Inspiring Conversations with Rob Kuchar of Unsalted Wines

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Kuchar. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
During a meeting with Lisa Lyon, the wine buyer for Meijer, we were discussing the success of our Sea Salt brand from New Zealand and she suggested that we make a similar, “unsalted” version of that product to honor the Great Lakes region. From that conversation, the Unsalted brand was born. 

That is a similar journey to how we create all of our brands. First, we identify a production partner and design our first renditions of the packaging. In the case of Unsalted, we quickly found a great partner in Fenn Valley Vineyards, located in Fennville, Michigan. Our focus was on Michigan-made products, which lead us to packaging that reflected a map of the Great Lakes. From there, our vision was to place the wines in all of the Meijer store locations, monitor performance, and determine if we mutually felt that the brand itself was appealing to the consumer. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
With the support of Lisa and her team at Meijer, along with our distributor network lead by RNDC in Michigan, the road has been pretty smooth. There are always things to navigate in the consumer products space but with the right team, they’re merely speed bumps and our internal team paired with Meijer and RNDC worked extremely well. The main struggle has been in educating the consumer that Unsalted is 100% real fruit, without added fruit flavor, like other lookalike products in the market. 

From a total company perspective, we pride ourselves on our portfolio of people – first and foremost. We talk often about how “The Team is The Dream.” Work-life balance is a non-issue when each team member is in a role that allows them to operate within their strengths. The level of positive, creative energy that is bouncing around within our team leads to constant innovation in all areas of our business. We view professional progress as a byproduct of happy people who are focused on a team goal that can be accomplished with people with whom they enjoy investing their time. 

The cornerstone of our professional offering is our Custom Brand Creation, or our ability to create market-specific wine brands for any retailer, anywhere in the country. Our team has created a proprietary approach to inventing products that resonate within the market. Additionally, our team has created a go-to-market process that brings those brands to market seamlessly and unlike any other company in this space. Boutique Beverage is essentially an organization that handles brand creation, incubation, sourcing, importation, logistics, warehousing, compliance, sales, and marketing. We call this a “market to winery model,” meaning we identify opportunities in the market first, and then activate them through our global network of winemakers. 

The vision for setting up this company was to position ourselves as a team that could align with Meijer, for example, and create and bring to market an umbrella brand like Unsalted. We are currently organizing a refresh of the packaging that will expand upon its appeal to all of Meijer’s various target-consumer groups. This will also open up the potential opportunity to extend the Unsalted brand with more products in the adult beverage space – one example of that being an Unsalted Wine Water offering. Additionally, our team is organizing a “Great Lakes Giveback” to channel a portion of profits to locally-organized initiatives that improve upon and protect all things Great Lakes-related. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Focused on the vibrant fruit varieties only made possible by the cool, maritime climate of Michigan, Unsalted wines are delicate, sweet, and refreshing – perfect for sharing with friends and family. 

These sweet, slightly effervescent wines are made from either 100% Concord grapes, Balaton cherries, or blueberries from the state of Michigan. All feature a jammy, fruity nose with a light, sweet-tart finish. 

Enjoy these wines with casual dishes including picnic foods like fried chicken or grilled burgers and hot dogs, or simply by themselves on a warm summer day by the lake or on the beach. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Most importantly, I have to say without the example of my mom, this business would not be what it is today. My mom provided me with everything thing a child could ask for, except a bunch of extra money. Starting a small business that has a big vision is very challenging. Without her example of love, work ethic, commitment, determination, and guts, I would have never known how to make it through the minefields experienced over the last 15 years. It would have been impossible. 

From a business standpoint, I have to say Mike Spaven and Judy Dunn. Mike was my first sales manager in my wine career and he believed in me, educated me, and showed me the type of organizational skills it takes to have customers trust you. Judy owned one of the distributors that I worked for in Michigan. Her background was largely corporate America, and largely successful, which lead her to owning the wine distributor. She had a fresh outlook on the wine business – her own twist if you will. She showed me how your vision for how you do things can improve some of the accepted norms within and industry. I really came to understand innovation based on Judy’s example and the people to whom she introduced me. Like my mom, both Mike and Judy reinforced the reality that a strong work ethic is the foundation for progress in all things. 

That said, the foundation outlined above was critical in me having the confidence to start my own business. The key to the success our team has experienced today rests on the fact that my wife, Amy, and I didn’t want to quit on the same day. There were many tough days and years where I was ready to give up, but every time Amy would be there to help and support me and ensure that I kept my eye on the prize. Knowing that she was with me every step of the way, and never once judging me or talking negatively to me, gave me the confidence to continue. 

From there, we have connected with numerous friends, team members, distributor partners, retailers, winery partners, etc. on our travels that have definitely transformed this journey into an amazing and fruitful adventure! 

Pricing:

• $7.99-$13.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.unsaltedwines.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unsaltedwines/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unsaltedwines