Humble Grape

Idea

Introduction

Humble Grape is a fast growing wine bar brand, and named as ‘Notable Newcomer’ by the Financial Times.

We import over 300 artisan wines from 12 countries, and offer these direct to customers in our wine bars/shops and online. The wines we sell are handcrafted, biodynamic, organic or sustainably produced. We import directly from the vineyard, so avoid markups for agents and distributors.

Our bar interiors are impactful and unique – fashioned from champagne riddling rack and contemporary cork.

Our focus is on customer experience and outstanding service. We know each of our winemakers personally and share the stories behind the wines.

Our 4 sites were all profitable within the first 6 months.*

We are launching a large flagship site in Canary Wharf in Q2 2019 and plan to launch a further 1-2 each year thereafter.

We also have a wine club, wine bank and a wine school.

*Source: Unaudited Management Accounts.

Intended impact

We see that the consumer is becoming increasingly aware of inflated prices and poor production techniques of mass produced wines. The craft beers/spirits market is booming but, given the timelines required to produce quality craft wines, we consider that there is no wine brand yet with an equivalent offering.

We have longterm relationships with our winemakers and import over 300 wines from 12 different countries, and are continuously building our portfolio.

We aim to deliver a unique customer experience, complete with anecdotes direct from the vineyard and alternative tasting notes. Our staff are all passionate about wine, trained daily on our products, and love their job.

Customers can ‘drink in’ with great quality food, or take home at retail price. They can attend winemaker dinners, tastings, join our wine club or attend our wine school.

This 360º customer experience and approachable way to enjoy wine, has proven to foster loyalty, which we believe will continue to grow with each new site.

Substantial accomplishments to date

Humble Grape was founded in 2009 when James Dawson began importing wines from small family-owned vineyards and ran pop-up tastings around London.

In 2014, Humble Grape raised £535K to take the brand to the high street.

The first Humble Grape wine bar and shop (a neighbourhood site in Battersea, London) opened in June 2015, and was profitable within the first 6 months, to 170% the initial forecast 12 month gross revenue*.Then the second, larger site in Fleet Street, Central London, opened in May 2016 – within 6 months, the revenue was already above that forecast for the year*.

Further openings in Islington and Liverpool street have proved equally successful.

Humble Grape bars have generated a huge buzz in the industry and are fast becoming renowned for their unique interior, quality of the wines and service. Since the launch of our Battersea bar, we’ve received over 300 press endorsements, including features in The Telegraph, The Guardian, alongside influential newsletters such as The Nudge, Emerald Street and Sheerluxe.

The Fleet Street site was named as ‘Notable Newcomer’ by the Financial Times, and listed as Time Out’s Bar of the Week, two months after opening.
The Battersea site has been consistently the #1 Best Bar in London on TripAdvisor and in the top twenty of the tens of thousands of restaurants in London and recently voted Most Loved in Battersea by Time Out readers.

And for two years running we’ve been awarded Best Wine Retailer of the Year by Time and Leisure.

Monetisation strategy

We have four main revenue streams which interconnect seamlessly from a product, service and sales and marketing perspective.

Wine bars and shops – We import directly allowing us to maintain margins across the wines that we offer. We can also increase spend per head by up-selling retail wines to take home by the case or half-case.

Online – Sales direct from our site and via third-party sites/Apps, such as Deliveroo, UberEats and online luxury gifts and experiences retailers.

Wine club/wine bank – The margins can be substantial, and because we sell to our existing customers in the bar and via email and we don't discount, our acquisition costs can be much lower than many of our competitors, contributing to a highly favourable customer lifetime value.

Wine school and events – We receive daily event enquires, so we anticipate strong growth in events with each new site. Many events in London are for corporate clients and the budgets and spend per head are high.

Use of proceeds

We will use the funds to accelerate our growth.

We consider that the timing is perfect for us to create optimal growth in this sector of the industry. We will use the funds to open our fifth site.

Working with an industry consultant we already have a clear plan to significantly enhance in-bar retail sales, using enticing visual merchandising displays and cleverly branded point of sale materials.

We plan to rapidly grow our new wine school, offering customers WSET accredited courses delivered in our unique brand style.

Working with an experienced consultant exec chef we aim to improve our food offering in terms of broadness - Breakfast to late dining. Profitability and appeal.

Funds will also allow us to hire ahead of earnings:.
- Marketing Manager.
- Finance Manager.

Important information

Please note that the company has two loans totalling £186,029. The first of these loans totalling £147,248 matures in June 2021 and the second totalling £38,781 matures in June 2020.

The company also has A and B shares. The shares carry equal rights, except in the event of a liquidation of the company in which case holders of A shares will receive a preferential return equal to the original subscription price of the A Shares and any arrears owed to them. Any balance of capital will be distributed on a pro rata basis to both A and B shareholders. The original subscription price for the A shares was £125k. Seedrs investors will receive B shares.