Cru World Wine
Cru World Wine operates a global online marketplace for buying, selling, and trading fine wine and spirits, serving 50,000+ private collectors and 3,000+ sellers across 40+ countries with integrated custody, delivery, analytics, and AI-assisted discovery tools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Cru World Wine does
Cru World Wine is a privately-held, London-headquartered operator of a global online marketplace for buying, selling, and trading fine wine and spirits. Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Howard (CEO, former investment banker with fine wine e-commerce experience since 2008) and Simon Farr (Chairman, 50-year industry veteran involved in founding Majestic and Bibendum), the company serves 50,000+ private collectors and 3,000+ trusted sellers across 40+ countries. Its marketplace lists over 80,000 fine wines and spirits with real-time bid/offer functionality, multi-currency settlement (USD, GBP, HKD, SGD, CNY, EUR, AED), and regional storefronts for the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Europe, and UAE. Operational hubs are maintained in London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Bordeaux.
The platform is built around an integrated technology stack comprising a web marketplace, an iOS/Android mobile app, an AI-powered "Wine Expert" assistant, condition verification checks, and a market analytics suite (Compare Vintages, Relative Value Analyser, Vintage Quality Guide). This sits alongside a vertically integrated physical infrastructure — over 20 professional storage facilities globally holding more than US$150 million of client wine — which functions as both a recurring-revenue custody service and a strategic lock-in that makes Cru the natural venue for subsequent resale of stored assets.
Cru generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) marketplace commissions on facilitated buy/sell transactions, (2) recurring storage and custody fees on assets held in its facilities, and (3) pass-through delivery and logistics fees. The customer base spans four segments — private collectors, wine investors treating wine as an alternative asset, verified third-party sellers, and wine enthusiasts — addressed through a horizontal segmentation approach. The company markets via its own platform, content/research publications, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Discord), mobile app, and a referral program, and operates dedicated B2B channels including a downloadable Trade List in Excel format for wine merchants.
Cru World Wine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cru World Wine
- Legal name
- Cru World Wine
- Website
- https://cruworldwine.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cru World Wine operates a global online marketplace for buying, selling, and trading fine wine and spirits, serving 50,000+ private collectors and 3,000+ sellers across 40+ countries with integrated custody, delivery, analytics, and AI-assisted discovery tools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cru World Wine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fine Wine and Spirits Online Marketplace
- NAICS
- Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (424820)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online Alcohol Retail & Ship-to-Consumer (CRANAAAG), Wine Retail (Bottle Shops & Wine Merchants) (CRANABAB)
Keywords
Where Cru World Wine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
Cru World Wine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Revenue model
- Marketplace Trading Fees: Commission-based revenue from facilitating buy and sell transactions of fine wines and spirits on the marketplace platform. Users can bid, offer, and trade wines with transaction settlement through the platform.
- Storage and Custody Services: The company acts as a major custodian holding over US$150 million of fine wine across 20+ storage facilities globally, charging fees for storage and custody services.
- Delivery and Logistics: Revenue generated from arranging delivery of wines to customers, with delivery costs passed on to users.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Storage fees available at /storage/features#storage_charges |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Delivery costs available at /delivery |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cru World Wine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cru World Wine operates a global online marketplace for buying, selling, and trading fine wine and spirits, featuring over 80,000 listings with real-time bid/offer functionality. The platform integrates professional storage and custody services across 20+ global facilities, portfolio management and analytics tools, an AI-powered wine expert, and delivery logistics to serve private collectors, investors, and trusted sellers in 40+ countries.
Product overview
Cru World Wine is a unified fine wine marketplace platform consisting of its core marketplace for buying/selling over 80,000 fine wine and spirits listings, supplemented by the Cru Free Wine App for mobile access, AI Wine Expert for intelligent assistance, professional Storage/Custody services across 20+ facilities, and comprehensive Portfolio Management and Market Analytics tools. The platform serves private collectors, traders, and investors with an all-in-one solution for wine investment and collection management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cru World Wine Marketplace Online marketplace for buying, selling, bidding, and trading fine wine and spirits with over 80,000 listings, real-time bid/offer functionality, and multi-currency support. Used by private collectors, investors, and trusted sellers across 40+ countries.
- Cru World Wine Mobile App Mobile application providing access to the Cru marketplace, portfolio management, and the AI Wine Expert from iOS and Android devices; aimed at collectors and traders who manage wine portfolios remotely.
- Storage and Custody Services Professional storage and custody of fine wine across 20+ global facilities with condition verification and insurance, used by collectors and merchants to safeguard wine between purchase, sale, or consumption.
- Delivery and Logistics Service
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 80,000 fine wine listings available for trading
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cru World Wine
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cru World Wine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Cru World Wine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cru World Wine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vinfolio: US-based service for buying, selling and storing fine wine collections. Overlaps with Cru's marketplace and custody services for collectors.
- WineBid: Large online marketplace and auction site for buying and selling fine wine. Competes for the same collectors and secondary-market wine trading as Cru.
- iDealwine: French online fine wine auction and marketplace with pricing data and global reach. Directly comparable in fine-wine e-commerce, price discovery and cross-border sales.
- Vinovest: Digital platform for investing in fine wine and whisky with managed storage. Mirrors Cru's combination of trading, custody and alternative-asset positioning.
- Liv-ex: London-based global marketplace and exchange for the fine wine trade, offering pricing data and trading. Directly comparable to Cru's marketplace, analytics and price-discovery model.
- Cult Wine Investment: Fine wine investment and portfolio management firm serving collectors and investors globally. Overlaps directly with Cru's wine-as-an-asset trading, storage and portfolio analytics offering.
- Wine Owners: Platform combining fine-wine portfolio management, valuation tools and a peer-to-peer marketplace. Closely aligned with Cru's integrated trading-plus-portfolio approach.
Broad incumbents
- Millesima: Global fine wine retailer and en primeur specialist serving collectors internationally. Overlaps with Cru's fine-wine sourcing and en primeur offering.
- Berry Bros. & Rudd: Established British fine wine and spirits merchant offering brokerage and bonded storage. A broad incumbent with overlapping fine-wine trading and custody but a traditional merchant model.
Emerging players
- Vint: Early-stage platform enabling fractional and full investment in fine wine and spirits. Intersects with Cru's alternative-asset investment thesis for wine and spirits.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cru World Wine social profiles
Digital presenceCru World Wine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cru World Wine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cru World Wine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cru World Wine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cru World Wine
What does Cru World Wine do?
Cru World Wine operates a global online marketplace for buying, selling, and trading fine wine and spirits, featuring over 80,000 listings with real-time bid/offer functionality. The platform integrates professional storage and custody services across 20+ global facilities, portfolio management and analytics tools, an AI-powered wine expert, and delivery logistics to serve private collectors, investors, and trusted sellers in 40+ countries.
Is Cru World Wine a public or private company?
Cru World Wine is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cru World Wine founded?
Cru World Wine was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cru World Wine based?
Cru World Wine is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cru World Wine make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Trading Fees are the primary driver. The others are storage and Custody Services and delivery and Logistics.
Who are Cru World Wine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vinfolio, WineBid, iDealwine, Vinovest, Liv-ex, Cult Wine Investment and Wine Owners. Broad incumbents are Millesima and Berry Bros. & Rudd. Vint is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cru World Wine have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cru World Wine.
What industry is Cru World Wine in?
Cru World Wine's product category is Fine Wine and Spirits Online Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRANABAE, Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail, with a secondary code of CRANAAAG, Online Alcohol Retail & Ship-to-Consumer. Its NAICS code is 445320 and its SIC code is 5180.