“When we started [McBride Sisters Collection]we were young, we were women and we were black women,” says Andréa McBride. “So we didn’t look like those who have traditionally been successful in the wine industry.”
The McBride sisters’ path to business partnership wasn’t traditional either.
Half-sisters who were raised as only children in the world, each grew up in wine regions: Andréa in New Zealand and Robin in Monterrey, California. They established contact through the help of members of the family in 1999, after their father’s death, and soon discovered a common passion for wine and decided to use it in business.
The McBride sisters collection was founded in 2005. Nearly 20 years later, the Oakland-based company has grow to be the largest Black-owned wine company in the U.S., boasting several wine collections including Black Girl Magic wines “sourced from California’s finest wine regions” and She Can wines and spritzers.
Photo credit: courtesy of the McBride sisters collection
To get to this point, the sisters have had to be creative and agile in an industry that is “at a really interesting crossroads” when it comes to reaching a diverse consumer base, McBrides say. Overall, wine consumption is declining, reaching around 6% between 2017 and 2022, according to data published by the International Organization of Vine and Wine. CNN Business.
“The baby boomer generation, the main consumers of wine since they reached drinking age in the 1960s, is now in decline,” explains Andréa McBride, “and if you focus on this market, you will only grow by fighting for share.”
That’s why the McBrides have all the time been eager to connect with recent consumers, especially college-educated women of color. The gap between men and women who drink is closing, and college-educated women across all demographic groups are drinking more often and drinking more days a month, according to research by a moving company. Future.
“Distributors and retailers have the most power in our industry and are applying this playbook to brands,” says Andréa McBride, “and the results don’t seem to be working for those who see the value our portfolio provides in terms of being much more accessible, socially and culturally aware.”
The McBrides note that they have also observed a “stylistic” difference between the kinds of wines baby boomers gravitate toward and those favored by younger consumers: “a trend toward lighter sorts of wine versus big, heavy Cabernet Sauvignon [or] big, buttery Chardonnay.”
People also drink wine in other ways. “The wine industry has, for the most part, focused on table occasions from a very Eurocentric perspective,” says Andréa McBride. “But in our circle, the food we eat is global, so we just think through that lens.”
The McBride Sisters collection “is extremely food-friendly” and pairs well with a number of cuisines, say the co-founders, adding that “occasions in this generation are not entirely focused on the table – [they] may be, but wine also appears in different contexts.”
The McBrides admit the wine industry is not “easy”: “We faced a lot of pushback because the way we thought, the way we moved and acted was completely different.”
But it’s also been “very rewarding” and “cool,” and they encourage other Black founders to “get involved.” Just remember to find a mentor you may trust and surround yourself with community first.