Maker Market

The weather this weekend was akin to a perfect spring day.  To enjoy the sunshine, I went to the Stanford driving range with a couple of friends.  To cap off the perfect afternoon, we toasted with a can of Maker. 

Maker is a canned wine company that celebrates small wineries and their independent creators.  One of my best friends from college, Kendra, started Maker at the GSB after finding inspiration in our Dynamics of the Global Wine Industry class.  I still remember Kendra raving about Prof Rapp ( (this was almost two years ago), and how she was thinking about turning down a full time offer to a healthcare company to start this new venture. 

I will admit that I thought that canned wine would never be adopted by the masses.  When I think about drinking wine, I typically associate it with high class, and consumption out of premium stems. However, according to wine spectator, recent trends show that millennials find canned wines to be a fine substitute for bottles.  According to the article, sales of canned wines jumped "69 percent to more than $69 million" in 2019.  This could be attributed to several factors, including ease of transport and a demand for more environmentally sustainable solution to glass bottles.  Even large players, E&J Gallo are getting into the production of canned wines.  This obviously presents a challenge for Maker as new entrants continue to saturate the market.  However, I believe that Maker's competitive advantage is their value proposition of focusing on the small players.  When I drink a can of Maker, I feel connected to the story of the 'maker' of the wine.  I get to read their stories, see their designs, and taste the fruits of their labor.  So on that note, Cheers to a Maker with a Maker wine!