IncentiaPay Limited (ASX:INP) has partnered with wine technology start-up Junovate and digital solutions provider, Spineka to launch_Entertainment Wine Community_, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketplace that connects customers with Australian wineries and enables them to purchase from multiple cellar doors in one transaction.
Entertainment Wine Community_will be an extension of IncentiaPay’s successful offers and rewards marketplace,_Entertainment. It will harness IncentiaPay’s highly engaged 700,000-strong Australian customer base providing them with access to a selected range of wines and winery experiences at promoted and recommended retail prices.
IncentiaPay will receive a percentage of all sales revenue in_Entertainment Wine Community_with Junovate managing the winery liaison and Spineka providing the technology platform marketplace.
Set to officially launch in early 2022,_Entertainment Wine Community_comes as wineries are pivoting to direct-to consumer sales channels to address a 23 per cent decrease in visitor numbers to cellar doors due to after 18 months of intermittent lockdowns2.
Notable Australian wine writer and Junovate co-founder, James Halliday says, “The wine industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years, from droughts, bushfires and the pandemic. The smaller wineries particularly are keen to grow their DTC audience, so now is really the time to get behind them. Over the past 18 months, we have been working to support wineries by encouraging wine lovers to buy direct through to support local and the community, and we’re excited to bring wineries and wine lovers our Cellardoor Challenge initiative, so joining with Entertainment Group to reach their customer base allows us to build on our efforts. We both share an ethos together through this partnership.”
IncentiaPay’s Group’s Chief Transformation Officer, and incoming CEO, Ani Chakraborty says, “At_Entertainment_, we’ve established ourselves as one of the country’s most innovative programs connecting local businesses with communities and consumers and look forward to extending this to support the wine industry. It’s no secret Australia is home to some of the world’s best wine, so we are thrilled to be launching_Entertainment Wine Community_to showcase the full breadth of what the industry has to offer. This unique new marketplace is a place where our wine lovers and wineries will meet, sharing amazing Australian wines, and great experiences.”
_Entertainment Wine Community_will be rolled out in two stages: Phase one is a recruitment drive to gain expressions of interest and onboarding of wineries commencing in November 2021; with the consumer launch to occur in early 2022.