FlyWithWine Net Worth Shark Tank Update

Wine has become a part of every festival in the US. Even on vacations and trips wine is carried around and even purchased in vineyards to bring back home from vacations. However, our travel bags are not accustomed to carrying wine bottles around and in fact, at the airport, there are high chances of it breaking and leaking out during the luggage inspection. This often leads to a good bottle of wine going to waste.

Ron Scharman and Ryan Neergard, the owners of FlyWithWine, have come up with a suitcase that resolves wine lovers’ problems. They have introduced a luggage system that has compartments to fit Wine bottles and hence make them easier to carry around. Their wine suitcase is called the VinGardeValise and is available in three different colors and sizes including 12-bottle, 8-bottle, and 5-bottle sizes.

They also have a beverage backpack named VinXplorer which has a 1.5L bottle inside and a spout to drink wine whenever a person wants.

The owners came on Shark Tank to request $500K in exchange for 8% of their company. They also presented the sharks with their own Piccolo (5-bottle size bag) and different varieties of wine in the backpack to cheer them up. Let’s see if they got the deal or not.

FlyWithWine Net Worth Shark Tank Update

Ron and Ryan were looking for an investment of $500K in exchange for 8% equity in the company. At the time of the episode, they valued their company at $6.25 million. They did not secure a deal with any of the sharks, so the company’s net worth remained at $6.25 million. After the show was aired, the company experienced a good boost in exposure, achieving an additional $50K in sales within just four days. As per my rough estimate, the current net worth of FlyWithWine in 2024 is around $7.5 million.

Shark(s) name	Offer & Demand	Counteroffer	Accepted?
Kevin O’Leary	Out	N\A	N\A
Mark Cuban	Out	N\A	N\A
Lori Greiner	Out	N\A	N\A
Robert Herjavec	Out	N\A	N\A
Emma Grede	Out	N\A	N\A

The Owners’ Backstory

Ron related that in 2015 he was on a trip with his wife in Burgundy and they visited wineries there too. They then tried to ship some back to their hometown and it took 45 days to reach. This really frustrated him and he decided to work on a luggage system to carry wines around. After doing research he found a guy in Mexico who was the pioneer of making version one of that wine suitcase.

He then convinced the guy for an inclusivity deal in the wine industry. Afterward, he reached out to Ryan, a prior company employee, and started working on it.

They also have an investor, who is also their manufacturer, importer, and supplier. She was the one who bought the original inventor, IP, and everything. She basically owns 20% of their company. So they have exclusivity worldwide.

Initial Pitch

The owners came on the show to seek $500K for an 8% equity stake. Their product is a luggage system that helps to carry wine around during vacations. They also offer a backpack that comes with a spout which helps to drink wine on the go. Moreover, their luggage system can be easily used in the traditional way too as the bladder and wine compartment can be easily removed as well.

Queries about the Product

Kevin asked the first question about the reason behind the $6.25M valuation of their business. Ron confidently replied that their business has so far done about $19M in sales and thus has sold around 50K bags already and they had started the business back in 2018. This truly impressed the judges.

Cuban and Emma were curious to know about their last 12 months’ sales. The co-owner highlighted that last year they made $5.6M in sales and they lost around $47M. For this year their sales are around $2.3M and so far, have lost around $100K.

Cuban asked if the lost money was spent on advertising. He replied in the affirmative and pointed out that they spent $400K for advertising on $5.6M sales.

Lori was desperate to know about their reason for not making any profit. Ron replied that they reuse the money to invest in their company to hire good people and they even pay salaries to themselves, $150K each.

During COVID, they had a lot of non-recurring expenses. During this year, they invested $100K in 13 trade shows around the US.

Cuban then inquired about the amount they had in their inventory. It is about $1.5M in the inventory right now.

Kevin asked about the owner of the patent on the product. Ron replied that the investor owns the patent on the suitcase and they have jointly applied for a patent on the backpack.

Mr. Wonderful also wanted to know about the business tenure with the investor. He pointed out that it is about 10 years.

Lori then asked about the cost of making the suitcase and its selling price. The Grande 12-bottle suitcase is for $379.95, the 8-bottle is for $339.95, and the Piccolo (5-bottle) is for $289.95. It makes the margin 60% to 62%.

 The backpack is for $199.95 in retail, making a margin of about 71%. Moreover, they have done $3.4M on Amazon in the last 12 months. Their sales on the website are about 13% to 14% and wholesale accounts for 40% for this year.

Shark’s Response and Final Decision

Cuban was the first shark to drop the deal as he thought the business was not scalable enough for him to invest in it.

Herjavec was next to pass the deal as he didn’t like the investors’ part in the business and couldn’t see how he would get his money back from the business if he was to invest in it.

Emma, the guest shark, backed out of the deal because of the same reasons as that of Herjavec.

Lori was concerned with their low profit from such huge sales, which led her to drop the deal too.

Finally, their last hope, Kevin, backed out too because of the same investor issues and they left the show without any deal from the sharks.

Product’s Availability

Despite not getting any deal on the show, FlyWithWine did an extra $50K in sales in just four days after their appearance on the show. As of 2024, they have even launched their product in new national retail and duty-free stores.

Ron said in an interview, “To get through the selection process and make it to the airing of our pitch was something special I will always remember as a unique accomplishment in my life.”

Their product can be found on the  FlyWithWine website.

Conclusion

Although FlyWithWine did not secure a deal on Shark Tank, their wine luggage system has continued to grow. Their appearance on the show increased sales by an additional $50K in just four days, and they have since expanded into national retail and duty-free stores. With a product that solves a common travel problem for wine lovers, they continue to grow despite the sharks’ concerns about profit margins and investor involvement.