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“When we started [McBride Sisters Collection]”We were young, we were women, we were black women,” Andrea McBride says, “so we didn’t look like what has traditionally been really successful in the wine industry.”
The McBride sisters’ path to business partnership wasn’t traditional, either.
Raised as only children around the world, the half-sisters both happened to grow up in wine regions. Andrea is from New Zealand and Robin is from Monterey, California. After their father passed away in 1999, they connected through family support. They soon discovered a shared passion for wine and decided to turn it into a business.
The McBride Sisters Collection was founded in 2005. Nearly two decades later, the Oakland-based venture is the largest black-owned wine company in the United States and boasts several wine collections, including “Black Girl Magic Wines sourced from California’s finest wine regions.” I am. Region” and She Can wine and spritzers.
Image credit: Courtesy of the McBride Sisters Collection
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To get there, the McBrides say, the sisters have had to be disruptive and agile in an industry that is “at a very interesting crossroads” in terms of reaching a diverse consumer base. It is said that Wine consumption is on the decline overall, dropping by about 6% between 2017 and 2022, according to data from the International Grape and Wine Organization reported by CNN Business.
“Baby boomers, who have been the main consumers of wine since reaching drinking age in the 1960s, are now in decline,” explains Andrea McBride. share. “
That’s why the McBride family has always been eager to tap into new consumer groups, especially college-educated women of color. The gap between men and women who drink alcohol is narrowing, with college-educated women across all demographics more likely to drink alcohol and drinking more days per month, according to research from Futurity.
“Distributors and retailers have the most power in our industry, and they have executed this strategy on behalf of their brands,” said Andrea McBride. “The result is that our portfolio It doesn’t seem to be working well for people who understand the value it provides.” It’s much more accessible and socially and culturally conscious. ”
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The McBrides said they have also noticed a “stylistic” difference between the types of wine that baby boomers are attracted to and the types of wine that younger consumers prefer. “A trend pattern of lighter style wines and larger, heavier Cabernet Sauvignons.” [or] A big, buttery Chardonnay. ”
People drink wine in different ways. “The wine industry has often focused on the dinner table event through a very Eurocentric lens,” says Andrea McBride. “But within our circles, the food we eat is so global that we just think through that lens.”
The co-founders say the McBride Sisters Collection is “incredibly food-friendly” and pairs well with a variety of cuisines, adding, “This generation’s occasion is completely focused on the dinner table. do not have. [they] That may be true, but wine also appears in a variety of contexts. ”
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The McBrides acknowledge that the wine industry is not an “easy” industry. “We received a lot of backlash because the way we thought and the way we acted and acted was very different.”
But it’s also “very rewarding” and “a lot of fun,” and they encourage other black founders to “get involved.” Find a mentor you trust and start immersing yourself in the community.
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