Our initial fan base was folks who didn’t like wine. Ironically it was the formerly exclusive beer drinkers who crossed over to this more fun, friendly and approachable message.

They though our slogan, “Get Barefoot and have a great time!” belonged on a beer, not a wine. The industry thought a wine with a foot on it would never sell. When we started in 1986, wine was formal and exclusive. The members of the nonprofits now had a social reason to buy and spread the word about our brand.īecause we really didn’t know too much about the wine industry, we ended up revolutionizing it. It felt great to help causes we held dear like conservation, human rights, clean oceans and beaches. It worked so well that even when we had the money for conventional advertising we continued with worthy cause marketing. When we started to see our numbers climb in local territories, we continued to support non-profits in market after market to grow the brand nationally. Instead of money, we donated wine to their fundraisers, our time to their events, and our ability to take their cause to the marketplace. We didn’t have money for advertising so we partnered with small local nonprofits and worthy causes. Our lack of capital also helped us stumble on a marketing method we called Worthy Cause Marketing. The list goes on and on, and we built Barefoot on the backs of these challenges, so they were actually gifts in disguise. From a fork lift operator we got color specific cartons to reduce miss-deliveries. From bottling line managers we learned what labels work and which ones don’t and why. From buyers and clerks we learned what wine package was needed in the market, rather than what we wanted to produce. We got real practical answers, not always available from the C-Suite. An old door became our desk! Because we lacked experience, we questioned everyone who touched our product, from clerks to buyers and from distributors to forklift drivers. Lack of capital forced us to be resourceful. What were the challenges to starting a new company?Įverything! For example, we had no experience in the wine industry, and no capital. (ref The Drinks Business June 2014 London) They successfully sold the brand to E&J Gallo in 2005 and Barefoot is now the largest wine brand in the world. From the start, with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and strategic alliances, while pioneering Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. Even more surprising is that the people who started it were just an average business couple, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey.

It is hard to believe that such an iconic brand as Barefoot Wines began in a laundry room of a rented farmhouse in the Sonoma County hills. This is the story of how two people overcame remarkable odds and built a beloved brand that transformed the wine industry. I was recently speaking with Michael Houlihan, co-founder of Barefoot Wines.

Barefoot wines