Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading
beverage alcohol company, announced today its purchase of Empathy
Wines, a high-performing, digitally-native wine brand and
direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform co-founded by entrepreneur and
media personality Gary Vaynerchuk with business partners Jon
Troutman and Nate Scherotter. Empathy Wines focuses on producing
high quality, sustainably made wines, sold direct-to-consumer
through its eCommerce platform, powered by consumer insights and
content-driven digital marketing.
This move aligns with Constellation’s wine and spirits vision to
be a bold and innovative, high-end portfolio of distinctive brands
and products that deliver exceptional consumer experiences. As part
of the agreement, Constellation will work with the Empathy Wines
team to further scale the brand’s growth, while leveraging their
rich consumer insights and analytics, proven brand building
expertise, and high-performing digital technology to build DTC and
digital capabilities that Constellation intends to scale across its
wine and spirits brands to help deliver strong and sustainable
growth for its portfolio.
“We are committed to transforming our wine and spirits business
into a high-performing brand portfolio that consistently delivers
growth and shareholder value,” said Bill Newlands, president and
chief executive officer, Constellation Brands. “Key to our strategy
is being consumer obsessed – building a direct relationship with
our consumers, meeting them where they are shopping and engaging
today, and pushing beyond to meet their evolving preferences well
into the future. We believe Empathy Wines has the right team and
approach to help us deliver exceptional brands and experiences to
our consumers, and thereby industry-leading growth, by expediting
our ability to more deeply connect with consumers and build the
strongest direct-to-consumer and digital commerce business in the
category.”
Vaynerchuk (founder of VaynerMedia and Creator and Host of Wine
Library TV) and former VaynerMedia executives Troutman and
Scherotter, set out to create quality wines made of grapes sourced
from sustainable growers, and at a $20 per bottle price point that
benefits both the consumer and the farmer. Empathy Wines has gained
traction quickly with consumers, propelled by the founding
partners’ expertise in scaling consumer brands and building brand
equity in a digitally-native way, while providing an elevated
purchasing and delivery experience to the consumer. The brand has
experienced impressive growth since its initial product launch in
2019, selling approximately 15,000 cases and acquiring more than
2,000 subscription customers to date.
“Our ability to understand and ‘empathize’ with the modern-day
wine consumer’s behavior, wants, and needs has been proven through
Empathy’s incredible growth,” said Vaynerchuk. “We are excited to
replicate this modern-day, consumer-centric approach at a larger
scale, and with more infrastructure, working with a portfolio of
some of the most iconic brands in the world of wine, and with
leadership that is making investments in a quickly evolving
category.”
As part of the transaction, the Empathy Wines brand will be
integrated into Constellation’s wine and spirits brand portfolio.
Empathy Wines employees, including co-founders Jon and Nate, will
join the Constellation Brands family and work together with its
wine and spirits organization. Vaynerchuk will continue to assist
Constellation Brands and Empathy Wines in a consulting capacity.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis news release
contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than
statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The
words “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These
statements may relate to business strategy, future operations,
prospects, plans and objectives of management, as well as
information concerning expected actions of third parties. All
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those set
forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and should not be construed in any manner as a
guarantee that such results will in fact occur or will occur on any
contemplated timetable. All forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date of this news release and Constellation Brands
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
In addition to risks and uncertainties associated with ordinary
business operations, the forward-looking statements contained in
this news release are subject to other risks and uncertainties,
including the accuracy of all projections and other factors and
uncertainties disclosed from time-to-time in Constellation Brands’
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 29,
2020, which could cause actual future performance to differ from
current expectations. ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS
At Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), our mission is to
build brands that people love because we believe sharing a toast,
unwinding after a day, celebrating milestones, and helping people
connect, are Worth Reaching For. It’s worth our dedication, hard
work, and the bold calculated risks we take to deliver more for our
consumers, trade partners, shareholders, and communities in which
we live and work. It’s what has made us one of the fastest-growing
large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our
pursuit to deliver what’s next.
Today, we are a leading international producer and marketer of
beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New
Zealand, and Italy. Every day, people reach for our high-end,
iconic imported beer brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light,
Corona Premier, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico, and
our high-quality premium wine and spirits brands, including the
Robert Mondavi Brand Family, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, The Prisoner
Brand Family, SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West
Whiskey.
But we won’t stop here. Our visionary leadership team and
passionate employees from barrel room to boardroom are reaching for
the next level, to explore the boundaries of the beverage alcohol
industry and beyond. Join us in discovering what’s Worth Reaching
For.
To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrands and visit
www.cbrands.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS |
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS |
Mike McGrew 773-251-4934 /
michael.mcgrew@cbrands.comAlex Wagner 415-328-3172 /
alex.wagner@cbrands.com |
Patty Yahn-Urlaub 585-678-7483 /
patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.comBob Czudak 585-678-7170 /
bob.czudak@cbrands.com |
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A downloadable PDF copy of this news release enhanced with
multimedia links can be found
here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/7ff01b2a-3f49-4910-980b-59c9b598b51f
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