- The round was through CapTable, an equity crowdfunding platform that allows retail investors to invest in startups;
- The goal of the startup is to conclude 2021 with revenues exceeding BRL 3.3 million and in 2022 to reach the number of BRL 6.7 million.
Canned wine? Yes, it can. This is the bet of the startup Lovin’ Wine, which has just received an investment of BRL 2 million in a round of crowdfunding with 322 investors. The trade of wines in unusual packaging, that is, without the glass bottle, is a business model that has attracted Brazilian startups. Fabenne, for instance, created in 2017, offers wine in a box, or “bag-in-box”.
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The market these startups are looking at is the rise of wine consumption amid the pandemic in Brazil. According to Ideal Consulting, wine consumption in Brazil rose 30% in 2020, which means 2.78 liters of the drink per adult, a Brazilian record.
Lovin’ Wine is also betting on “breaking the formalities that still exist around drinking wine”, with canned wine. And a lot of people are backing its idea: the fundraising of BRL 2 million had BRL 1.55 million reserved in less than 24 hours, and had the contribution of three executives with a background in the beverage market. The round was through CapTable, an equity crowdfunding platform that allows retail investors to invest in startups.
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Eduardo Glitz, a co-founder at Lovin’, explains that the investment is part of a strategy to build a team of investors who will become brand ambassadors. The proceeds will be used for new product launches, marketing, and working capital maintenance.
“The round will contribute to the company’s expansion process, which aims, besides to increasing the assortment, to operate more efficiently and improve the customer’s experience in e-commerce purchases. It will allow us to be present in marketplaces that fit with the brand, also to being present in the main delivery platforms, offering convenience,” he said, in a press release.
Lovin’ put its products on the market in July 2020 with two options: White and Rosé. Until December, the company had revenues of more than BRL 1 million from the sale of more than 50,000 cans.
In November, by the way, Lovin’ broke a sales record: more than 10,000 units were sold through the startup’s e-commerce, with São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul states among the main markets. The startup’s goal is to complete 2021 with a turnover of more than BRL 3.3 million and in 2022 to reach a figure of BRL 6.7 million.
The startup was originally structured as a DNVB (Digitally Native Vertical Brand), which carries out its entire process, from manufacturing to product delivery to end users, through digital channels as a point of sale.
However, the good numbers made the brand change its strategy, and start selling in brick-and-mortar stores. The first place to receive the brand was the Sam’s Club concept store, in the São Paulo’s Morumbi neighborhood. Since then, Lovin’ has been present on the St. Marché chain, in São Paulo, and also on Amazon, where it is already the best-selling rosé wine on the platform and the fourth wine in general.
“This new moment will allow us to establish ourselves in the main physical points, markets, restaurants, bars, which have synergy with Lovin, aiming to serve the customer wherever he is”, concludes Glitz.
The brand is also preparing the arrival of a new option to the catalog, Rosé Dry, a fine dry rosé wine. The filling is scheduled to happen until April 26th and the 15,000 cans that will be part of the first batch of Rosé Dry will be available to the public in Lovin’s e-commerce in early May.
“We expect to sell this lot in up to three months and then deliver a new shipment. We are working with the idea that at the end of the year the new Rosé Dry will represent 20% of the turnover ”, said João Paulo Sattamini, CEO of Lovin’.
