Building Your Brand Through Virtual Experiences and Bringing Passion Without the Pomp

Sara Moll is the Founder and CEO of Vin Social, a fast-growing virtual events and e-commerce company pioneering virtual hospitality in the craft beverage space. After leaving a decade-long career in the fashion industry, Sara created Vin Social with a mission of democratizing access to the wine conversation through a modern approach to wine education. With a passion for the independent craft makers of the world, Vin Social partners with small-production, diversity-inclusive, sustainable brands, serving them as an innovative, high-touch sales and marketing channel. 

The aggressive adoption of virtual events technology in 2020 has allowed Sara to realize her original mission of widespread accessibility and inclusivity while scaling the business to over $1 million in revenue in less than a year. Sara is a Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine, and earned a Level 3 Award with Distinction from Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).

In this rapidly-growing digital age, you can’t always expect customers to stumble upon your winery’s physical location. Effective customer engagement requires winemakers to leverage social media, digital experiences, and virtual outreach. But how can production-focused winemakers gain the skills necessary for the digital world? 

A substantial part of thriving in the virtual space comes down to your brand story. According to Sara Moll, you have to focus on the “why” of your product and not the “how.” Consumers want to see your authentic brand and get to know the people beyond the bottle. Shifting to digital can seem daunting — especially when you’re unsure where to start — but as long as you get your story in front of customers in tandem with the product, consumers are bound to admire your brand.  

In this episode of VINTed, Scout Driscoll is in conversation with Sara Moll, Founder and CEO of Vin Social, about engaging with customers virtually. Sara talks about how Vin Social helps wine and beverage brands uncover digital opportunities, the different ways her company is uplifting underrepresented voices, and the steps winemakers can take to showcase their story and improve the customer experience. Stay tuned!