One of those being Partner in Wine, launched by Lucy Hitchcock (28) during lockdown in the summer of 2020 as a solution to a reoccurring issue. When Boris announced the easing of lockdown rules, allowing people to meet up and socialise in outdoor environments, Lucy instantly went to meet her friend with a bottle of rosé in hand. To her disappointment, upon finally arriving and opening the bottle it was no longer chilled and they were left with warm wine. Unless it’s mulled wine then, like Lucy, we prefer our wine cool - especially on those summer days.
Lucy began her mission to find a product that would maintain the temperature of her rosé, one being a cooling bag provided by her mother which proved to be an unfashionable alternative. Another option was to use flasks which were sadly too small to contain a full bottles worth and, in addition, there was the possibility that it would leave it tinted with the taste of wine.
In response to this problem Lucy developed and manufactured Partner in Wine, fully self-funded starting with £3000. With the help of her brother, a product design graduate, they created a product that looked good and worked well in equal measure. The perfect solution!
Partner in Wine used social media to market, advertise and sell their product, mainly on their Instagram platform. As a digital marketing entrepreneur with her business Sassy Digital, Lucy already had a firm understanding in advertising and marketing products to an audience. Armed with knowledge and experience, they started posting on the increasingly popular TikTok to increase their exposure, with one such video becoming viral and resulting in five-digit sales in a single day.
Since then they have gone on to be stocked in major retailer Selfridges, and increased their range of colours available to customers. With Christmas just around the corner this could make the perfect gift for any wine connoisseur, especially with the added fact that it can also maintain the warmth of mulled wine… it’s an all-rounder!
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