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Going Against the Grain w/ Malek Amrani, The Vice

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Manage episode 374804391 series 3248251
Content provided by Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

In a valley of ever-increasing prices, Malek Amrani of The Vice, is trying to bring value and discovery to Napa. Producing 18 varietals from 16 sub-regions, The Vice showcases the full spectrum of Napa Valley at $29 a bottle. Malek is “going against the grain” in many ways - focusing on value, discovery, and underserved markets to build The Vice brand for the long run.


Detailed Show Notes:

“The Vice” named after Malek’s main vice of wine

  • Focused on value and discovery of Napa Valley

Production

  • 27k cases total
  • ~65% house tier, ~30% single vineyard tier (~20 wines/year), ~5% ultra-premium
  • #1 SKU is House Napa Cab - ~11k cases
  • They make 18 varietals, from 14-16 sub-regions w/in Napa, a little bit of Russian River Pinot and Chardonnay
  • Sources both fruit and bulk wine

Cost mitigation measures

  • Secure better pricing through pre-paying for grapes
  • Being proactive - purchasing fruit from southern Napa vineyards in 2020 that weren’t impacted by fires, talked to 12-15 glass distributors to mitigate the 200-300% price increases

Focused on the wholesale channel (~80% of sales)

  • Spends ~75% of the time outside Napa working markets
  • In 2020, traveled every month except April working w/ retailers -> 100% success rate, added 400 retailers in NYC
  • FL/TX buy more single vineyard wines; NY/NE - very House tier driven, CA/CO - good mix
  • FL - a red wine state (driven by Boomers), NY - big in orange wine, nearly outsold House Cab in spring 2023

Customer demographics

  • Equal split - Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials / GenZ
  • Orange wine (~3,500 cases) - 75% Millennials / GenZ, ~25% Gen X
  • Single vineyard Cabs - ~85% Baby Boomers & Gen X, Millennials focused on lower price points
  • Appellations important primarily to Boomers who grew up with Napa becoming famous, Gen X sees Napa as a symbol of status, Millennials/GenZ appellation less critical, more price-driven
  • Believes Napa will remain important, driven by tourism - 4M visitors/year

Orange vs. Rosé

  • Swapped production of rosé wine for orange wine
  • Believes rosé hit the ceiling in 2019 - rose a more social drink, also very vintage driven with closeouts on prior vintages damaging brands

Spirits vs. wine marketing

  • Spirits has lots of product innovation, e.g., many flavors of vodka -> led to The Vice producing many different varietals and Napa sub-regions
  • Spirits spend millions on advertising -> likely would not work for wine; better for the brand to be built account by account w/ gatekeepers

Consumer awareness of The Vice

  • 2020/2021 - spent heavily on Google, FB/IG ads, had to shift when Sept 2021 privacy laws changed
  • Awareness from a lot of referrals and through retail placements
  • Some social media, in-person visits, and press/media - ratings are still important
  • Pair wine w/ other vices - e.g., cannabis, candy, ice cream
  • Thinks about pairing w/ the senses - e.g., vision (most important), hearing, smell (linked to memory and emotion) - instrumental hip hop, sex toys for a bachelorette party
  • Works under targeted regions - e.g., Staten Island and the Bronx retailers
  • Likes to go against the grain - be more value-oriented vs. higher end

Get access to library episodes


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  continue reading

173 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 374804391 series 3248251
Content provided by Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

In a valley of ever-increasing prices, Malek Amrani of The Vice, is trying to bring value and discovery to Napa. Producing 18 varietals from 16 sub-regions, The Vice showcases the full spectrum of Napa Valley at $29 a bottle. Malek is “going against the grain” in many ways - focusing on value, discovery, and underserved markets to build The Vice brand for the long run.


Detailed Show Notes:

“The Vice” named after Malek’s main vice of wine

  • Focused on value and discovery of Napa Valley

Production

  • 27k cases total
  • ~65% house tier, ~30% single vineyard tier (~20 wines/year), ~5% ultra-premium
  • #1 SKU is House Napa Cab - ~11k cases
  • They make 18 varietals, from 14-16 sub-regions w/in Napa, a little bit of Russian River Pinot and Chardonnay
  • Sources both fruit and bulk wine

Cost mitigation measures

  • Secure better pricing through pre-paying for grapes
  • Being proactive - purchasing fruit from southern Napa vineyards in 2020 that weren’t impacted by fires, talked to 12-15 glass distributors to mitigate the 200-300% price increases

Focused on the wholesale channel (~80% of sales)

  • Spends ~75% of the time outside Napa working markets
  • In 2020, traveled every month except April working w/ retailers -> 100% success rate, added 400 retailers in NYC
  • FL/TX buy more single vineyard wines; NY/NE - very House tier driven, CA/CO - good mix
  • FL - a red wine state (driven by Boomers), NY - big in orange wine, nearly outsold House Cab in spring 2023

Customer demographics

  • Equal split - Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials / GenZ
  • Orange wine (~3,500 cases) - 75% Millennials / GenZ, ~25% Gen X
  • Single vineyard Cabs - ~85% Baby Boomers & Gen X, Millennials focused on lower price points
  • Appellations important primarily to Boomers who grew up with Napa becoming famous, Gen X sees Napa as a symbol of status, Millennials/GenZ appellation less critical, more price-driven
  • Believes Napa will remain important, driven by tourism - 4M visitors/year

Orange vs. Rosé

  • Swapped production of rosé wine for orange wine
  • Believes rosé hit the ceiling in 2019 - rose a more social drink, also very vintage driven with closeouts on prior vintages damaging brands

Spirits vs. wine marketing

  • Spirits has lots of product innovation, e.g., many flavors of vodka -> led to The Vice producing many different varietals and Napa sub-regions
  • Spirits spend millions on advertising -> likely would not work for wine; better for the brand to be built account by account w/ gatekeepers

Consumer awareness of The Vice

  • 2020/2021 - spent heavily on Google, FB/IG ads, had to shift when Sept 2021 privacy laws changed
  • Awareness from a lot of referrals and through retail placements
  • Some social media, in-person visits, and press/media - ratings are still important
  • Pair wine w/ other vices - e.g., cannabis, candy, ice cream
  • Thinks about pairing w/ the senses - e.g., vision (most important), hearing, smell (linked to memory and emotion) - instrumental hip hop, sex toys for a bachelorette party
  • Works under targeted regions - e.g., Staten Island and the Bronx retailers
  • Likes to go against the grain - be more value-oriented vs. higher end

Get access to library episodes


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  continue reading

173 episodes

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