Kind Of Wild Organic Wines Launch During Wild Time In World
Published May 6th, 2021 on Forbes
At a time that the world at large is struggling with the effects of Covid-19 and the wine world is grappling with the effects of US tariffs on wine imports from Europe, brothers Adam and Jordan Sager, who run wine import company Winesellers, Ltd., have launched Kind of Wild, the first globally sourced, vegan certified and organic wine brand to be directly marketed to consumers in the United States.
Kind of Wild takes its name from the idea of “rewilding” the planet so that it may return to its natural state. The brand is committed to sustainable farming, and at least 1% of its revenue will be donated to environmentally conscious partner foundations such as Kiss the Ground and the Organic Farming Research Foundation.
To help get the brand off the ground, the brothers set up a crowdfunding campaign and met their target within two weeks, raising over $20,000 on Indiegogo. Kind of Wild launched sales via its website on Earth Day, and the first bottles will reach consumers this month. The wine is made with grapes that are certified organic by CCOF and are vegan certified by BeVeg, which means that no animal products are used in their production.
While one-off purchases are possible, wine lovers are encouraged to subscribe to Club Wild in order to receive bottles on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly schedule. Initial offerings include a Syrah-Grenache Rosé from France, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner from Austria, an Italian Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Spanish Tempranillo-Garnacha blend, and a Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon blend hailing from Argentina. The total number of bottles across all six wines is just under 50,0000. All packaging, labeling and shipping components were chosen to utilize sustainable and responsibly sourced, minimal impact materials such as fully recyclable labels printed using sugar cane and hemp.
We spoke with Kind of Wild co-founder Adam Sager about the impetus for the brand and its unique position in the wine world.
World Wine Guys: What is your 30-second “elevator pitch” regarding Kind of Wild?
Adam Sager: Kind of Wild is a globally sourced collection of unique organic wines, delivered direct to your doorstep, that are produced from growers and winemakers working in harmony with nature rather than against it. Kind of Wild is devoted to “rewilding” the planet by working solely with organic grape growers devoted to regenerating their soils and improving environmental health.
The label concept shows a high quality and contemporary feel for brand positioning and layout, while imagery of a torn backdrop exposing the “wild side” appears in the background.
Each label will have its own unique, original illustration that will explore the positive association of humanity and nature. The imagery creates visual disruption and promotes a thought-provoking and kind-hearted response from the consumer.
Kind of Wild will donate to foundations and organizations that educate and support farmers, corporations, and consumers about the environmental benefits and needs of organic and regenerative farming.
WWG: How did you determine which producers to work with on this new brand?
AS: Jordan Sager (my brother and Co-Founder of Kind of Wild) and I first reached out to our basket of suppliers that farm organic grapes to see if they had interest in partnering with us to make wines with us for this new project. We have over 20 years of experience importing wines made with organic grapes [from countries such as] Argentina, Chile, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, so we have built strong relationships with top organic producers over the years. In addition to current suppliers, we started a few new relationships with producers through introductions from industry contacts. After tasting through many wines, we narrowed down our selection to six unique wines from six different countries. We will rotate the selections for the club and also keep the more successful ones in our site store. We want to introduce our customers to new discoveries and take them on a global organic tour of wine. The wines are most importantly varietally and regionally correct as well as delicious and they happen to be certified organic and certified vegan.
WWG: Why have you created Kind of Wild as a Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) brand?
AS: The truth is this brand would probably be very successful if it were sold through the traditional three-tier supply channel. It fits in with everything we do now, importing unique and diverse wines that taste great and over-deliver for their price point. In that model, Winesellers sells to Wholesaler A, Wholesaler A sells to restaurant B and retailer C, and restaurant B and retailer C sell to the consumer. Through this model we depend on many decision makers to execute and push our product through the supply chain. We’re competing for attention at every level, within the wholesaler, on the wine list or the store shelf. This model pushes brands to consumers and we rarely have an opportunity to communicate directly with the consumer; we depend on others to relay our messaging. We need more direct access to our customers, and we want to better understand their needs and preferences so we can capture their interest to pull them to our brand. We can control our message and dialogue directly with the consumers who drink our wine. So, by knowing our customers better, we will be better at everything we do. We’ve also experienced firsthand a surge in on-line wine sales. We will continue to work with this emerging e-channel with our portfolio of brands, but we want to have one brand that we could sell exclusively on our own direct to the consumer.
WWG: Who is the target customer for Kind of Wild?
AS:The Kind of Wild customer probably has a problem where she or he cannot find an abundance of affordable organic and vegan wine at their grocery store or wine retailer. They are frustrated because they want to drink great wines that are affordable but also better for their health and better for the environment. Or our customer may not know that it is even possible to get a diverse selection of great tasting organic and vegan certified wines. We won’t know our exact demographic until we’re a more developed brand, but we feel we will cater to vegans, young parents who want to drink healthier like they eat healthier, active 25 to 40-year olds that want to feel better about the brands they buy. Our brand has a strong environmental message as well. Our customers care about the environment and want to contribute to helping our planet, so they want to support brands that share their same mission.
WWG: With so much of the wine industry struggling right now, why did you and your brother decide to launch Kind of Wild at this time?
AS: We have a natural tendency to look forward. It’s been a ‘kind of wild’ 18 months: 25% tariffs, restaurant closures, a weakening US dollar, and now strange weather patterns affecting harvests in New Zealand and France. We naturally swim upstream. We have never been ones to follow everyone else. It’s been a busy year for sure, but we weren’t traveling so we were able to find time in our day to devote to Kind of Wild. We felt compelled, like an instinct that the timing was perfect to build something new during all of the chaos,