Entrepreneur creates wine bottle that fits through a letterbox
The 29-year-old came up with the idea for the business four years ago when talking about Graze, a subscription service for healthy food, with a friend.
750ml plastic bottle
The friend loved wine, but worked in the city and was not able to get wine sent to the office he worked in, and was often out when bottles were delivered to his home.
Revell realized there was a gap in the market and set about designing a classic Bordeaux-style 750ml plastic bottle with a company in China, which is thinner and slightly longer.
Revell said his target market is primarily 18-40 year olds, living and working in the city and people who lead busy lives but want to try different types of wine.
The entrepreneur has now been selected to star in Pop Up, Start Up, a TV show by CNBC and Alibaba, where 12 start-ups/SMEs go head to head to win a £20,000 cash prize.
The first episode aired on December 16.
“Competing in the TV show has meant we have been able to expand from an ambitious idea on paper, to fully manufacturing our much-loved bottles and packaging,” said Revell.
“Meeting and working with the other competitors has been an inspiring exercise and it has been a great experience seeing the new and innovative products people are creating.
“Following on from the competition we will be focusing on selling subscriptions and delivering wine to our customers through their letterboxes. We have already received interest from potential customers who visited our central London pop-up shop.
Subscription service
“We will also be running a crowdfunding campaign and anyone interested in receiving wine from us can sign up to our email address.”
As part of the subscription service, customers receive a bottle of wine every few days or weekly, or bi-weekly depending on their preferences.
In each episode of Pop Up, Start Up, two candidates are given seed money and challenged to mass produce and sell their products in a pop up shop.
The judges, including branding guru Rita Clifton CBE, pop up pioneer Roger Wade and Pete Wild from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, give advice to the contestants on how to manufacture, import, market and sell the products.
The contestant who makes the most profit each week wins the £20,000 prize.
"Pop Up Start Up is a great example of how to do business in today's dynamic environment,” said Sophie Wu, president, Wholesale Marketplaces Alibaba Group.
“We look forward to showcasing the huge talent of the contestants and to provide inspiration to UK startups and small businesses around the world on how to join in the digital economy."
