
preparing for future growth this year, we believe we are positioned
to realize the fruits of our labor in 2023 and beyond.”
The major components of the Company’s strategy are outlined
below.
We Are Focusing in the Fastest Growing Wine
CategorySimilar to other progressive developments in the
Food & Beverage industry, consumer preferences increasingly
demonstrate a demand for a “Better for You” wine alternative. By
bringing Fresh Vine Wine to market, the company has provided a
solution to consumers’ unmet needs and delivered an innovative
product that compliments their healthy and active lifestyles. Fresh
Vine Wine’s product development and launch efforts are being
rewarded as consumers take notice. Nielsen scan data for the 52
weeks ending Nov 30th, 2022, indicates that Fresh Vine Wine retail
sales are up 290%, with our 92 Point Cabernet Sauvignon
showing year-over-year growth of 314% over this period.
Similarly, retailers have also noted this growing trend and are
allocating more shelf space to healthy food and beverage options,
including wine. To this end, we are investing in brand awareness
and education to help retailers understand the benefits and
possibilities of healthy wine choices. We want Fresh Vine Wine to
be synonymous with “Better for You” in the minds of both consumers
and retailers, simplifying purchasing decisions and helping our
consumers find healthy wine wherever they shop, much as grocers
have already done with products across numerous other
categories.
Leverage Multiple Distribution NetworksThe
company is working tirelessly to establish its brand presence in
the direct-to-consumer (online), retail, and wholesale distribution
channels. In the past year, the company has built a presence in 47
states, formed vendor relationships with four of the five largest
wine distributors in the United States, has grown to 6,249 points
of distribution, and is working with 138 retail chains.
Collectively, this expansion has driven a ~300% annual increase in
points of distribution.
Direct-to-Consumer (Online)Providing a simplistic purchasing
experience for today’s digitally savvy customers, Fresh Vine Wine
has upgraded its online presence to allow individuals to purchase
wine directly through its website, omnichannel and other ecommerce
wine purveyors. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) performance has been
exceptional this year, reaching 6,304 zip codes in the United
States with more than 57,432 bottles sold online this year.
Moreover, website transactions are accelerating largely as a result
of the company’s digital initiatives, which included the launch of
its own smart shopping cart and convenient check-out methods
offered by best-in-class digital payment processing vendors.
Additionally, the company entered into several partnerships in
2022 with the country’s leading online wine purveyors (Vivino,
Wine.com) and delivery services (Drizly, Instacart, Gopuff, and
DoorDash).
RetailOne of the Company’s strategic initiatives is to make our
products available at the largest retailers in the United States.
In 2022, the Company made significant progress toward this and now
has a presence with the country’s three largest retailers, one of
which has recently increased the number of stores stocking Fresh
Vine Wine by 80%. Having engaged an experienced digital marketing
agency to implement new digital strategies and marketing
initiatives, Fresh Vine Wine’s retailers are now seeing an
acceleration in inventory turnover and an increase in in-store
sales.
WholesaleAs the company’s most significant source of revenues,
Fresh Vine Wine continues to deepen and expand its wholesale
relationships. With four of the five largest wholesalers now
working to distribute Fresh Vine Wine across the country, the
company is actively supporting in-market execution with various
marketing efforts, promotional programs, and pricing models. With
these capabilities now defined and many early challenges behind us,
the company will shift its focus in 2023 to execution excellence,
delivering more value to our wholesale and retail partners with
greater efficiency and effectiveness. Develop a Growing
Portfolio of High-Quality, Award-Winning WinesDuring 2022
the Company expanded its portfolio from 3 to 7 varietals. With a
reasonably robust product portfolio now in place, the company has
not only gained credibility for the quality and breadth of its
varietals but has sufficient inventory to meet growing consumer
demand. The company’s wines were recognized by various industry
authorities with 16 separate awards last year, which is a testament
to the value that our winemaker, Jamey Whetstone, brings to the
company. While the company has evaluated potential future
varietals, its immediate focus is to sell through its available
inventory with a focus on cash conversion.
Right Sized and Strengthened the OrganizationAs
Fresh Vine Wine matures, it has made several organizational changes
that have right-sized the company and introduced several
significant capabilities. On the marketing front, the company
engaged a new digital marketing agency and enlisted the services of
a wine and celebrity-focused sales organization. This shift has
enabled the Company to convert a significant percentage of Salaries
& Wages and Advertising & Marketing expenses from a fixed
cost basis to a performance- and equity-based compensation
model.
These changes not only properly incent performance but support
the company’s ongoing cash preservation efforts. Collectively,
structural revisions have reduced the Company’s H2 2022 cash
requirement by more than $5.0 million, preserving capital for our
highest strategic priorities and investments while providing
additional runway for the growth strategy to gain traction in
market.
Mr. Nechio concluded, “Over the course of the past year we have
developed a clear vision of our role and opportunity in the Wine
Industry. At the same time, we are shepherding the organization
through significant operational changes to lower costs and improve
overall productivity. We are confident in our strategy and believe
we have the right plans in place to achieve sustainable growth
across each sales channel.”Press contact
– FreshVineWine@jonesworks.comIR contact
– Joeh@gregoryfca.com
About Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.Fresh Vine Wine,
Inc. (NYSE American: VINE) is a premier producer of lower carb,
lower calorie premium wines in the United States, kicking off a
2022 growth plan following its IPO in mid-December 2021. Fresh Vine
Wine's brand vision is to lead the emerging natural and accessible
premium wine category, as health trends continue to accelerate in
the US marketplace. The 2020 US wine market was a $69 billion
category. Fresh Vine Wine plans to accelerate growth in 2022 by
amplifying its marketing, expanding product offerings, and
expanding its team. Fresh Vine Wine positions its core brand lineup
as an affordable luxury, retailing between $14.99-$24.99. Fresh
Vine Wine's varietals currently include its Cabernet Sauvignon,
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rosé.Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release includes forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be
identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect,"
"plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "forecast,"
"goal," "project," and other words of similar meaning. These
forward-looking statements address various matters including
statements regarding the timing or nature of future operating or
financial performance or other events. Each forward-looking
statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks
and uncertainties include, among others, our ability to achieve
positive cash flow from our operations on our anticipated
timeframes or at all; the inclusion of the Company’s wines in Fall
resets of four national, big box grocery retailers and the impact
of such inclusion of the Company’s operating results; the Company's
ability to hire additional personnel and to manage the growth of
its business; the Company's reliance on its brand name, reputation
and product quality; the Company's ability to adequately address
increased demands that may be placed on its management, operational
and production capabilities; the effectiveness of the Company's
advertising and promotional activities and investments; the
Company's reliance on celebrities to endorse its wines and market
its brand; general competitive conditions; fluctuations in consumer
demand for wine; overall decline in the health of the economy and
consumer discretionary spending; the occurrence of adverse weather
events, natural disasters, public health emergencies, or other
unforeseen circumstances that may cause delays to or interruptions
in the Company's operations; risks associated with disruptions in
the Company's supply chain for grapes and raw and processed
materials; the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on the Company's
customers, suppliers, business operations and financial results;
disrupted or delayed service by the distributors the Company relies
on for the distribution of its wines; the Company's ability to
successfully execute its growth strategy; the Company's success in
retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, its officers, key
employees or directors; the Company's ability to protect its
trademarks and other intellectual property rights; the Company's
ability to comply with laws and regulations affecting its business,
including those relating to the manufacture, sale and distribution
of wine; claims, demands and lawsuits to which the Company are or
may be subject and the risk that its insurance or indemnities
coverage may not be sufficient; the Company's ability to operate,
update or implement its IT systems; the Company's ability to
successfully pursue strategic acquisitions and integrate acquired
businesses; the Company's potential ability to obtain additional
financing when and if needed; the Company's founders' significant
influence over the Company; and the risks identified in the
Company's other filings with the SEC. The Company cautions
investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to
read the Company's filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov,
for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The
forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of
the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation
to update or revise any of these statements. The Company's business
is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those
referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should
give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
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