Divina Sangria founder Maria Corbinos never planned to start a beverage company. She moved to the United States from her native Barcelona, Spain, to complete an MBA.
On March 5, Divina Sangria – also known as Enjoy Life LLC – will compete with seven other seed-stage finalists at OEN’s Angel Oregon, in hopes of winning a $25,000 investment prize.
Divina Sangria was sparked by Maria's desire to "enjoy a little bit of Spain in the U.S. in the form of sangria," a traditional Spanish drink made with premium wine, fruit and a few secret ingredients. Maria brought sangria to gatherings with friends and colleagues, made according to the recipe her family has used for more than four generations.
"Friends and family kept asking why I didn't sell the product," Maria says. "I also realized there is an underserved market of female consumers looking for a high-quality alternative to wine and beer."
A Business is Born
Maria enrolled in the "Getting your Recipe to Market" course taught at Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center in Portland.
Faced with the choice of taking a new job or pursuing her own business, "I chose to start Divina Sangria. With our authentic sangria recipe rooted in more than 150 years of family tradition, we are confident that we have a differentiated value product for our target audience."
Maria and her business partner, Magdy Salama, shared their business idea with friends, who encouraged them to start bringing the sangria to celebrations as a kind of market test.
"People liked it so much that I started receiving calls to check what time I – and my sangria! – would be arriving at celebrations and events," Maria says. "It was always gone very fast. The product was hot!"
Maria's and Magdy’s friends started taking bottles of sangria to events, and people kept asking where they could buy it. This confirmed for the partners that they were filling a real gap in the beverage market.
"We tested our sangria with beverage and wine experts and specialty stores such as New Seasons Market, and received very positive feedback about the taste, branding, and market opportunity," Maria says. “It is the ideal product for the retailers to cross-sell with fresh fruit, starters, chips and dips.”
High-end catering services, bars, and restaurants are also enthusiastic about Divina Sangria. “Managers at Jake’s Famous Crawfish and Jake’s Grill told us Divina is a wonderful stand-alone drink and fantastic base for amazing cocktails. They are waiting for us to launch the product.”
Getting the Details Right
Starting a food business – and especially, an alcohol-related business – is rife with bureaucracy. But Maria says there’s an advantage to those hurdles: They pose a barrier to entry for potential competitors.
Maria and Magdy worked with the Food Innovation Center to craft a manufacturing process that would allow them to ramp production as demand increases. “Their guidance and expertise helped us very much in achieving our production goals,” Maria says.
Maria and Magdy are in the process of securing their trademark and have been attending trade shows. “The Fancy Food Show in San Francisco was a proof point,” says Maria. There the partners saw how well their sangria compared with other new food products. They also observed that appreciation of Spanish cuisine and beverages is still growing.
Building a Board
“Our brightest green light was the interest from highly regarded professionals,” says Maria. Divina Sangria’s advisory board now includes Evan Bellinger, who’s responsible for managing 15 vineyards; Lisa Herlinger, owner and founder of Ruby Jewel ice cream, which distributes products in 10 states; and Sarah Masoni, who has more than 30 years’ experience in food product development.
The Next Step: OEN’s Angel Oregon
With so much encouragement and validation from food and beverage experts, it’s time to raise capital. Angela Jackson, a well-known Portland investor, recommended that Divina Sangria apply for Angel Oregon.
"Angela had reviewed our business plan several months ago and believed in the product, the company, and the team," Maria says. "The next thing we knew, we were finalists! This gave us a boost of energy."
Divina Sangria has received assistance from other Oregon Entrepreneurs Network members, too.
“Irving Levin has been a great support in connecting us with key professionals in the wine industry,” Maria said. “Abe Cable and Angela reviewed our business plan and provided valuable advice.”
It was a former Hewlett Packard Co. executive who recommended Maria and Magdy join OEN: Michael Thompson, an OEN member who was María ’s manager at HP a dozen years ago. Maria is now a volunteer with OEN’s education committee.
Divina Sangria’s Competitive Advantages
The market has already accepted other companies’ versions of sangria, including Bacardi’s “Silver Signature Sangria” and even a sangria-flavored chewing gum. Tapas and other Spanish dishes are still growing in popularity, and sangria is the perfect accompaniment to Spanish cuisine as well as other cuisines.
Divina Sangria is not only launching at the right time, it also has the advantage of a personable spokeswoman: Maria, a modern Spanish woman rooted in strong tradition who exemplifies the Spanish love of good food and drink.
“Magdy and I are motivated by sharing our Spanish culture and heritage with the American people,” Maria says.
The partners are highly motivated by the prospect of delivering a great return for investors. They also want to help local food banks and the American Cancer Society.
“That will be our success,” Maria says, “when we can deliver a higher-than-promised return on investment, and contribute to our local community.”
