Power Pitch

Start-up wants you to drink wine from a can

Start-up sells wine in a can
VIDEO4:0404:04
Start-up sells wine in a can
Drop Wine
Source: The Drop Wine

This start-up is chucking the bottle and trying to get Americans to pick up a four-pack – of wine.

"We know that traditionally women in the U.S. are the target consumer for wine, [but] we think that young men are a really overlooked segment," says Alexis Beechen, the co-founder and CEO of The Drop Wine. "So we're creating a brand that works for both men and women."

The Drop Wine sells three different varieties of wine in four-pack cans: Cali Rose (11 percent alcohol by volume), Cali White (12 percent ABV) and Cali Red (13 percent ABV). A four-pack retails for $19.99 on the company's website.

"The mission of The Drop Wine is to bring wine off the white tablecloth and into the real world," Beechen tells CNBC. "We partner with a fifth-generation wine-making family and combine their California wine with our eco-friendly mobile cans."

Drop Wine
Source: The Drop Wine

The Drop Wine, headquartered in New York, launched in May 2016, and, according to Beechen, sold out within 14 weeks. To date, it's sold more than 360,000 cans of wine (90,000 cases) and has partnered with hotels, music venues and sports arenas.

With U.S. wine sales hitting a record $34.1 billion in 2016, up 4.6 percent from the previous year, The Drop Wine expects its sales to continue to grow.

Prior to launching The Drop Wine, Beechen worked on the successful "Most Interesting Man" campaign for Dos Equis, which reportedly helped boost sales 22 percent.

Drop Wine
Source: The Drop Wine

"So much of alcohol is creating a lifestyle, creating a world around the product," Beechen says. "Dos Equis did that amazingly well, so what we learned from that – I've been able to bring into The Drop."

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