Key Takeaways
- The Waves, launched last year by an ex-Amazon tech leader and former GQ editor, is a monthly artisanal wine subscription service.
- The Seattle startup features small-batch winemaking through its network of more than 300 farmers.
- The wine subscription market is crowded, but the startup wants to differentiate with its product recommendation tool and extensive menu of small-batch wines. It also plans to generate buzz via editorial content.
Visiting small-batch winemakers on their farms, Andy Comer and Gaurav Tiwari sensed skepticism.
“We come from Seattle,” said Tiwari, a former Amazon tech leader. “So they’re like, ‘oh, tech bros.'”
The entrepreneurs were in the process of recruiting suppliers for The Waves, a new monthly artisanal wine subscription service powered by a product recommendation tool, editorial team, and global network of more than 300 small-batch winemakers.
The Seattle-based startup, founded last year, offers a platform with hundreds of bottles of wine. The company wants to tap into the $1 billion U.S. craft wine market, creating buzz around artisanal blends through content and expanded access to farmer-made wines. It’s part of its broader mission to sustain the practice of craft winemaking, said Comer, the first multimedia editor at Conde Nast’s GQ Magazine and a former creative director at Nordstrom.
The Waves’ launch comes after a bevy of new luxury wine subscription companies emerged during the pandemic. Subscribers to such services were up nearly 14-fold from their pre-pandemic levels in 2021, according to a report by Elite Traveler.
The idea to launch the startup came from a discovery that the virtual wine market is not equipped to handle automated wine recommendations. Tiwari identified three tactics companies use to predict customer tastes: sensory questionnaires, cross-recommendations, and item-based filtering.
- Sensory questionnaires profile a user based on their preferences in taste, smell, texture, and appearance.
- Cross-recommendation algorithms identify patterns in behavior and suggest items based on other users’ preferences. For instance, if one user likes pinot noir and merlot together, the system predicts that another pinot noir lover will also enjoy merlot.
- Lastly, item-based filtering recommends identical products from different brands.
These methods might work for recommending a movie or toothpaste brand, but they’re not effective at predicting the types of wines a customer might enjoy, said Tiwari, who worked at Amazon for nearly eight years. The best wine discovery experiences originate from a suggestion by a sommelier at a restaurant or retail store, he said.
“If we’re going to use technology, we need to translate those experiences,” Tiwari said.
By consulting with wine experts, the startup developed a method for suggesting wines. Here’s how it works:
- When a customer logs in, the platform asks the occasion for the wine, be it a dinner party or relaxing moment. Using this information, the algorithm spits out a list of wines that match the desired context.
- Users can then select their choice of wines from The Waves’ catalogue of more than 300 bottles, receiving up to 12 bottles a month based on their subscription tier.
- As users browse and shop, the model learns their preferences based on the “attributes” of the wines they select. Behind every grape is a unique data point identified by the sommeliers, including details about soil type, regional climates, and other factors. This information feeds back into the algorithm, forming a broader understanding of the customer’s preferred wine types.
Tiwari admitted that it will take time for the model to learn a customer’s preferences if users only buy a few bottles of wine per month.
The Waves offers three subscription tiers: two bottles per month ($70), six bottles per month ($200), and 12 bottles per month ($400). This averages to about $35 per bottle of wine. The company owns all of its inventory and works with a fulfillment company called Advatix in California. The supply chain consists of 350 farmers from around the world, with most based in the U.S. and France.
Launched about three months ago, the startup’s subscriber base is on pace to meet its target for its six-month projection. The company declined to provide a customer count.
Comer said the target market for the product will consist of environmentally-conscious consumers in the age range of 25 to 45, with a “reasonably high household income.”
The Waves wants to attract customers by using editorial content, featuring long-form coverage on the growth, processing, and fermentation of grapes by its small-batch winemakers. The content initiative is spearheaded by the startup’s Editor-in-Chief Kat Odell, a longtime journalist specializing in food and lifestyle media.
The wine subscription space is experiencing a surge. Seattle’s Irreverent Wine, founded by former Auth0 CFO Chris Dukelow, sells a monthly wine subscription service that includes a recyclable pouch. There are several wine club companies providing curated monthly wine deliveries. Auction platforms, like WineBid, previously headed by Seattle tech vet Russ Mann, are also part of the mix.
The Waves differentiates through its recommendation system and network of small-batch winemakers, Tiwari said. The company also sets itself apart through its expertise, he added.
Tiwari and Comer recruited longtime sommeliers Rajat Parr and Billy Smith. Parr is a three-time James Beard Award winner, while Smith last year won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program.
The Waves raised funding from a sole investor who invested through a private family office.
