Drinks Holdings Raises $15M

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Drinks Holdings Raises $15M
Martha Stewart

Glendale-based Drinks Holdings Inc., a patented e-commerce platform for wine aficionados, raised $15 million in a Series B capital round led by Beverly Pacific Holdings Inc., with Walnut-based Shea Ventures and Stable Road Capital Advisors Inc. in Venice in the mix on the institutional side.

A couple of individuals with brand-building experience also participated: Guillaume Cuvelier, founder of vodka brand Svedka; and Yehuda Shmidman, a former chief executive of Sequential Brands Group Inc. in New York, which represents brands such as Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse.

A prior investment came from Kayne NewRoad Ventures, a joint venture between Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and NewRoad Capital Partners focused on consumer packaged goods and retail. Martha Stewart’s Martha Stewart Wine Co. collection is one of the brands distributed by Drinks.

Drinks reported its total funding is roughly $25 million following this round.

The company said in a statement it has sold and delivered over 10 million

bottles of wine and reached an estimated 1 million households since incorporating in January 2017.

Drinks’ system allows direct-to-consumer marketing for digital and physical wine merchants and provides customized bottle recommendations for each customer as well as ship-to-home or pickup options. Virtual shelves show customers available wines and an online platform gives sellers insight into current customer drinking trends.

“Drinks’ mission of changing the way wine is sold immediately drew us to their digital platform; and in so many categories, we have seen consumers demand an effortless shopping experience with convenient delivery—and we believe wine should be no different,” John Morrissey, managing director of Shea Ventures said in a statement.

Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.

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