Outpacing In-Store Sales and Untangling Three-Tier Complexity for Share A Splash Wine Co.
May 9, 2023
USE CASE OVERVIEW
Share A Splash Wine Co. Needed to Reach Consumers Across a Complex Bev/Alc Three-Tier System Without Manual Spreadsheet Work
Share A Splash Wine Co. began as a small brand with a single Cabernet, built on the balance between quality and affordability. In the more than 15 years since, Share A Splash has grown into a parent company inclusive of six brands, with availability in 47 states and 30 international markets, one of the many producers who has helped shape the modern American beverage and alcohol industry since prohibition ended in 1938.
Growth, though, brought new demands. Every distributor and retailer had unique requirements for product data, and the manual work of transforming spreadsheets to meet those requirements had become tedious, error-prone, and unsustainable. On top of that, the Bev/Alc three-tier system, producer to distributor to retailer to consumer, meant multiple gatekeepers stood between Share A Splash and the customers ultimately reaching for their wine on the shelf, both digital and physical. To continue scaling, Share A Splash needed a way to manage product content once, syndicate it everywhere, and give producers a direct line to consumers at the point of purchase.
In the spring of 2022, Share A Splash engaged a professional consultant to evaluate the business and identify improvement opportunities. Among the recommendations was Salsify, the Product Information Management (PIM) solution and Sitation as the implementation partner best equipped to bring it to life.
Challenges
- Manual spreadsheet work required to meet the unique requirements of individual distributors and retailers
- Error-prone, tedious data management that couldn’t scale with growth across six brands
- Bev/Alc’s three-tier system creating multiple gatekeepers between producer and consumer
- Limited ability to reach end consumers directly with brand messaging at the point of purchase
- Constrained access to new distribution partnerships without a scalable content-sharing method
Goals
- Reduce manual product data and asset management work
- Open access to more distribution partnerships
- Implement a user-friendly, scalable PIM solution
- Enable direct brand messaging to consumers at the point of purchase across the digital shelf
- Support both digital and printed catalog use cases for trade partners
Approach
After Salsify was recommended by their consultant, Share A Splash chose Sitation as their implementation partner, drawn to the combination of PIM expertise and deep familiarity with Bev/Alc’s three-tier complexity. The engagement spanned Salsify implementation, onboarding, and enablement, and it went a step further by layering in Sitation’s enhanced content expertise to elevate Share A Splash’s e-commerce presence at major retailers.
- Salsify implementation, onboarding, and enablement. Sitation Project Manager Billie Smith and Implementation Specialist Oscar Garza led the team through implementation, onboarding, and training, standing up Salsify as Share A Splash’s single source of truth for product data and assets.
- Enhanced content build. Sitation applied enhanced content expertise across major retailer listings, including Target and Albertsons/Safeway, to strengthen brand identity and give shoppers richer product information at the point of purchase.
- Catalog-based content sharing. Salsify’s catalog feature was configured as a central hub for trade partners, giving them direct access to key selling points, bottle imagery, specifications like alcohol percentage, and case specs for shipping.
- Ongoing partnership. From implementation through the warranty period, the dedicated Sitation team supported Share A Splash’s continued success on the platform.
RESULTS
Share A Splash Eliminated Manual Spreadsheets, Opened New Distribution Channels, and Grew E-Commerce Past In-Store Sales
- E-commerce purchases now outpace in-store sales, including at grocery chain HEB
- Increased search volume for Share A Splash wine brands across all retailer sites
- Eliminated data management spreadsheets and the manual work required to maintain them
- Enhanced content live on major retailer listings including Target and Albertsons/Safeway, adding brand identity value to product pages
- Open catalog capability driving expansion into new distribution partnerships
- Direct channels opened with new retailers, and existing relationships strengthened through consistent, current product data
- Digital and printed catalog use cases both supported from a single source of truth
Additional Insight
Reaching Consumers Through Bev/Alc’s Three-Tier System
The Bev/Alc industry’s three-tier system means that between a producer and the end consumer, there are always multiple gatekeepers, distributors, retailers, and the trade partners in between. Historically, that structure has made it difficult for producers to control how their brand story reaches shoppers. Salsify, combined with Sitation’s enhanced content expertise, changed that equation for Share A Splash. Producers can now send the message they want directly to their customers at the point of purchase, with less handoff friction between tiers. The result: fewer touches to get their wine to consumers, and a brand voice that carries through every step of the journey.
Conclusion
Share A Splash Wine Co.’s partnership with Sitation transformed a growing multi-brand business from a spreadsheet-driven manual process into a scalable, PIM-powered content operation with real reach across a complex three-tier industry. With Salsify in place and Sitation-led enhanced content live at major retailers, Share A Splash has eliminated spreadsheet drag, opened new distribution partnerships, and grown online sales past their brick-and-mortar counterparts, including at national grocers. The team now moves faster, reaches consumers more directly, and has the foundation in place to scale each of its six brands across the digital shelf.
Testimonials
Is Bev/Alc’s Three-Tier Complexity Standing Between You and Your Customers?
Manual spreadsheets and multiple gatekeepers shouldn’t dilute your brand story before it reaches the shopper. Discover how Sitation’s Salsify implementation expertise and enhanced content services can help Bev/Alc producers scale product data, open new distribution partnerships, and reach consumers directly at the point of purchase.
