Live for Today, Care for Tomorrow
SCOUT & CELLAR doesn’t just pursue innovation, the company was born from it.
When Sarah Shadonix launched her Clean-Crafted™ wine company in 2017, she pushed against the wine industry’s norms and set off on a path that would disrupt them forever.
“Six years ago, they told me this model would never work—they all thought I was crazy,” she shared. “But now it’s a totally different response from traditional wine companies. They’re like, ‘this is genius!’”
Naturally Transparent
And they’re not wrong. Sarah and her team have flipped the script on how wine is produced, sold and enjoyed—forever shifting one of the oldest industries on the planet. Scout & Cellar pioneered wine that’s both better for you and better for the earth, curating vintages that are grown in healthy soil, made without artificial processing aids or added sugars. This Clean-Crafted Commitment goes even further, providing a Soil-to-Sip Report™ that discloses ingredients, nutritional content, lab-testing results and in-depth product details. Today, this commitment now underlies new food and beverage products at Scout & Cellar, including non-alcoholic wines, coffee, olive oil and vinegar.
“We’re delivering products that you already love, but purer than you know them,” Sarah explained. “Because the food system that delivers it to you otherwise is broken.”
Naturally Inclusive
Scout & Cellar was recently honored with the Bravo Innovation Award, which recognizes direct selling companies that embrace and deploy the emerging technologies and future-focused strategies that propel the company forward and serve as an inspiration of what’s possible. The company’s approach to producing Clean-Crafted products is wildly innovative on its own, but its unique perspective on reaching and delighting customers across sales channels deserves celebration as well.
“We believe so strongly in our Clean-Crafted Commitment, what it stands for and what it brings to the table, that we want to make it accessible to as many people as possible,” explained Jennifer Knott, Scout & Cellar’s Chief Communications Officer. “Our retail strategy is driving brand awareness so that all of us—our consultants, our team members, the community of consumers that we serve—have the opportunity to grow and thrive, maximizing our impact.”
Scout & Cellar brands are shared through consultants in the company’s traditional direct sales channel, but there’s more. Its Scout Wild® brand of wines is available in Target, Total Wine and several other retailers. Through its Scout Wild Ambassador Program, consultants can share the Scout Wild brand with their favorite restaurants and businesses, earning referral bonuses in the process. Additionally, in the spring of this year, the company announced a new sales platform its calling Scout & Cellar Selections, that will feature products from Scout & Cellar brand partners.
“Think of it like a marketplace,” Sarah explained. “No other direct selling companies do that at scale. It gives our consultants a meaningful opportunity to be a part of other brand stories. It extends the credibility of not only our brand, but also the direct selling industry.”
Naturally Forward Thinking
The company’s innovations today are exciting—but what about tomorrow? For Sarah, Jennifer and the team, tomorrow is inspiring nearly everything they do.
“One of the things that I’m the most excited about this year is the idea of live for today, care for tomorrow.” Jennifer shared. “We live for today because today is precious. That’s where the whole idea of bringing people together to share a bottle of wine and an experience is so impactful. But then there’s also the notion that we need to care for tomorrow because if we don’t, tomorrow’s not going to become today, right? We want our loved ones and the people that are going to come after us to have those same experiences. We want to seize the moment and do it responsibly.”
This focus on sustainability is put into action at Scout & Cellar at every point in its processes—from working with farmers to cultivate healthy soil; bottling in lighter weight glass; sourcing natural cork stoppers; working with a wine fulfillment partner who offsets 100 percent of the carbon emissions from the company’s shipments and—most notably—applying for B Corp Certification.
From ground-breaking initiatives across sales channels to the company’s foundational and inspiring approach to leaving the earth better than they found it, the team at Scout & Cellar embodies the heart of this award. Congratulations to Sarah, Jennifer and the entire Scout & Cellar community!
From the June 2024 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
