Combining wine and blockchain is the challenge of the French startup InterCellar. The combination, used for traceability, has already enabled the Bordeaux company to raise nearly a million euros at the end of 2023. It now welcomes a new shareholder, the Partouche group.
Through its innovation branch, Partouche Multiverse, the family casino company announces an investment – without however indicating the share of capital acquired or the amount actually invested.
Storage, authenticity and liquidity
The new shareholder defends “a strategic investment” in the wine and spirits startup. The Partouche group is not its first initiative in the world of Web3 with its debut in 2022 during the first edition of Paris NFT Day.
In keeping with the current trend, like for example the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club, Partouche set up a club (Joker Club) whose membership was symbolized by the possession of an NFT, a non-fungible token.
Through Partouche Multiverse, the company is deploying a strategy aimed at combining entertainment, technology, community and immersion. And the entry into the capital of InterCellar would therefore be part of this policy.
However, the NFT wave has largely subsided. InterCellar differentiates itself from most applications of these tokens by associating them with physical products, such as luxury and watchmaking players.
Desire to modernize Partouche establishments
Through its marketplace, the startup markets bottles, associated with their digital twins. Its founders see in this duo a way for “consumers to store and exchange bottles without having them physically.”
Louis de Bonnecaze and Maxime Garraud thus promote “a notable development which responds to consumer issues concerning storage, authenticity and liquidity.” This business model would therefore open up synergies with Partouche.
These products “represent an essential element of the overall experience offered to customers”, considers the group. This intends to take a position on the tokenization market, i.e. the digitalization of real assets or RWA (Real World Assets).
“The integration of quality products, combined with innovative devices, actively contributes to the modernization of its establishments,” declares Maurice Schulmann, president of Partouche Multiverse, to justify this investment.