Nathalie Taquet, eBottli
Nathalie Taquet, CEO and Co-Founder, eBottli
When we enjoy a glass of our favourite wine, we expect that we’re drinking the real thing. But that isn’t always the case. In the $370 billion global wine industry, up to 20% of wine is fake, and 50% of wine exceeding $35 per bottle in China is counterfeit.
Nathalie Taquet, Founder and CEO of eBottli, is no stranger to this billion dollar problem. Her family owns a winery (left) in the Burgundy wine region, three hours drive south or Paris. With her roots in the French wine industry, she can appreciate the benefits that a world without counterfeiting can provide.
After 15 years experience working in scientific research for a number of major brands such as Nestlé, she was made redundant and forced to rethink her career. With her passion for wine, and her husband Nicolas to support her with his experience in technology and IoT, Nathalie decided to create something of her own.
Not only did she create her own business, but did so on the other side of the world. With only five suitcases in their arms, Nathalie and her family took a huge leap of faith and moved to Australia. In addition to creating a new experience for her and her family, Australia provided support through the visa for startups and an opportunity to work with Australia’s world-class wineries.
Nathalie’s family’s winery: Château de Vaulichères, Burgundy, France
Starting out in Sydney, they had just enough capital with Nathalie’s redundancy package and a grant through the new SISA (Supporting Innovation in SA) program, so Nathalie and her family eventually settled in Adelaide.
Together with Nicolas, they would face the challenge of starting a new business in a foreign country and in an entirely new language.
“To further my business experience, I completed an executive MBA and did some residential work in Brazil, China, United States and in France,” says Nathalie. “I was able to learn about those markets and make some amazing contacts, particularly in China.
For Nathalie, having contacts in China is critical to the early stages of eBottli.
“eBottli uses IOT technology to bring security and integrity to the Australian wine industry. We use sensors and devices to trace wine exports during each stage of the supply chain, focused initially on the Chinese market.”
“During the wine bottle’s journey, data is captured and written to the blockchain, ensuring customers are drinking the authentic product,” states Nathalie.
By securing the bottle at each stage, eBottli ensures the brand and reputation of Australian winemakers are protected.
eBottli IoT device
The eBottli technology also allows wine drinkers to connect with the vineyard, and see the story behind the wine,” said Nathalie. “Consumers in China can then use their smartphones to scan the label and read its Australian story of origin.”
Nathalie’s hopes to eventually expand eBottli’s reach to other key wine export markets so that people all over the world can trust what they are drinking. The technology can also be applied to adjacent verticals, such as seafood exports.
eBottli has gained considerable support through the SproutX accelerator program, particularly the connections with investors and using a startup mentality to challenge their assumptions.
“Over the last six months, we’ve stayed flexible in how we’ve approached our business. We may feel we have great ideas, but we always do our research to understand the market and our customers to test those ideas. A deep understanding of the customer is always critical,” says Nathalie.
SproutX has also been a way for Nathalie to connect and learn from other founders.
“It’s been helpful for us to ask questions and brainstorm with others and have some guidance moving through these early stages of our startup.”
eBottli IoT scanner
