In his own words, Grisa Soba has “always been a contrarian and tried to do things differently.”
That approach has taken Flaviar, the spirits enthusiast membership club Soba launched in 2012 from a simple tasting box format to one of the largest clubs of its kind serving the U.S. and EU.
Before moving into digital alcohol businesses, Soba distilled and ran his own spirit brands, opened a bar in his home country, and consulted with a boutique branding firm. Suffice to say, he’s been tracking trends in the industry for a while.
“Ten years ago I just realized that at some point spirits will go online, and that will connect brands and consumers like never before,” he said.
Soba was clearly right. By 2025, total beverage alcohol ecommerce sales across key global markets are expected to grow by +66% and surpass $42 billion, according to drinks market research firm IWSR.
Today, Flaviar offers members a range of opportunities that focus on discovery, education and access to spirits, and the marketplace increasingly acts as a hub for rare and exclusive spirit experiences. Curated premium products are also a newer element to Caskers.com, the online platform Flaviar acquired in 2018, which like other ecommerce sites fulfills orders via local retailers.
Recently, Flaviar’s added exclusive bottlings, including co-developing a roster of spirit brands, and since last year members can also co-own brands. The first and only crowdfunding test so far was with Hercules Rum & Rye, a ready-to-drink bottled old fashioned co-developed with industry veteran Steve Luttman. Flaviar spearheaded a crowdfunding round of $750,000 and last week the brand launched a second campaign of $1.5 million.
“We wanted to have some proof of concept. It seems we can engage, we can activate our audience, our community, and now we’re doing another round. But there will be other brands to follow,” Soba said.
From there, the team uses its industry experience, data from both sites, and an active membership that offers feedback to determine which brands to incubate and accelerate.
“We are a true direct-to-consumer and consumer-centric company, and we really see our members and our audience as our partners,” he said.
Soba is also channeling those resources into the Beverage Bureau, a consulting agency that works with companies from start-ups to the industry’s major conglomerates. One of the most important lessons he imparts to growing spirit brands is to take advantage of today’s direct access to their customers.
“You need to try to develop a deep and long lasting relationship with your audience and ask them questions, because now that’s possible. Ten years ago, it wasn’t as easy,” he said.
Insights from members and data all add to Soba’s keen eye for trends, one of his favorite topics to discuss. In 2016 Flaviar launched the From The Vault Collection, where members could buy highly allocated and coveted scotch, bourbon and mostly Japanese whiskey.
“That’s one trend that has matured in the past ten years and I don’t think it can go beyond that,” he said.
But Soba is confident that the premunization of tequila will continue to follow the path of premium whiskey. While design and celebrity endorsements are elements growing the premium tequila category, he also sees the segment going additive-free and becoming more transparent, and expects to see other agave spirit categories creeping into the preuminazion class.
“I think what will happen is that mezcal is going after tequila, rye is going after bourbon. And, these categories will gain market share and then more transparency will happen,” he said.
Soba sees transparency as playing an increasingly important role across the board, citing news articles about sourcing and regulations in American and Japanese whiskeys that have put pressure on brands to disclose information, and sites like Tequila Matchmaker that are listing production locations and flagging ingredients like additives.
“Consumers are more demanding. They want to know where the products are coming from, who made them, what went into the product,” he said. “Just silly made-up stories with liquids from unknown sources don’t work anymore.”
One area of ecommerce shopping where Flaviar and Caskers has capitalized on is personal gifting: the sites host a flurry of content and campaigns for Father’s Day and the holiday season. Flaviar’s advent calendar makes regular headlines, and the infinity bottle might be the product most illustrative of the site’s exclusive offerings: the $350 bottle gives members a starter blender kit and decanter to make their own version of an ever-replenishing whiskey blend. Both tap into what Soba describes as an interest in having fun and bonding over the discovery of spirits.
As for coming up with his next ideas for the site, “it’s a little bit of science and it’s also a little bit of magic,” he said.