‘Cream Will Rise To The Top.’ How Emily Heintz Is Raising The Bar With Sèchey
Like the effervescent bubbles in her sparkling wine, Emily Heintz
believes that true quality always rises to the top.
Emily is the
visionary behind Sèchey, a dynamic platform that includes a luxury
dealcoholized wine brand, a dry bottle shop in South Carolina, and a
thriving DTC business offering a wide range of alcohol analogs.
Sèchey
also curated Target’s non-alcoholic adult beverage set, bringing
elevated options to the mass retailer’s shelves. Sèchey’s strategic
direction and impressive momentum caught the attention of InvestBev, a
private equity firm specializing in adult beverages. In August,
InvestBev made an undisclosed investment in the company, with founder
Brian Rosen praising Sèchey for having “gotten farther with less than
anyone else we’ve seen.”
In this episode, Emily joins us for a dive deep
into her vision for Sèchey and the journey of building the brand.
Framed around a series of true or false questions, Emily discusses the
key factors driving the growth of the non-alcoholic beverage category,
how Gen Z and Millennial lifestyles are shaping awareness and trial, and
why she believes the founder’s voice is the most essential tool in
connecting with customers.
Show notes:
Emily Heintz, Founder & CEO,
Sèchey – Emily and Ray sample some of Sèchey’s sparkling wine, before
she discusses her inspiration to start the company, whether her lack of
experience in beverages impacted the company early on and why NA wine
has the biggest upside among alcohol analogs. She also talks about
what’s driving traffic in Sèchey’s retail store, whether category growth
is directly tied to negative health effects of alcohol, and the gap
between millennials and Gen Z consumers’ perception of wine. Emily also
highlights Sèchey’s partnership with Target, her perspective that the
future of NA beverages isn’t in liquor stores, why she’s only somewhat
concerned about lower quality options in the space, and why she believes
that the first adult beverage for younger generations should be a
non-alcoholic one.
Brands in this episode: Sèchey, Athletic Brewing,
Ghia, Kin Euphoric, Tost, Blind Tiger, Ritual Zero