Jonny Inglis: why you should launch a wine business in 2025

Winedrops co-founder Jonny Inglis makes the case for launching a wine business in 2025, ahead of speaking at the db conference next month. With limited competition, a mature but stable industry, and rapid growth in online sales, he sees opportunities for those willing to innovate, even as wider market headwinds persist.

The db conference will focus on ‘profitability in a challenging market’, and will investigate how to plan for future growth while grappling with challenges – from falling wine sales, to changing consumer habits. 

Despite the challenges, Jonny Inglis, co-founder of online wine retailer Winedrops, would recommend launching a wine business in 2025. Speaking to the drinks business, he lists the sector’s silver linings: “Firstly, the competitive set is not dynamic, and there’s lots of opportunity for improving what’s already out there. It’s not massively competitive, so it can be a great place to start a business.

“Secondly, while it’s not a fast-growing industry, it’s one that’s been around for a very long time. It’s very mature, so it’s not an industry that’s going to disappear overnight.

“Thirdly, if you’re an online retailer, while the industry as a whole is not growing very fast, online wine sales are growing really fast. So, we’ve got a nice combination of a relatively competitive, mature and growing industry, if you choose to be an online innovative player.”

Tariff woes

Still, Winedrops isn’t immune to challenges. Its biggest struggle in 2025 is trying to export to the US. “Without knowing exactly what the Trump tariffs are going to look like, it was really hard to make decisions on kicking off on export from Banquist Ltd, our parent company,” said Inglis, who co-founded the business in 2022 with his school friend Seb Evans.

And with shipment of wine from Europe to the US taking two to three months, the situation could change during transit: “You could suddenly see your prices spike and your growth margin just being completely wiped out,” he adds.

Nonetheless, this hasn’t deterred Winedrops from zeroing in on America. First off, the US is a massive wine market, with consumers used to spending more per bottle. Secondly, subscription companies are more common in the USA, with the average consumer splurging USD$133 on subscriptions each month, prompting Inglis to brand the US “the spiritual home of Winedrops”.

It slots in with England-based retailer’s five year vision: By then, Inglis hopes the business will be “one of the biggest wine retailers in the UK, if not the world”, with the US at least half of the company’s global revenue.

Drinking less but better

But putting the future to one side, there’s a whole host of challenges facing wine businesses in 2025. Last year, global wine sales dropped to the lowest levels since 1961. People are drinking less (but better), with budgets squeezed and mindful drinking back in fashion. 

However, Inglis sees these trends as beneficial for Winedrops: “We only sell critically rated bottles, and we sell them at discounts, so a bottle for £12 would have otherwise been £20. 

“That doesn’t suit the drinker that drinks loads and drinks cheap. Consumer trends are headed towards drinking fewer, better bottles, and Winedrops suits that way of life, where you only buy the very best, and you don’t have to drink loads.”

He’s wary of subscription models that provide a regular delivery of bottles. “That doesn’t suit the modern drinker. They want to choose when, where and what to drink; they don’t want six bottles arriving on their doorstep every month. I see the trends as less of a decline in consumer confidence, and more of a long-term change in how people drink.”

Tech innovation needed

But this is only partly why people are “exasperated” by wine clubs, according to Inglis. The biggest reason is, simply, “the wine isn’t good enough”. What Winedrops does differently, and why it’s managed to succeed in such a competitive market, he claims, is it “brings you the brands you already know and love, cheaper than ever”.

Overall, Inglis believes the wine trade lags behind other industries, but there’s plenty of space for innovation. For one, technology is still pretty basic, with many companies still using legacy web platforms that don’t offer much customer flexibility.

He also thinks the way wine is communicated to people is a tad outdated. Conversations are often phone-based and slow, and often “rely on some antecedent knowledge, or come across as really stuffy”.

Shifts in the business

Customer service is an area where there’s still room for improvement at Winedrops. While Inglis is happy with the business’s email communication channels, he’d love to set up a phone line to offer customers a dedicated wine assistant who can offer personalised recommendations, and help navigate the app.

On the other hand, one of the biggest ways Winedrops has innovated is through case builder technology. The consumer can buy several bottles that are stored in a ‘virtual cellar’. When they’re ready to checkout, they can manage dispatches from the app. 

“Again, that reflects how modern people want to consume wine,” Inglis continues. “They might not want to take delivery for three months – they might want to build up a case of around 20 different wines that are great value for money. So we’re storing that for our customers on their behalf and shipping for them when they decide they want to.”

The db conference will take place at the Science Gallery in London on Wednesday 8 October from 9.30-5pm. To find out the full list of speakers and to sign up to attend click here.

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