The hospitality industry has suffered a number of set backs, from the pandemic to the energy crisis. Can tech save it? A local entrepreneur seems to think so.
When German national Fabienne Stanitz embarked on a master’s in hospitality, she noticed a significant problem holding back the wine industry: consumers were overwhelmed by choice while lacking knowledge. “In a restaurant you have a 100-page wine menu and think it’s a lot of gibberish, you don’t know what’s good. So you end up choosing the one you know you like,” Stanitz said, adding: “But there are more than 10,000 different varieties of grapes in the world and so many differentiations of wine!”
The entrepreneur taught herself more about wine and it was from here that the idea of FabstWines emerged. The platform combines an online marketplace for exclusive and less well known wines with social media-inspired communication tools and edutainment.
“I want to create a community with people who are interested in wine. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you know about wine,” said Stanitz.
The platform, which is expected to go live at the end of April, will challenge consumers to explore their wine preferences, opening up the world of wine through activities like pairing with food. At the same time, users have the possibility to buy from winemakers via the site, and purchase exclusive bottles.
“My challenge is to disrupt this industry and see what we can implement in future to make life easier for customers as well as for the employees.”
Fabienne Stanitz, Founder & CEO of FabstWines
In a second phase, Stanitz plans to evolve the e-commerce element by integrating blockchain technology and AI into the platform. It means that the more a consumer uses the platform, the better it will get at providing customised content.
In future, FabstWines could use blockchain as part of a loyalty programme and with relation to traceability and fraud. And Stanitz is toying with the idea of creating NFTs as a receipt for the purchase of wine, an application which she believes will work well with exclusive wines that can then be safely stored in a wine cellar or vineyard until they are ready to be consumed.
Stanitz, who grew up in Saarlouis, Germany, lived for ten years in Dubai, Switzerland and the UK before founding her venture at the Luxembourg-City Incubator. She chose Luxembourg for its central location and was attracted by the efforts the country is making to support industry digitalisation. For Stanitz, this evolution is essential for the hospitality industry.
“No-one is really focusing on making a significant change to the hospitality industry which, if you look at the hierarchy and structure, hasn’t changed for 80 years. People are desperate and no longer want to work there,” said Stanitz, adding: “My challenge is to disrupt this industry and see what we can implement in future to make life easier for customers as well as for the employees.”
