Turning wine into wealth with InterCellar
Market overview
The state of crypto today is similar to the early 2000s internet boom. In the first decade of that era, most new companies that launched focused on building infrastructure. Many were promising, but few gained widespread adoption, and over time, only a handful survived. However, the real breakthrough came with the emergence of a wave of consumer-focused applications bringing direct value to people.
Right now, crypto is at a similar crossroads. After a decade of infrastructure building, the next catalyst for mass adoption is likely to emerge from consumer-oriented applications that leverage blockchain to deliver real-world benefits. This is what we refer to as the consumer crypto revolution, and we believe that this is where some of the most compelling investment opportunities will be found.
Putting wine and spirits on the blockchain
One promising consumer crypto vertical with significant potential is the fine wine and spirits industry. A recent report from Allied Market Research estimates that the global luxury wines and spirits market was valued at $229.4 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $414.8 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2022 to 2031. This represents a substantial asset class, and we believe it could benefit greatly from on-chain tokenization.
First, bringing wine onto the blockchain could address many of the authentication issues the industry currently faces. It is estimated that around 30% of grand crus bottles in circulation are counterfeit, with some top range bottles seeing rates as high as 60-70%. This is a significant issue, and we believe blockchain-based authentication from suppliers can help resolve it by guaranteeing the provenance and authenticity of each bottle throughout the supply chain, thereby restoring trust in the wine and spirits market.
Moreover, this industry also faces a lot of supply chain inefficiencies, with many middlemen, high take rates, significant counterparty risk, banking fees, foreign exchange slippage, and cross-border settlement delays. These factors drive revenues away from producers and favour large-scale operations over small independent ones. Again, blockchain can solve this issue by flattening the supply chain through a direct-to-consumer marketplace. This is a win-win situation for both producers and consumers.
From an investment perspective, on-chain tokenization can make luxury wines and spirits much more liquid, transparent, and secure, while facilitating easier transactions and better price discovery mechanisms. This offers significant value for both Web2 and Web3 investors looking to diversify their portfolios into this alternative asset class. Additionally, blockchain can enhance transparency in secondary sales and provide producers with the opportunity to profit from these sales through smart contracts and without any middlemen.
Ultimately, blockchain can unlock new utilities and bring significant growth potential to the fine wine and spirits industry by delivering tremendous value to both producers, consumers, and investors. Because of this, we believe that the first user-oriented crypto applications that find the right product-market fit and onboard enough users to kickstart a strong network effect could become leading consumer crypto applications.
We consider InterCellar as one of the most promising projects in this space, and this is why we are excited about its potential.
Overview of InterCellar
InterCellar is a direct-to-consumer marketplace for fine wines & spirits, connecting brands directly with consumers. The platform leverages Web3 technology to solve recurring industry challenges such as storage, traceability, liquidity, and environmental footprint, while offering an innovative customer experience.
Each bottle on InterCellar is paired with a digital twin (an NFT), ensuring ownership and authenticity. While the physical bottle is stored in accredited warehouses under optimal conditions, the digital twin is kept in a digital cellar (wallet). The digital twin can be traded or sold on Intercellar's secondary marketplace. Once a transaction is completed, the buyer can claim the physical bottle, and the digital twin is burned upon delivery, which is available in 40 countries.
Although InterCellar initially operated through "drop events" where bottles, collections, and limited editions were sold in batches, the platform is expanding. Hundreds of signed brands will now be able to list part of their production directly on Intercellar, broadening the range of offerings available to consumers.
Value proposition
InterCellar's value proposition is clear and compelling for both customers and producers. For customers, it offers exclusive sourcing, private cellar management, authenticity through NFTs, and a secondary market. For producers, it creates a direct-to-consumer channel that reduces reliance on traditional distribution methods while facilitating data collection, storage management, and more. This approach provides a distinct advantage over traditional Web2
Team & advisors
InterCellar is composed of a small team of serial entrepreneurs and top-notch talent from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, InterCellar has attracted some of the biggest names in the French scene as early investors and advisors. Here is an overview of some of the most notable figures behind this project:
Louis de Bonnecaze - Co Founder & CEO
Louis is a graduate of the world’s best MSc in Wine and Spirits Management. He has over 10 years of experience as a fine wine merchant and is also the founder of the first wine website to accept crypto. Additionally, Louis is one of the most notable French voices in the wine and spirits industry.
Maxime Garraud - Co Founder & CSO
Maxime is a serial web entrepreneur with two successful exits to his name. Over and above, he is also an expert salesman, having sold over $1 million in NFTs in 2022 through WineBottleClub. He also holds the title of the youngest salesman in Europe for Porsche supercars.
Sabrina Masur - COO
Sabrina is a former BCG consultant with a focus on Web3 projects, including Vechain, and holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Her background combines strategic expertise and project structuring in blockchain, allowing her to guide organisations through technological innovation and effective implementation.
Bilal El Alamy - CTO
Bilal is a serial entrepreneur with an MSc in Mathematics from ESCP Europe and over 7 years of experience building successful startup products, amassing 1 M monthly active users.
Cyrus Fazel - Early investors and advisors
Cyrus, a multicultural fintech professional with over a decade of experience in asset management and algorithmic trading, he has applied his analytical skills to found SwissBorg, a unique crypto wealth management ecosystem.
Nicolas Bacca - Early investors and advisors
Nicolas Bacca is a successful entrepreneur who co-founded Ledger in 2014. His strong tech background and entrepreneurial success are definite assets for Intercellar.
Sebastien Borget - Early investors and advisors
Sebastien Borget is the co-founder and current COO of Sandbox. With over 14 years of experience in growing startups, he is another valuable asset to this project.
Owen Simonin - Early investors
Owen needs no introduction. Known as Hasheur, he is a serial crypto entrepreneur and one of the biggest crypto influencers in France. Through his network, influence, and knowledge of the space, Owen can deliver significant value to InterCellar.
Key partnerships
InterCellar has also secured more than 250 notable fine wine & spirits brands, including Cheval Blanc (LVMH), Dalmore Whisky or Champagne Carbon.
In its sourcing quest, InterCellar is supported by the biggest players in the market: Twins, one of the world's largest Grand Cru merchants, and La Maison du Whisky, Europe's leading spirits distributor.
InterCellar's strength lies in its ability to onboard players from both web3 and traditional industries. The Marketplace's investors and partners include many vineyards, as well as Partouche, Europe's leading casino group with over 100 establishments.
Tokenomics
The company is launching $CELLAR loyalty token, which aims to empower the platform by providing benefits to both consumers and brands. With a fixed supply of 500 million tokens, $CELLAR is designed to enhance the ecosystem and reward active participation. A significant portion of the token supply is dedicated to ecosystem rewards, incentivising engagement and loyalty across the platform. Early adopters and users will be rewarded, fueling long-term growth and community development. Additionally, tokens are set aside to ensure liquidity and support the platform's overall health, creating a balanced and thriving marketplace for all stakeholders. The theoretical distribution of $CELLAR is as follows:
$CELLAR tokens give the consumers access to rare and limited-edition wines and spirits.
Holders of $CELLAR tokens enjoy discounts on primary and secondary market purchases as well as on storage fees. Users can stake $CELLAR tokens to earn APYs:
The $CELLAR token not only benefits consumers but also offers key advantages to brands. The more a brand sells on the platform, the more $CELLAR tokens it earns. These tokens can then be used to unlock advanced data and analytics tools to optimise operations and marketing strategies, while also benefiting from reduced primary market sales commissions, leading to better margins for the brand.
KOLs & Community
Because the community is just as important in the world of web3 and wines & spirits, for its identity aspect, InterCellar has brought together the largest community in the world. More than 230k followers on these different networks.
More than 70 KOLs, true brand ambassadors, also support InterCellar.
Read the Term Sheet to explore the terms of SwissBorg Alpha Deal with InterCellar.
