{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/69b6c56c4266c9b1c7293116/6a16c499c92816b5441a6fc1?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Do Online Tastings Still Work in 2026? | Online Tasting Co","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/69b6c56c4266c9b1c7293116/1779895123861-c06a3a70-d4e7-444f-bcbe-6401227dbc18.jpeg?height=200","description":"<h2>🍷 How a Lockdown Pivot Became a Drinks Industry Innovation | Online Tasting Co</h2><p><br></p><p>Opening a new wine business just 36 days before the UK went into lockdown could have been the end.</p><p><br></p><p>Instead, it became the beginning of something entirely unexpected.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of <strong>The Drinks Entrepreneur Podcast</strong>, Alex sits down with <strong>Jamie Smith</strong>, co-founder of <strong>Online Tasting Co</strong> and <strong>EcoSip</strong>, to explore how a business built around in-person wine experiences reinvented itself during COVID and went on to create an innovative packaging solution that's now trusted by organisations including <strong>The Wine Society, Naked Wines and WSET</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>From delivering wine samples by hand during lockdown to building a specialist clean-room production facility and producing more than two million premium wine samples, Jamie shares the entrepreneurial journey behind one of the drinks industry's most innovative businesses.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h3>We discuss:</h3><p>🍷 Opening a wine business just weeks before lockdown</p><p>📦 Creating EcoSip's pioneering single-serve wine technology</p><p>🚀 Turning a crisis into an entirely new business model</p><p>🌍 Why alternative packaging could transform the future of wine</p><p>💡 Building trust, scaling innovation and challenging industry tradition</p><p><br></p><p>Whether you're a drinks entrepreneur, wine lover or founder looking to innovate in a traditional industry, this episode is packed with practical lessons on resilience, creativity and spotting opportunity where others see obstacles.</p><p><br></p><p>Out on Friday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and also on YouTube.</p>","author_name":"Alex Macintyre"}