Lot18
Lot18 is a New York City-based online wine and gourmet goods seller founded in 2010, now operating primarily as a traffic and affiliate marketing partner driving consumer leads to Firstleaf's wine club subscription service.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Lot18 does
Lot18 is a New York City-based online marketer and seller of wine and gourmet goods, founded in 2010. The company originally operated as a flash-sale style e-commerce platform for premium wines and artisanal food products, and over its history raised approximately $44.5 million across five funding rounds (2010-2011) from tier-one venture investors including Accel, FirstMark, and New Enterprise Associates. Lot18 pursued vertical consolidation through acquisitions of Vinobest (2011), TastingRoom.com (2013), and CustomVine (2018), all for undisclosed amounts.
Lot18 currently operates with 51-100 employees and is privately held. The most recent functional evidence indicates the company has transitioned from a direct e-commerce operator to primarily a traffic and affiliate marketing partner — evidenced by the utm_source=lot18.com parameter embedded in Firstleaf's wine club subscription URLs, through which Lot18 drives qualified consumer leads to Firstleaf's personalized wine subscription service. No revenue figures, customer counts, or product-level technical specifications are disclosed in available sources. Leadership publicly disclosed includes Ilana Brown, Head of Account Management. The company's website domain (lot18.com) remains active and continues to function as a customer acquisition channel within the broader alcoholic beverage e-commerce market, which is reported at USD 6.3 billion in 2025 with projections to USD 100.26 billion by 2035.
Lot18 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lot18
- Website
- https://lot18.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Lot18 is a New York City-based online wine and gourmet goods seller founded in 2010, now operating primarily as a traffic and affiliate marketing partner driving consumer leads to Firstleaf's wine club subscription service.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lot18 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Wine Retail
- NAICS
- Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)
- SIC
- Retail-Food Stores (5400)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wine Shops (Off-Premise) (CRANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Gourmet & Fine Food Stores (CRAHAGAG)
Keywords
Where Lot18 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Lot18 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Lot18 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lot18 is an online marketer and seller of wine and gourmet goods headquartered in New York City. Founded in 2010, the company curates and sells discounted, often limited-availability wines and gourmet food items directly to consumers through its e-commerce website. It has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions of wine-related businesses including Vinobest (2011), TastingRoom.com (2013), and CustomVine (2018).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Wine Retail Direct-to-consumer online sales of curated and discounted wines sourced from various producers. Targeted at individual wine enthusiasts and gift buyers in the United States.
- Gourmet Food Sales
Companies that use Lot18
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Lot18 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Lot18 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- FirstleafcoreLot18 drives customer traffic to Firstleaf (America's #1 Awarded Wine Club Subscription) as evidenced by utm_source=lot18.com parameter in Firstleaf's URL. This indicates Lot18 operates as a marketing/affiliate partner, sending qualified leads/purchases to Firstleaf's wine club subscription service.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Lot18 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wine.com: Largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailer in the US, offering a broad selection with direct shipping across states. Directly comparable to Lot18 in product category (wine), target customer (US DTC wine buyers), and e-commerce delivery model.
- Firstleaf: Personalized wine club subscription service that Lot18 actively drives traffic to. Directly comparable as a wine e-commerce platform targeting US consumers with curated bottles and subscription mechanics.
- Drizly: Online alcohol marketplace and delivery platform (acquired by Uber in 2021). Comparable as a leading alcohol e-commerce platform competing for the same DTC alcohol shopper Lot18 targets.
- Vivino: Wine marketplace app with community reviews and direct purchase functionality. Comparable in serving wine consumers through digital channels and enabling DTC wine transactions.
- Winc: Personalized wine subscription club that produces its own label wines. Comparable as a curated wine subscription service using a personalization-driven e-commerce model similar to what Lot18 originally offered.
Emerging players
- Bright Cellars: Wine subscription service using a quiz-based personalization model. Comparable in product category (wine subscription) and target consumer (millennial DTC wine buyers), though smaller in scale.
- Thirstie: Alcohol e-commerce and delivery marketplace. Comparable in offering DTC alcohol via digital channels, though with a broader beverage portfolio and on-demand delivery focus.
- ReserveBar: Premium spirits and wine online retailer. Comparable as an online alcohol retailer, though focused on the premium/gift segment rather than the broader wine marketplace positioning.
- Saucey: On-demand alcohol delivery platform operating in select US markets. Comparable in DTC alcohol e-commerce, but focused on rapid delivery rather than curated wine selection.
- Cellars Wine Club: Long-running wine subscription club offering curated monthly selections. Comparable as a wine club subscription model targeting US DTC wine consumers, though with a longer-tenured and more traditional positioning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Lot18 social profiles
Digital presenceLot18 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lot18 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lot18 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lot18 M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lot18
What does Lot18 do?
Lot18 is an online marketer and seller of wine and gourmet goods headquartered in New York City. Founded in 2010, the company curates and sells discounted, often limited-availability wines and gourmet food items directly to consumers through its e-commerce website. It has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions of wine-related businesses including Vinobest (2011), TastingRoom.com (2013), and CustomVine (2018).
Is Lot18 a public or private company?
Lot18 is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lot18 founded?
Lot18 was founded in 2010. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Lot18 based?
Lot18 is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Lot18's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wine.com, Firstleaf, Drizly, Vivino and Winc. Emerging players are Bright Cellars, Thirstie, ReserveBar, Saucey and Cellars Wine Club.
Does Lot18 have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lot18.
What industry is Lot18 in?
Lot18's product category is Online Wine Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRANAAAB, Wine Shops (Off-Premise), with a secondary code of CRANABAF, Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail). Its NAICS code is 445320 and its SIC code is 5400.