A winery start up was nervous they did not belong within a regional wine producing region as their interests and strengths did not fall within the traditional confines of the winery marketplace. They saw two paths ahead, to conform to what appeared to be industry standards, or forge a unique path. Both were ripe with risk. The traditional path felt comfortable in that established business norms seemed to cater to a large customer base, but product differentiation would be difficult. The other path was a complete unknown. Happy Chance helped mobilize founding members’ uniqueness into a business model that helped them standout in a crowded market, quickly find a loyal customer group, and win Winery of the Year within their home state in their second year of operation.

The Problem.

Traditional wine markets sell expertise, terroir, and other dubiously valuable signals of “in-ness”. Both consumers and winery start ups alike are brought up within the confines of a coded, highly marketed industry where quality and their signifiers are not readily agreed upon by industry experts, let alone consumers. Creating a winery that was respectful to, but unbound by these traditions was a significant risk to a family starting a winery in a highly competitive environment. Taking a different path needed to be justified by data and real numbers.

The Solution.

Happy Chance identified an adjacent industry that readily embraced uniqueness to clarify a path forward for the winery start up. Looking at the creative imperative of microbreweries, Happy Chance was able to identify a crossover market and unmet demand for a winery with the adventurous spirit readily displayed in the beer world. By discussing directly with brewery owners, conducting informal surveys within craft beer specific message boards, and finding product overlap between beer and wine segments, data pointed at a clear opportunity. Further solidifying the idea, the family were avid craft beer fans who more readily identified as beer people than wine people. The idea immediately registered.

Positioning itself as a winery with a craft brewery’s penchant for experimentation, Red Fox Cellars was able to adopt the story into every facet of the business from logo design through to product development. The result was a well defined brand and story that found a sympathetic, loyal audience almost immediately. The story provided a confidence giving backbone to start up activities that unified employees by mobilizing their existing expertise and knowledge. This also codified a maverick attitude within the business that has been brand affirming from the start. Upon opening, Red Fox Cellars received media attention from local and national news outlets, and saw product interest outpace initial production. The initial growth strategy of the company was surpassed in the initial months of the business, resulting in a rapid production expansion and opening of distribution channels not originally within the business plan. Red Fox Cellars received Colorado Winery of the Year in just its second year of existence, and was cash flow positive within the same time frame, vastly outpacing winery industry standards. Once nervously moving toward opening a business with little brand differentaition , Red Fox instead chose to embrace story and uniqueness and is now a leader and well known winery in Colorado.