In 2013, Gwen Hurt made an emotional decision. With little experience she jumped feet first from the corporate world into the wine business.
She has since grown her business, Shoe Crazy Wine, from a small, local enterprise in Richmond, into a multi-state operation with plans to expand nationally.
After a major company downsizing and severe car accident in 2013, Hurt reconsidered her career options. She found a business partner, trademarked their label, set up a website, and started selling online.
“I’m approaching the business from a different angle,” she said. “It’s not about the vineyards for me. I like making money in the wine industry.”
Hurt made a number of significant changes, learning as she went. She realized that she needed to change the business model in 2014 soon after starting. Charging for shipping in online sales was resulting in dropped shopping carts. She quickly started exploring retail outlets in Richmond but met resistance from distributors.
“I was told, ‘Your brand isn’t viable; the longevity isn’t there; no one is going to buy from a black owned company,’” she said. “Where does it say this is a black owned wine? Wine is either red, white or rose.”
From a larger economic standpoint, Hurt said she believes we tend to lose sight of new companies that drive the economy day-to-day.
“We need consumer-packaged goods as much as we need new apps,” she said.
Hurt decided to bypass the middleman and start her own Virginia-based distribution company. She acquired a license to distribute her product, prepared samples and started knocking on doors in Richmond. She made yet another pivot after customers told her the wines were too dry.
At a loss, Hurt took many of those wines out of production and brought in sweeter selections. The term “Soft Palate wine” is proprietary to Shoe Crazy Wine and reflects the loyal customer base.
“It’s about what my customers want, not about what I feel they should be drinking,” she said. “We’re creating wines that people want to drink.”
From the beginning, Hurt said her success was a case of women helping women. Her daughter Britt helped develop the business and is now in charge of marketing. Their first restaurant customer was Richmond’s Urban Farmhouse.
Urban Farmhouse founder Kathleen Richardson told Hurt that someone took a chance on them once, so she would take a chance on Shoe Crazy Wine.
She struggled to gain traction with local restaurants, however, and soon decided to focus on the grocery markets, leaning on other businesswomen for networking or a foot in the door.
Shoe Crazy Wine made it onto Kroger shelves through a female friend simply asking the wine manager to sample the startup’s selection.
“I started reaching out to big box retailers on LinkedIn or googling the category manager or wine buyer,” she said. “It takes anywhere from two-to-five years to get into these locations, but I was determined.”
Now, seven years later, Hurt has a regional presence in retailers like Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger and Food Lion. Next, she plans to focus on getting divisions up and running in North Carolina and Georgia, for delivery into Sam’s Clubs and Walmart stores there.
“In the end, [all the setbacks] might have been a good thing because now we can control pricing,” she said. “I grew the distribution arm, as well as my brand.”