San Francisco-based Vinebox, a subscription wine service, has secured $5.9 million in funding. Harbinger Ventures led the round. The capital infusion will be used to expand its team and scale its online distribution.
PRESS RELEASE
January 18, 2019 – San Francisco, CA – VINEBOX Inc., parent company for VINEBOX and Usual, launched in 2016, by Rachel Vodofsky and Matt Dukes has raised $5.9 million in funding led by Harbinger Ventures. VINEBOX Inc. will use the funds to expand their San Francisco based team and further scale their online distribution.
VINEBOX is a quarterly subscription service which sources nine exclusive, hand-selected wines from around the world and sends them directly to members in patented “by the glass” bottles. This allows members to discover new wines and explore their own taste preferences without committing to full-sized bottles. Members are then able to purchase bottles of their favorites. VINEBOX has maintained a 3-year CAGR of 200%, shipping over one million glasses of wine across the US. Annual membership ($72), Quarterly membership ($79), or One-time order option ($87).
VINEBOX is also well-known for its wine advent calendar, Twelve Nights of Wine. Since innovating the concept in 2016, the product has experienced explosive growth and sold out for three years in a row.
Usual is a new brand in wine which removes the compromise associated with smaller formats. Delivering small-lot, premium wines in a new patented single-serving sized bottle, Usual offers a proprietary red blend from Sonoma County and a rosé from Santa Barbara, available in 6, 12 or 24-pack quantities. ($48, $96, $192)
Harbinger Ventures prides itself in providing growth-equity capital and strategic resources to the next generation of female leaders that have demonstrated exceptional proof-of-concept in attractive consumer categories.
“We were incredibly impressed with what Rachel and Matt have built in the wine category,” said Megan Bent, Founder, Managing Partner at Harbinger Ventures. “The scale and efficiency of what they have achieved in a short period, is truly remarkable. VINEBOX brings a unique perspective around product, brand and business model to a compelling consumer in a very large category, and we are thrilled to partner with such a talented team for their next phase of growth.”
“VINEBOX and Usual are simply about making quality wine fun and accessible,” said Rachel Vodofsky, COO and Co-Founder of VINEBOX. “We are excited to partner with Harbinger Ventures, who not only supports and is committed to our vision but is a firm that champions female entrepreneurs to elevate the next generation of women in business.”
ABOUT VINEBOX INC.:
You won’t find anything mass produced here. We are about the little guys, the stories behind the wine, the towns and the terroirs. After all, that’s what makes good wine great. It’s the details, the passion, and the people. We combine old-world access with our patented fractioning technology to bring the experience to you, our member. Life is too short to drink bad wine and we’re here to help.
In regards to our technology – we use a closed-nitrogen environment to prevent the wines from ever coming in contact with oxygen. The use of inert gas allows the wines to maintain their complete bouquet, flavor profile and mouthfeel throughout the fractionation process. Once the wine settles in its new home, it’s stable with no flaws, for up to three years. Even with this longevity, we suggest you drink them before that, because they’re just that good.
ABOUT HARBINGER VENTURES:
Harbinger Ventures is a leading growth-equity investment firm focused on identifying and scaling high-growth companies in the consumer sector. Harbinger works exclusively with early-stage companies that are led by female or mixed-gender founder teams, and incentivizes collaboration among its portfolio companies by giving each entrepreneur an equity stake in the portfolio. By investing solely in companies that address significant market gaps and are led by female or mixed-gender founder teams, Harbinger curates a cohesive portfolio of companies that are structured to yield consistent, risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit http://harbingerventures.com.
