James Martin comes from a family of Oregon farmers that have lived and worked on their farm for seven generations. After leaving the area to work in the technology industry, he decided to move back to Oregon to raise a family on the farmland left to him.
Moving back to the small Oregon farming community, James became passionate about wine and made the decision to develop his own wine, making Copa Di Vino, which stands for “a glass of wine,” with designs on making his wine easier and more accessible for wine lovers. James developed a new technology that would allow winemakers to package wine in a revolutionary manner.
His ultimate goal was to become the first-ever entrepreneur that would be invited to join the panel of Sharks in the tank. James entered the Shark Tank looking to use their connections to sell more Copa di Vino to a wider range of people.
Copa Di Vino on Shark Tank
Shark Tank Season 2 Episode 1
James took to the stage of Shark Tank asking for an investment of $600,000 in exchange for 20% of Copa di Vino. Drinking wine is James’ favorite way to celebrate with family and friends, but entertaining outdoors and at special events makes having a glass of wine complicated while having to deal with bottles, corkscrews, and the fragility of wine glasses. With Copa di Vino, all drinkers have to do is pop open the top to easily tastes and enjoy fine wines from all over the country.
James tells the Sharks that Copa di Vino will be a game-changer for entertainment venues looking to sell premium wine by the glass. He claims to have major retailers and stadiums looking to serve Copa di Vino. He needs help to create more inventory and fulfil his present and future orders, using what he says is the most revolutionary packaging for wine in decades.
Buying the fruits for his wine from local vineyards owned by friends and currently makes about 2,500 cases of wine every year, using the largest wine distributors, selling his wine in 26 states throughout the country. He has three kinds of revenue streams, including the licensing and royalties for Copa di Vino, bottling services, and launching clients’ own labels for their wine.
Copa di Vino had been on the market for five months, generating around $500,000 in sales.
Kevin tells James that that Copa di Vino is not really a premium wine, but more of an industrial wine. Barbara accuses Kevin of being a wine snob. Kevin counters by saying he thinks the packaging is the biggest draw for his business as opposed to marketing the wine itself.
Packaging wine in James’ unique packaging will help to keep the wine good for a year. He has patented the packaging after having top laboratories in the world helping to create a way to atmospherically package liquid that will not break the seal under pressure.
James has secured contracts to sell Copa di Vino to all Kroger and Ralphs grocery chains and is currently in negotiations with 7-Eleven. He is also working to sell Copa di Vino in two of the biggest wine companies in the world.
He estimates that Copa di Vino will generate $3 million to $4 million in sales in the next year, servicing niche wine needs in the industry without them having to invest in the equipment to produce wine by the glass.
Offers for Copa di Vino Come and Go
Daymond thinks the business and James’ predictions are too premature to make an investment and he drops out.
Mark tells James that he would be interested in investing in the patent alone, with the wine business left to James to work as he wishes. James tells Mark that he could resell Copa di Vino wine-by-the-glass at his stadium. Mark responds by telling James that he is not interested in the commission sales business.
Barbara doesn’t think she has anything to bring to the table even if she had an interest in the product, and she is out too.
Kevin insists the real value in Copa di Vino is in the intellectual property aspect of the business, which is the best way to expand the wine-by-the-glass category of the industry, with James making more money every time a glass of wine is opened. The Shark asks James how much of the intellectual property from Copa di Vino he could get for $600,000, but James responds that he is not prepared to give away his patent.
James said that he understands the business and the numbers he has run by himself. He feels the most potential for profit lies in the bottling side of the business, rather than the intellectual property element.
Kevin makes an offer of $600,000 in exchange for 51% of the Copa di Vino patent. He tells James that he would handle every aspect of the business, including licensing, leaving James to concentrate on branding and bottling. James feels the opportunity has much bigger potential than that.
Mark tells James that the deal Kevin has proposed is a far better one that would be willing to offer. He said he would never be willing to make a deal like that and dropped out of negotiations.
James agrees that Kevin’s offer would be a great opportunity for him, but thinks it would foolish for him to lose controlling interest in the most important part of the business, especially after investing $1 million of his own money into Copa di Vino, and declines the offer, but makes a counteroffer of $3 million for 51% of the business. Kevin immediately declines that offer.
Where is He Now? Copa di Vino After Shark Tank
James wound up exiting the Tank without a deal from the Sharks, feeling the offers would result in the devaluing of his business and he did not go on the show to separate his patent from the brand.
A few years later, James returned to Shark Tank attempting again to get an offer from the panel he could accept, but again leaves without a deal.
Copa di Vino is still in business, offering a wide range of wines and continues to thrive, despite losing out on getting needed investment money from the Sharks. He formed a partnership with inventor and wine bottler Pascal Carvin, resulting in increased sales and profits.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; Seo Insights is not affiliated with Copa Di Vino, SharkTank, or any of its subsidiaries.