This Kedger has created Vinifyed: an app made for wine amateurs!  

In this article, discover the interview of Pierre-Louis Follet, co-founder of Vinifyed. This mobile app is a platform which lets all novice, amateur, and expert wine lovers find wines that correspond to their tastes without having to refer to biased reviews made by people with different palates. Producers manage their profiles and therefore remain in control of the messaging while following their performance on the market in real time.

💬 INTERVIEW

1️⃣ Hello Pierre-Louis. To begin, tell us about your educational background. What did you study, both before and at KEDGE?

After taking direct-entry prep classes at ESC in Lille, I sat the Ecricom exam where I secured a spot at KEDGE. From there, I was able to validate my economic and business undergraduate degree at Mannheim, and then clinched my entry to ESC for the next year. When I returned from Germany, I went to Bordeaux and opted for a curriculum that linked the economy, international business, languages, and business management. I then worked in sales and distribution at Accor in the context of online travel agencies, such as Expedia and Booking. I worked on the creation and implementation of marketing and revenue management tools that I subsequently started in hotels, particularly on the fringes of my university exchange in South East Asia.

LINKEDIN

2️⃣Tell us what you did after your studies were finished. What positions have you held? What did you learn in those positions?

When I got back from the exchange, I was talking to one of my former marketing consultants. At the worst of the crisis in 2012, he was considering opening new markets and setting up abroad to find growth drivers. He suggested that I set up a subsidiary in New York. A new service was therefore created to support American companies establish in Europe. Later, while doing a job for an American customer in outdoor equipment and lifestyle clothing, I used an agency that had expertise in "branding, messaging, and design" to secure the brand's positioning, as well as to appeal to European consumers. Its CEO understood the importance of having someone doing business development and offered me a position on their team. While I was spending time structuring the activity, I did the necessary to change my visa and go work as Business Development Director for this agency that specialises in brand strategy. Over three years, I developed an expertise in brand development, strategic communication, and organising retail and community events to boost sales. I worked on different issues related to product launches, concepts, education programmes, customer services, etc., from strategic thinking to the design of the brand manual and brand identifiers, from video shoots to media production, as well as engaging presentations to teams and our luxury goods and lifestyle industries clients. After working there three years, I started looking for new challenges. In particular, I was looking to for something in which I would gain more skills, had more responsibility, and potentially would sell a product or service instead of my time and intelligence. 

After five years in the United States, I had developed a network that enabled me to make my wishes come true. I was contacted by a recruitment firm to take over the reins of the US subsidiary of a leather goods brand which had been there for seven years. I had to structure the subsidiary, its reorganisation, and its revenues. These experiences and my entrepreneurial spirit let me to join the "Vinifyed" adventure as an investor and board member. My marketing experiences are diverse, but I wanted to be involved in the world of wine and digital. The Vinifyed project immediately seduced me. I have been part of the project since its inception, and I’m following its evolution. It's extremely exciting!

3️⃣What are you doing now? What gave you the idea and desire to do what are you doing today?

The idea of working on Vinifyed came during talks with the other co-founders. In addition to having a common passion, we all have a transversal approach to the wine-production industry. Some of us have a technical background, others in business and, for my part, marketing. We are all expatriates living in the United States and we saw that producers were having a hard time creating a link with the field. We asked ourselves how consumers could be immersed in their land from a distance, continue a journey through areas they’ve already visited, or discover vineyards from their sofa. Through further research, we realised that the sector was considerably behind in terms of digitalisation that is controlled by the producers themselves. This is all the more worrying as digital players in the sector are helping to widen the gap between consumers and producers. In fact, through crowdsourcing applications, consumers are reduced to sharing subjective ratings with each other and see their purchases are redirected from their basic objective need. For their part, producers are forced to submit to these subjective ratings without being able to highlight their work, communicate their know-how, their history, and effectively sell the fruits of the earth they cherish so dearly. This observation at Vinifyed we have experienced as close as possible to the field, and not just any one: the largest market in the world for the sector but also the most advanced in terms of digital and customer experience: the American market! We thought that if we could objectively connect producers and consumers in the most demanding market via a simple digital solution, then the way would be paved on a global scale for a new model of reconciliation between the sector and digital. Vinifyed is the gateway between the consumer and the producer. It’s a platform that lets all novices, amateurs, or experts find wines that match their tastes without having to refer to biased ratings by people with different palates. Producers manage their own profile and remain in control of their advertising, while monitoring their performance on the market in real time.

THE APP

4️⃣What are your business goals for the future?

We are kicking off a crowdfunding campaign on Ayomi, from November, with the objective of collecting 265,000 euros in order to activate our user marketing on New York. At first, we will focus our marketing efforts in this area so French producers can quickly gain visibility on this market.

5️⃣How did your education at KEDGE Business School help you become whom you are today, and which of its courses helped you develop your project?

KEDGE gave me the opportunity to build a network, and in particular, allowed me to find my first long internship at ACCOR, which was my first stepping stone. Throughout the programme, you can have developed a diversified personality and academic sensitivity that gives you the strings to embark on new challenges: going on an adventure (potentially abroad) or an entrepreneurial project that requires many qualities and flexibility. And finally, the ability and motivation to question oneself, to learn, and advance in in life in "project management" mode while capitalising on past experiences. It’s not about being adapted, but being adaptable.

6️⃣ Pierre-Louis, anything to add? 

Although we have developed our tool for the United States, the application is free and available worldwide! Download it, use it, and don't hesitate to make suggestions as to wines. If you work in the wine industry, we would be happy to talk to you. Producers, importers, distributors, sales agents, and others can register here (https://maker.vinifyed.com/). Additionally, tell those around you about it. Right now, our Discovery access is free! And of course, if you like our project, you can participate in our fundraising campaign. It begins in November and you will find all the information about our networks. 

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