Over three years of extensive collaboration, MobiDev provided full-cycle software development for Winejump, a SaaS platform that enables local wineries to sell their wines directly to customers across Europe. After launching in 2019, Winejump continued to evolve, expanding its services from 150 to over 1,500 wineries.
Country
Germany
Industry
Retail
Cooperation period
2019-2021
Cooperation type
consulting, dedicated development team of 5 experts
Country
Germany
Industry
Retail
Cooperation period
2019-2021
Cooperation type
consulting, dedicated development team of 5 experts
In 2019, we needed to transform a brilliant idea to an early viable product we could bring to market. As a young startup, we did not have the resources to set up an in-house backend and frontend team. MobiDev was a great match for us – and still is.
After MobiDev successfully completed the development of Winejump’s first version, Marco and Thomas introduced their product to the international winery market, replacing middlemen margins of €10+ with a flat €1/bottle sales fee. The launch coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the need for direct-to-consumer solutions as traditional distribution channels faced disruptions. Over 3 years of close collaboration, MobiDev continuously expanded the platform’s functionality, helping Winejump gain recognition in nine EU countries. Starting with 150 wineries upon Winejump’s launch, by 2021, over 1,500 wineries from 9 countries joined the platform, reaching a wide audience of wine enthusiasts without incurring extra costs on middlemen surcharges and presenting themselves directly to customers.
Back in 2019, serial entrepreneurs and wine enthusiasts Marco and Thomas launched a new joint business to operate in the international winery market. The business is aimed to connect customers directly with local wineries, simplify the purchase process, and avoid middlemen’s surcharges. Having worked on Marco’s previous startups development, MobiDev provided a team for full-cycle development of the Winejump web platform.
Although the European wine market’s $200 billion in revenue in 2020 highlights its scale and potential, many local wineries face significant challenges in expanding beyond their immediate region in search for new customers. In 2020, there were 2.2 million vineyard holdings in the EU, 83% of which had less than 1 hectare of vineyards. The intense competition, limited resources for marketing, and challenges in building brand recognition—compounded by limited distribution networks—make it particularly difficult to secure partnerships with new distributors or obtain more shelf space in retail stores. To ensure their wine reaches the end customer, wineries often have to rely on middlemen, which leads to additional costs and higher prices.
Cross-border expansion is further complicated by the complex legal requirements for international shipping, which can overwhelm smaller operations. These challenges collectively create a landscape where local wineries must navigate significant obstacles to compete in the global market.
Since the Winejump founders prioritized rapid 1st phase release, they were eager to assess the potential benefits and risks of using ready-made solutions. During the consulting stage, they clarified their expectations for the future evolution of the Winejump marketplace, prioritizing the desired set of features for implementation. The MobiDev team conducted a thorough analysis of the tech stack options and determined that third-party constructors would fail to support key feature implementation, making them unsuitable for Winejump marketplace development. Along with that, we built a thorough tech strategy, prioritizing desired features, which helped us complete the development of the first version of the application in 1.5 months.
Since the platform was designed for the international market, Winejump required automatic price generation based on each country’s tax policies and additional charges. The MobiDev team developed a solution that factors in customs fees and delivery costs to calculate the final price for each of the 9 delivery countries. This feature also enables Winejump users to automatically generate tax and shipping documentation within the seller’s account.
At the later stages of SaaS platform development, Marco and Thomas aimed to simplify the offline shopping experience for wineries. MobiDev implemented Sales Point Scan & Shop, a solution that transforms wine sellers’ tablets into an interactive catalog with checkout capabilities. This allows winery visitors to place orders directly in the shop and have their purchases delivered to their homes, enhancing convenience and streamlining the buying process.
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