Introduction
In this insightful Q&A, we dive into the journey of Kim McKee, the founder of Green Skin Wine. Discover how she leveraged her unique background and the Start and Scale course to build a thriving business, generating over $30,000 a month by selling wine on Shopify. This is a masterclass in identifying a niche problem, creating an eco-friendly solution, and building a brand with authenticity. If you’re interested in selling wine on Shopify or launching a physical product business, Kim’s story is a must-read.
Founder Success Story QnA
Why not start and introduce yourself?
Thank you, Molly, thank you for having me here. My name is Kim McKee, I come from a marketing background. I did work for quite a few different marketing firms in my younger years, mainly in the marine industry, for boat sales companies and boat charter companies and that type of thing. Probably 13 or so years ago, I went out on my own and became a consultant and continued to consult to those, mainly the marine industry, but also other industries. In the last few years, I’ve sort of niched my consulting business down into mainly web development.
Tell me a little bit more about the thought process behind your first product?
First and foremost for us, the most important thing was the quality of the wine because, you know, wine in a pouch has a bit of a dodgy reputation. In the 80s, everyone was drinking out of the four-litre goon bags, and they’ve got a very awful reputation for very poor quality wine. So we knew to do this right from the outset, we had to find good quality parcels of wine. With my partner Mike’s wine industry contacts, that was, you know, not easy but easier than if you were starting fresh. So he knows a lot of people down in the Margaret River region. We also didn’t want it to be mass-produced, so he sourced small parcels of premium wine for the first series.
How did you actually find Start and Scale and Greta’s course?
I think I’ve been on the database for quite some time and I’ve read a lot of Nathan’s stuff. I’ve always been there, and then when we were starting to get really serious about Green Skin Wine, I saw the Start and Scale course and I thought, this is just perfect, I’ve got to do this course. So even though we kind of had the products in mind and we pretty much knew how we wanted it to look and that sort of thing, I did the course. I started right from the beginning and went through absolutely everything because it really did help clarify so many things in your own mind.
How did you feel about you and your husband merging together your skills to finally create a product?
I was probably more nervous than him; he’s quite confident with everything he does. He’s very confident in the packaging. And also, being mad keen boaters ourselves and outdoorsy type people, we spoke to so many people over the years about it, and everyone was just like, hurry up and do it, you know, we’re just sick of bottles. So I think we both knew the market was there. I was very confident that Mike would know how to get the production side of it happening and finding the good wine and getting the packaging right because that’s what he did. Now there’s quite a bit of pressure on me to get the marketing right.
How long did it actually take you from when you had this idea to make it a reality?
Probably about a year. We had the idea years ago, but then when we said yes, this is when the pouches became recyclable, it was about a year, I would say, in sourcing the packaging, the filling, before we actually hit go on the launch.
What were some of the key things that you implemented in your pre-launch strategy?
The first thing I did was just build a very basic landing page on the website that I could gather data from. Then I set up, obviously, the Facebook and Instagram were the two social channels that I used, and I just started talking about what we’re doing and inviting people into the story. You know, the good, the bad, the ugly. I told them when we had the failure with the swing tags that didn’t work and we were meant to be launching. Sorry, it’s been delayed for four weeks because we’ve had to change tactics. People are interested. I just kept them in the loop of the story of what was going on and then sign up, sign up, sign up to be first in line, which is what I was putting everywhere.
How many samples did you go through before you actually found the one that is now being used?
Pretty much, it was only two. We had one that the supplier sent us two different ones, and the one we chose had a better barrier to protect the wine because that’s the other thing; it has to be a special makeup of materials to be able to protect the quality of the wine but also satisfy the recycling piece. So we didn’t have a lot of choice. It was sort of like this or that. That was a little bit substandard, or the better one. We just went with the better one straight away.
How clean is your branding? Were you only sold on that one design from the start?
No, so we employed a gorgeous graphic designer, a local lady here called Sally from Blackjack Designs. We sort of gave her a bit of free reign. We had an idea in our heads, but I also didn’t want to influence her. I think you can overkill with designers and tell them too much what you want. She came up with quite a few concepts with the logo and the branding and the colors and all that sort of stuff, but she pretty much nailed it from the get-go. We wanted to keep it simple because, with the wines, we wanted to look quality, not cheap and nasty, but also not take ourselves too seriously. It didn’t want to be a stuffy brand either.
Walk me through how you went with the launch.
We launched on April 1st, funny day to do it. I actually did the launch to the database first because I always told them they’d be first in line. So two days before, which must have been the 30th of March, I sent the email out and launched it. You’re the first to get in, quick. That’s when we had that big blowout of sales. I think it was like $11,000 or something in four days. And then we launched it to the public.
Do you still remember when that first sale came through?
It was great, and I actually knew the guy, and I messaged him and I said, thank you so much. And he said, oh my god, I’ve never been first at anything. And I said, oh, you got it, you won. He said, oh yeah, I’m good at that. So yeah, it was good. And then I just kept looking at the sales, and they just kept on coming, so yeah, it was pretty exciting stuff.
From there, how do you plan on scaling?
I’ve got lots of ideas on different things we can scale. I’m very mindful of Greta’s advice with including added value. So I’m going to get Mike to do some introductory to wine courses, some very short, easy, digestible snippets online. We’ll also look at some decanters so you can decant the wine into a nice decanter to have on the table. We could sell plastic, you know, nice plastic glasses because most plastic glasses are horrible. We’ve been sourcing some good quality ones that we could sell on the side as well. I’m sticking pretty much to everything online, so we’ll do Facebook advertising and Instagram. We’ll keep building up our database, keep talking to them, keep providing value, and keep them excited.
Will you go about a process to help you with maybe a higher demand?
I think for now, definitely, we were very keen this first series, particularly to do everything ourselves to keep the quality control. Things happen, like the swing tags that we originally put on and them not working was terrible, but a good thing because we’ve had to go and undo every pouch and put a label on it. But for our first round, it just means we’ve checked every single pouch. We’ve been able to give it a good quality check. So to have that control round one has been wonderful. Then I would say we’ll do the same for round two, and then we’ll see. We’ve had some inquiries from overseas of some of the big wineries over there wanting to package Australian wine with their brand in it. If it sort of went to that level, then obviously we’ll maybe look at getting other people to help.
Do you have a particular revenue goal that you’re aiming for?
Yeah, we’d like to sell around $450,000 worth year one, so that’s the target. And if you break that back, you know, it’s about $8,500 a week, and it’s about just over $1,000 a day. So we’re almost touching, we’re just below that at the moment at how we’re tracking, but I think it’ll just exponentially grow now the more product that’s out there.
Have you had a great reception from others that see what you’re doing to help improve the waste?
Loads of people are just going, oh, that is just brilliant. And then people that sort of don’t know better on socials and stuff have said, oh, more plastic, how’s it better than glass? And then as soon as you explain, you know, one pack takes less than 20% of the energy to produce than a 750ml glass bottle, it’s so much lighter to transport, and then they don’t end up in landfill, you know, then it’s got to recycling people. I have a lot of faith in people, and particularly I think the younger generations are just so much more eco-conscious and aware.
What advice would you give to someone if they’re listening to this thinking in that mindset?
I think if you’ve got a really clear, it really helps to be passionate about it. If it’s something you really love and believe in, and you can see, you know, it’s an existing product you love, but you can see, oh my god, it could be so much better, I mean, how many products have just done so well by adapting something that’s already out there? Just go for it. Be very clear with your vision of your brand, who you are, who you want to be, how you want to be portrayed and perceived in the marketplace. And keep that real customer focus, what is in it for them?
How much your life has changed since bringing out this product?
Oh, I’m just busier. I’m still building websites for other clients as well, which yeah, so I just said to myself, you’re as busy as me in two years. But I just feel very busy. You know, and marketing doesn’t end. His packaging’s ending now; everything’s sorted, it’s in the warehouse. He’s like, I’m going to be helping you create content now. I’m like, okay, so excited. So yeah, we’re going to still try and keep it fun. I’m not different in any crazy way; I just feel a little bit more pressure. I think the more we’re selling and the more feedback and the photos we’re getting, the more I’m kind of going, okay, you know, it’s happening, it’s rolling.
Is there anything else you would like to say to those that are listening?
I’d just like to thank you and the course. It was just fabulous. I really did get a lot out of it. You never stop learning, do you? Being in marketing, obviously, some stuff you know, but it’s still just so great to hear it again, hear it from a different perspective, and hear it really, totally focused on e-commerce, which was why I was really drawn to the course. You’re learning from people that have done it; they’re not hacks. They’ve been there, done that, and there’s just so many little nuggets of gold throughout it.
Kim McKee Business Stats
Kim McKee, founder of Green Skin Wine, has achieved remarkable success in a short period. Her ecommerce business, centered around selling wine on Shopify, hit the ground running and continues to show impressive growth, all while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability and quality.
- Achieved $11,213 in sales within the first four days of launch.
- Currently generating over $30,000 per month in revenue.
- Year one revenue target is set at $450,000.
- Launched with a pre-launch email list of 350-400 highly engaged subscribers.
- The entire business, from product development to launch, took approximately one year.
- Unique selling proposition includes a 100% recyclable pouch and a mail-back recycling program.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly Revenue | $30,000+ |
| Year 1 Target | $450,000 |
| Initial Sales (4 days) | $11,213 |
| Time to Launch | ~1 Year |
Kim McKee Method
Kim’s method for building Green Skin Wine is a testament to strategic planning and authentic execution. By focusing on a real-world problem and building a community around her solution, she created a powerful launchpad for her brand. Here’s a breakdown of her core approach.
- Problem Identification: Identified the issue of bulky, heavy, and environmentally unfriendly glass bottles, especially for outdoor activities like boating and camping.
- Premium Product Sourcing: Leveraged industry contacts to source small, high-quality parcels of premium wine to overcome the poor reputation of wine in a pouch.
- Sustainable Packaging: Committed to finding a 100% recyclable pouch and established a unique mail-back partnership with RedCycle to ensure proper disposal.
- Authentic Pre-Launch: Built a landing page and used social media to share the entire journey, including mistakes, creating an engaged and loyal community before launch.
- Quality Control: Hand-filled and packaged the first batch of wine themselves using a custom-built trailer and filling machine to ensure top quality.
Kim McKee Tools
To bring her vision to life and manage the operations of Green Skin Wine, Kim utilized a mix of modern e-commerce tools and custom-built solutions. These tools were critical in everything from marketing to manufacturing, enabling her to compete effectively when selling wine on Shopify.
- Shopify: The core e-commerce platform for the Green Skin Wine online store, handling sales, payments, and product management.
- Facebook & Instagram: Primary social media channels for building brand awareness, engaging with the community, and running paid advertising campaigns.
- Custom Filling Trailer: A purpose-built mobile unit that allows them to travel to wineries and fill the pouches on-site, ensuring freshness and quality.
- Pouch Filling Machine: Specially imported equipment from the US designed to efficiently and accurately fill their recyclable wine pouches.
- RedCycle Partnership: A crucial partner in their sustainability mission, providing the infrastructure to recycle the used pouches into new products.
Key Notes
Kim’s journey offers several key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs. Her success isn’t just about having a great product; it’s about the strategy, mindset, and execution behind it. These notes highlight the core principles that guided Green Skin Wine to its early success.
- Authenticity Sells: Sharing the unfiltered journey, including mistakes and delays, built trust and a highly engaged community that was eager to buy at launch.
- Quality Over Price: Despite potential criticism, they held their ground on premium pricing, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to high-quality wine and differentiating it from cheap alternatives.
- Strong USP is Key: The combination of premium wine, portability, and a closed-loop recycling system created a powerful and defensible unique selling proposition.
- Leverage Expertise: Combining Kim’s marketing skills with her partner Mike’s deep wine industry knowledge created a perfect partnership for product development and storytelling.
- Community First: Focusing on building an email list and social media following before having a product to sell created a ready-made customer base for launch day.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Inspired by Kim’s story? Here’s how you can start your own ecommerce venture, particularly if you’re interested in a physical product. These five steps mirror the foundational stages of the Green Skin Wine journey, providing a roadmap for turning your idea into a reality.
- Identify a Real Problem: Find a genuine frustration or need in a market you are passionate about, just like Kim did with heavy glass bottles for outdoor activities.
- Develop a Quality Solution: Focus on creating a superior product or service that solves the problem effectively. Don’t cut corners on quality to save costs.
- Build Your Brand Story: Craft a compelling narrative around your brand. Be authentic, transparent, and invite people into your journey from day one.
- Pre-Launch and Build Hype: Create a simple landing page to capture emails. Use social media to share your progress and build an excited community before you launch.
- Launch and Market Authentically: When you launch, focus on channels where your audience lives. Encourage user-generated content and maintain the authentic voice you built during the pre-launch phase.
Conclusion
Kim McKee’s story with Green Skin Wine is a powerful example of how a well-executed idea can disrupt a traditional industry. By focusing on a niche problem, insisting on quality, and building a brand with authenticity and purpose, she has created a thriving business. Her journey proves that success in selling wine on Shopify or any other ecommerce venture comes from a deep understanding of the customer and a commitment to delivering real value.