Vinoos, ´The Real WINE gum´ was conceived in Amsterdam in 2014 and in no time sparked the interest of several luxury department stores and the Dutch airline KLM. In order to become truly successful, founder Mireille Reuling knew that volume was a key factor. Where do you find that kind of volume? That’s right, in the US, but: “How do you conquer the US from the Netherlands with such a small food product?” Salesupply helped Vinoos gain a foothold in the US with their local expertise and fulfilment services.

Importance of a local warehouse

“Early on I was already thinking: we have to go to the US, because volume ultimately determines your success. We decided to send some boxes to major department stores as a test,” says Mireille Reuling, founder of Vinoos. “Sending over a few boxes just like that was basically not possible, all the more so because our packages at the time were not ´FSVP approved´. Then we started looking into how it should be done. It soon became clear that American department stores wanted to be supplied from a local warehouse so we needed a good warehouse in the US.”

A suitable warehouse

An intermediary advised Vinoos to contact Salesupply 4 years ago. “It was really great that we could outsource this request to Salesupply. They selected the best warehouse for us on the basis of what we wanted and their own experience. If we had had to do that ourselves from Europe, it would have been an impossible task. Not to mention the fact that we wouldn’t have been able to meet the people in person nor visit the warehouse.”

“Especially in the beginning, it was very convenient for us to be able to discuss things in Dutch. That makes things a lot easier when you’re not quite at home in the fulfilment services world.”

A lot is involved when it comes to entering the American market, particularly where a food product is concerned. “Salesupply helped us with getting a tax/EIN number issued and with arranging to have DDP (Duty Delivered Paid) shipping. Apart from that, in order to obtain an FSVP approval, we also needed our warehouse’s procedure formalized. This is absolutely not a core business for Salesupply but they were willing and able to do it. It is very nice when a partner actively thinks along with you and takes the load off you wherever possible.”

Growth through platforms

Vinoos is now available in the US at major luxury department stores like Neiman Marcus,

Bergdorf Goodman and on popular webshops such as Box Fox Gifts and Uncommon Goods. “Mainly due to sales through online ´wholesale platforms´ like Faire.com and Helloabound, we have added 300 new B2B customers in the US by the 2nd half of 2020, despite COVID.”

“We now have a sales manager and a key account manager in the US and the goal in 2021 is to continue to build on this strong growth. We are in the process of developing a B2C channel, our Woo commerce system has already been connected with Salesupply’s systems.

The future is bright

“What’s more, we are bringing out new flavours again. Due to the great success of our champagne flavour, we are introducing a sparkling rosé in the US this year and we also want to bring our Sauvignon blanc to the US. On top of that, we are thinking about developing a whiskey variant to venture into the men’s segment as well,” Mireille says enthusiastically.

Unlock the US with our local efulfilment services
Jonathon Jay Huggett

Jonathon Huggett