How Mark Cuban’s $225K Investment Catapulted This Black-Owned Wine Label to Nationwide Fame in Less Than a Year
In a recent episode of Mark Cuban ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Whitney and Chaz Gates, a Black-owned wine label Wondry, shared that their annual sales skyrocketed, surpassing $1.1 million. This remarkable growth was attributed to the $225,000 investment from Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, less than a year prior.
In their initial pitch in November 2022, the Gateses revealed Wondry’s lifetime sales of $250,000, with $60,000 in profit over 11 months. Cuban’s investment secured a 15% stake in the company, sparking a transformative journey. Less than a year later, Wondry CEO Whitney Gates credited the exposure from “Shark Tank” for elevating their brand from a local Texas business to a nationally recognized one.
Mark Cuban
Initially seeking funding for an automated bottling line and expansion beyond their 1,400-square-foot facility, the Gateses saw Cuban’s investment propel Wondry to new heights. Two weeks post-investment, Cuban facilitated a meeting with a representative from national alcohol distributor Southern Glazer’s. This connection led to a distribution deal, placing Wondry products in restaurants, retailers, and airline partners across the United States.
Presently operating from a 10,000-square-foot space, Wondry’s products are available in over 400 stores nationwide, a substantial increase from the 50 retailers at the time of their “Shark Tank” appearance. The company produces a range of 100% natural cocktail wines with berry, citrus, and exotic fruit flavors.
Wondry’s journey commenced with the Gateses investing $100,000, largely from personal savings, to launch the wine label in August 2021. Drawing on their prior work experiences in marketing for major beverage brands (Whitney) and as in-house counsel for a tech company (Chaz), the couple brought valuable insights and skills to the venture.
The investment from Mark Cuban not only proved to be a sound business decision but also demonstrated a commitment to supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs in an industry where Black entrepreneurs own less than 1% of U.S. wine labels, according to data from the Association of African American Vintners (AAAV), founded in 2022 to promote Black participation and ownership in the wine industry.
