SummaryEdit

When in Rome offers customers Italian craft wines in "alt format" packaging (Bag-in-Box, Cans and soon - Recycled Paper Bottles) and sells at Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon. Revenue increased from £379K in 2019 to £654K in 2020 and they're on a mission to become the leading eco-friendly premium wine brand.

  • 39% of the wine industry’s CO2 emissions globally are caused by single use glass bottles
  • April 2020 saw boxed wine sales up 59% in the UK
  • Experienced team based in the UK and Italy
  • Brand partnership with Phillip Schofield

IdeaEdit

When in Rome was co-founded in 2015 by Rob Malin, Andrea Marchesi and Lorenzo Canali with the aim of bringing the joy of wine drinking in Italy to the world in the most environmentally sustainable way possible. In 2016, we began trading on Bath Farmers Market and via a very homemade website. In 2017, we got a call from Waitrose and ended up with a national listing. In 2018, we began selling our wines in Finland and in 2019, we entered the Canadian market.

Having increased revenue from £379K in 2019 (-£209.5k P&L) to £654K in 2020 (+£33K P&L), we launched a new brand with Phillip Schofield. Our wine range is sourced from small, independent producers across Italy. We have blended our passion for Italian wine with utilising new alt, eco-friendly formats that have emerged recently, such as bag-in-box and cans.

As of 2018, the UK wine market is worth around £10bn per year, with less than 10% of frequent wine buyers opting for alt format wine. Meanwhile, in France, 38% of wine by volume is sold in bag-in box and in Sweden the figure is over 50%. It comes as no surprise to us that in April 2020 the UK alt format wine market grew by 59% due to the effects of the pandemic.

We want to build on the momentum behind our brand and the alt format wine market by investing in new product development (like paper bottles), new key people, upscaling our marketing and expanding our distribution.

TeamEdit

Rob Malin, CEO: Worked for 10 years in finance, running sales teams across continental Europe. Fluent in Italian, French and Russian. Experienced business leader and client facing professional.

Andrea Marchesi, Partnership Director: Experienced wine producer and veteran of the Italian wine industry. Owner of La Bottega del Vinaiolo, one of Milan's leading independent Bag-in-box retailers. Responsible for buying and producer partnerships.

Rosario Micillo, Supply Chain Manager: Managed complex supply chains from the automotive industry in the UK right down to soup kitchens in his home city of Naples. He brings a particular focus on sustainability as we look to publish and reduce our carbon footprint.

Russ Turner, Head of Marketing: Massive wine afficionado with a background in graphic design and nearly 10 years’ experience in marketing at streetwear brand Superdry.

Laura Walton, Head of Sales (full time consultant): Beverage industry sales veteran having held sales roles at Carlsberg, Red Bull and managed UK national sales teams for William Grant and Jägermeister.

Vince Lawson, Non-executive Director: Experienced brand builder and ex global head of marketing at Fever Tree. Responsible for high level sales and marketing strategy.