A Chat With CEO of Vinomofo, Justin Dry
by CWA
@ 17 May 2019
Mr.Justin Dry, the CEO of Vinomofo touched down in Singapore for a private tasting and wine reveal - part of Vinomofo's new exciting project. We sat down with Mr. Dry for a chat about how his passion started and about the future of Vinomofo.
CW: What was the inspiration behind starting Vinomofo?
JD: We had built three businesses in the online wine space in the previous few years which meant we had an existing highly engaged audience of younger wine lovers and an awesome network of wine producers already. So when we worked out the right business model to disrupt the industry, we went for it quickly.
CW: How did your passion for wine start?
JD: My ancestors planted some of the first vines in the Barossa Valley so it’s in my DNA. However the real passion began when I was a teenager and my family members who were in the industry would pull me aside at every family gathering to do a wine tasting with them. From there I went on to study wine at university and then work in the industry.
CWA: Have you noticed a difference in the preferences between Asian drinkers and Western drinkers?
JD: I have found Singaporeans are thirsty for knowledge so love content, education and tasting events. I’ve been impressed by their sense of adventure leading to an appetite for new and interesting wines. This makes our jobs fun.
CWA: Were there any difficulties faced when you introduced Vinomofo?
JD: Lots. We were disrupting an industry and removing the middlemen so we could deliver the best prices for both the producer and consumer. However, not surprisingly, the middlemen didn’t like not taking a cut on the way though so attempted to make it as difficult as they could.
CWA: What does Vinomofo Singapore hope to achieve in the following year?
JD: We’ve just appointed Mr Michael Parmeter, the first General Manager of Singapore so we could give more love to the market. Expect to see more events, wines and even better service.
CWA: What is this new project with Gary Vaynerchuk about?
JD: Gary Vaynerchuk, wine media mogul launched a wine brand called Empathy Wines with two mates (Jon and Nate) recently. The first release is a rosé and this will be followed up shortly with a white and red wine. We’ve all been friends for many years through the wine/business space so when they were looking for a partner in the region, it made sense for that to be Vinomofo. Also, I’m a huge fan of the wine and team so it was a no brainer for us too. Vinomofo will carry these wines exclusively in Singapore, Australia and NZ.
CWA: What are the possibilities for Vinomofo in the future?
JD: We will continue to focus on expanding our three existing markets and are in the process of putting together our US launch too.
Mr. Dry presenting Empathy Wines rosé.
