Corporate Members

Women of the Vine & Spirits Announces New Corporate Membership Benefit for Women-Owned Companies

Organization creates Women Owned & Certified Logo and Database to champion women-owned businesses in alcohol beverage industry

February 12, 2019 (New York, NY) – Women of the Vine & Spirits (womenofthevine.com), the world’s leading organization dedicated to empowering and advancing women in the alcohol beverage industry, announced today the introduction of a new corporate membership benefit for women-owned companies, creating pathways for supplier diversity and increased market-share for women-owned businesses in alcohol beverage.

Women of the Vine & Spirits aims to create a movement of support for women-owned businesses in the alcohol beverage industry and is dedicated to raising awareness for why, where and how to buy women-owned products and services in all sectors of the industry. Corporate Members of Women of the Vine & Spirits who are 51 percent owned, managed, and controlled by a woman and become certified by WBENC or WEConnect International as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), will now have the ability to apply for the Women of the Vine & Spirits Women Owned & Certified logo and will be featured in the Women of the Vine & Spirits Women Owned Database. The purpose of the logo and database is for buyers, wholesalers and consumers to easily identify women owned certified brands in the three-tier system.

According to a study America’s largest retailer (Walmart) conducted of its shoppers, 90 percent of female customers in the US would go out of their way to purchase products from women. Additional research by Nielsen shows women account for 57 percent of wine volume in the US and Fred Minnick, author of Whiskey Women claims women represent 37 percent of whiskey imbibers in the US. In fact, Nielsen also found that women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases, controlling $4.3 trillion of the $5.9 trillion in annual consumer spending.

Furthermore, according to the study “The Truth Behind Gender and Global Wine Consumption: Do Women Really Approach Wine in a Different Way to Men?” conducted by Wine Intelligence, in collaboration with Women of the Vine & Spirits, key findings included that “evidence suggests women are more likely to purchase wines made by female winemakers when this fact is consciously pointed out to them in an explicit way.”

“Trillions of dollars are spent each year on diverse suppliers globally, yet, less than one percent is spent on woman-owned companies,” said Deborah Brenner, Founder & CEO, Women of the Vine & Spirits. “It is our mission to change that, and to connect our members through our global network and advocate how purchasing products from women-owned companies is an investment in women’s economic advancement, which sets a direct path towards gender equality and economic growth, globally.”

For more information on the Women Owned & Certified Logo and Database, visit the Women Owned & Certified Logo and Database page under the Corporate Member tab at womenofthevine.com and meet us in our Lower Level Suite, Cordova 6, at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) Convention April 1 – 3, 2019 in Orlando, FL.

Women of the Vine & Spirits Corporate Members include Founding Member, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Diamond Members: Bronco Wine Company; Brown-Forman; E. & J. Gallo Winery; Moët Hennessy USA; and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Platinum Members: Caesars Entertainment; J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines; Pernod Ricard; Shaw Ross; and William Grant & Sons. For a full list of Corporate Members including those at the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Associate level, visit the Corporate Members tab at womenofthevine.com.

About Women of the Vine & Spirits
Women of the Vine & Spirits is the world’s leading organization dedicated to empowering and advancing women in the alcohol beverage industry. Women of the Vine & Spirits is an organization for members to connect through our global and diverse network and collaborate across all industry sectors. Providing members with resources and opportunities to thrive is the cornerstone of our organization and success. We offer steadfast support for women at every position in the field with membership benefits that include: education, training, mentorship, entrepreneurship and networking as well as tools, services and resources for personal and business development. Together, we are a committed community taking action and making a positive impact on the alcohol beverage industry, worldwide. For more information, please visit womenofthevine.com.

CONTACT:

Kyndal Korsgaden          

Kyndal@womenofthevine.com

805-779-0301