132: How Gratsi Is Scaling Boxed Wine Past 500K Cases With Stephen Vlahos

<p>Gratsi’s boxed-wine business began as a pandemic pivot. It became the foundation for one of the category’s most notable growth stories.</p><p>After selling more than 375K 9L case equivalents last year, the company expects to grow 30%+ this year to exceed 500K cases — driven by subscriptions, repeat purchases, and a carefully sequenced expansion into wholesale.</p><p>Founder and CEO Stephen Vlahos originally launched Gratsi in a half-bottle format designed for casual bars and restaurants. When COVID shut down most of those accounts, he needed a product that could work DTC. Bag-in-box was lighter and less expensive to ship, while offering consumers wine that remained fresh for weeks after opening.</p><p>Rather than persuading value-oriented boxed-wine drinkers to trade up, Gratsi targeted consumers accustomed to buying $20+ bottles. It reframed the box around quality, freshness, convenience, and value, then wrapped it in a simple, Mediterranean-inspired brand that strips away much of wine’s traditional complexity.</p><p>That DTC foundation is now giving Gratsi an unusual advantage in wholesale. Before entering a market, the company can identify existing customers, gather store requests, and activate local demand. Once wholesale launches, retail can quickly become roughly 80% of its volume in that state — even as DTC continues to grow.</p><p>In this episode, we discuss:</p><ul><li><p>How Gratsi grew from 2K cases to 75K cases before entering wholesale</p></li><li><p>How it built nearly 30,000 subscribers averaging approximately three boxes per month</p></li><li><p>How DTC data helps “warm up” a retail market before launch</p></li><li><p>Why Gratsi is building geographic density instead of pursuing national distribution all at once</p></li><li><p>Why its lifestyle content often barely features the product</p></li><li><p>What Stephen means by “escape competition with authenticity”</p></li></ul><p>For drinks entrepreneurs, Gratsi offers a compelling playbook for using DTC not as the final destination, but as the foundation for much larger retail growth.</p><p><strong>For the latest updates, follow us:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessofdrinks.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Business of Drinks website (sign up for our newsletter!)</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Businessofdrinkspodcast" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Business of Drinks YouTube</a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Business of Drinks LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bizofdrinks/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram @bizofdrinks</a></p><p><strong>Erica Duecy, co-host: </strong>Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of <em>Business of Drinks</em> and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of <em>Business of Drinks</em> and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-duecy-4a35844/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Erica Duecy LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ericaduecy/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram @ericaduecy</a></p><p><strong>Scott Rosenbaum, co-host: </strong>Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of <em>Business of Drinks</em> and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines &amp; Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-m-rosenbaum/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scott Rosenbaum LinkedIn</a></p><p>Subscribe to the Business of Drinks channel for more insights on how brands, retailers,