On the show today we’re chatting with Kristin from Nomadica wine.
We’re discussing some of the tough stuff that happened early on in her journey including the moment they had to throw away $25,000 worth of wine because it wasn’t good enough and what she’d do differently if she started this biz tomorrow.
Kristin is a Sommelier by trade and the Founder + CEO of Nomadica wine, where she thoughtfully curates a selection of high quality canned wine. She’s passionate about working with high quality, small producers who focus on sustainable practices.
The Journey to CEO
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Kristin. She didn’t start out thinking she’d be the one calling the shots at Nomadica. After raising a Series Seed in late 2019, she made the bold decision to go full-time with the company, stepping into the CEO role in 2020. It was a year of transition, growth, and getting the right team in place. When her previous business partner, Emma, decided to pursue other ventures, Kristin took the reins and began building a team around her. The goal? To turn 2020 into what she calls Nomadica’s “real first year in business.” She hired a talented creative director to launch a rebrand of their signature canned wines, found a top-notch e-commerce team, and brought on an industry powerhouse, COO Tara Hannaford, who had impressive credentials in the alcohol industry.
Kristin recalls how convincing Tara to join was like “dating” for nine months until she finally agreed to come on board. “She was the Vice President of Sales at Casa Amigos and had three exits in the alcohol industry,” Kristin shared. “I love that I show up to work every day, slightly intimidated by my COO. That’s really a good place to be.”
Hitting Their Stride: The Power of E-Commerce and Limited Editions
Nomadica found a sweet spot in its business model with a mix of core offerings and exclusive quarterly limited edition drops. Kristin noticed how engaged customers became when a unique batch of wine appeared online. Their first limited edition for 2021, an organic and biodynamic Chardonnay, sold out in just a week, sparking a bit of obsession among customers asking when it would return. After receiving a few passionate (and borderline threatening) messages from a fan who loved the Chardonnay, Kristin knew they needed to add a fifth wine to their core lineup.
“It’s so fun to get to showcase small producers to our customers,” Kristin says. With each limited edition, they were creating not just a sale, but an experience, introducing wine lovers to new tastes and stories.
Growing from the Ground Up: Marketing Wins and Lessons
When it came to marketing, Kristin faced the common startup struggle of letting go of a scarcity mindset. Raising money had come with its own set of fears—like being hesitant to spend the funds aggressively. In hindsight, she believes the key to success is using the raised capital to fuel growth. For Nomadica, that meant hiring a digital marketing agency and investing in platforms like email and social media.
Surprisingly, email marketing turned out to be a goldmine for Nomadica, accounting for 30% of their business. With click-through and open rates that doubled industry averages, the emails became a crucial channel for customer engagement. Kristin attributes this to a combination of factors: the quality of the wine, her background as a sommelier, and the personal touch in every email.
“It’s like I’m right there in your inbox telling you which cheese to pair with your rosé,” Kristin jokes. Her creative team plays a key role in translating her voice into email content that customers resonate with. Each email feels like a conversation with a wine-savvy friend who knows exactly what you’ll love.
The Buzz on TikTok: Tapping into a New Audience
Kristin admits she was an early TikTok enthusiast, urging her team to dive into the platform well before others in the industry took notice. While some joked that she was a bit “too young” to be a wine exec obsessing over TikTok, Kristin stood her ground. The potential reach and engagement blew her mind.
“When we started, we could get 100,000 likes on a comment in a day—those numbers are just not something you see on Instagram or Facebook,” she says. Nomadica began sending wine to influencers and creating organic content, which quickly gained traction. With TikTok, they reached a younger, more open-minded demographic—people in their early 20s who were just starting to get into wine and didn’t have the same preconceptions about canned wine as older generations.
Kristin lights up when talking about how TikTok gives Nomadica the freedom to showcase a less polished, more authentic side of the brand. “It’s refreshing to be able to engage with people without having to put on a perfectly curated, polished Instagram persona,” she says.
Personal Goals and Milestones
As if running a growing business wasn’t enough, Kristin also hit some major personal milestones. She was recently named to Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 list—an achievement she’d dreamed about for years. “I’ve always said I wanted to be in a stadium, and now we’re actually in Sofi Stadium, the new football stadium in Los Angeles. It feels incredible to see everything come together,” she beams.
Looking Ahead
For Kristin, the best part of her job is bringing amazing wine experiences to customers in innovative and unexpected ways. Whether it’s through a quarterly limited edition drop, a curated Spotify playlist to accompany a new can, or a one-of-a-kind wine made exclusively for Whole Foods, Kristin’s mission is to make wine more accessible, less intimidating, and a lot more fun.
And while the polished world of Instagram may still play a role, Kristin’s heart is set on keeping things real, authentic, and a little bit wild—just like Nomadica itself.
