Italian online wine marketplace Viniexport, a platform that gives both buyers and sellers an opportunity to trade in wine, has raised a stack of cash. A €2 million funding round to fuel growth outside of its native Italy and look to build out operations in Spain, France and Germany has been approved by investors looking for results, according to reports.
Spain’s Inveready has structured the deal. Started in 2015, Viniexport offers a marketplace for wine traders and growers to sell to merchants and consumers. The company is targeting sales to reach €10 million this year and reports that it is already selling more than 100,000 bottles per month. They also say they have 7,000 customers and 2,000 suppliers. Not bad going.
The entry of a strategic partner such as Inveready has helped us to better understand the dynamics of the wine market in Spain while the entry of capital will allow us to be able to expand our operations and validate our process of international expansion to be able to scale the business model more easily in the future. Additionally, the entry of new funds allows us to increase the competitiveness of our offer by increasing the number of suppliers and implementing the necessary improvements to adapt the platform to the international market.
Eugenio Picca, founder and CEO, Viniexport
In the grander scheme of things Viniexport is a relatively small player and even such a big investment can be spent with relative ease by an ambitious endeavour with international ambitions. But if you are in the booze business Viniexport is clearly a player to watch. They have a toehold and want more.
This author may be an oenophile but he cannot profess wine expertise. But this marketplace does seem well developed and attractive to wine merchants and vintners.. Obviously we’re not talking about your average bottle of plonk, but if you do have a store of something better and want to trade, then check it out.
