Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE), are you seeing a premium wine brand or a creator-economy tech play? The reality is a dramatic pivot, where the company, now Amaze Holdings, Inc., transformed its structure in March 2025, moving from low-carb wine to a digital commerce platform that supports over 14 million creators. This strategic shift, which boosted stockholders' equity to approximately $80 million and saw the Amaze platform generate $1.25 million in Q3 2025 revenue with a 93.6% gross margin, presents a fascinating case study in corporate reinvention. How does a company with a $5.15 million net loss in the same quarter sustain that kind of growth, and what does the new business model defintely mean for its long-term value?

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) History

The story of Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. is less about a slow-burn brand build and more about a sharp, recent pivot. It began as a celebrity-backed wine company focused on the better-for-you market, but financial pressures forced a complete strategic overhaul in 2025, transforming it into a digital commerce platform.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company was established in 2019, aiming to tap into the growing consumer demand for low-carb, low-calorie premium wines.

Original location

While the wines were produced in Napa Valley, California, the company's early operational base and corporate office were in the Twin Cities area, specifically Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Plymouth.

Founding team members

The company was co-founded by a mix of celebrity influence and business acumen, including actresses Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough. The core business leadership included Damian Novak, who served as Executive Chairman, and Rick Nechio, the President.

Initial capital/funding

Initial seed funding details remain private, but the first major capital injection was through its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in December 2021, where Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. raised approximately $22 million. In 2025, the company secured a $1.5 million Post IPO funding round on February 6.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The most significant shift in the company's history was the complete abandonment of its original wine business for a technology focus in 2025. Honestly, this was a survival move after the wine segment struggled to achieve profitability. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the company reported net revenues of only $1.96 million against a net loss of $9.8 million, so the change was defintely needed.

The acquisition of Amaze Software, Inc. in March 2025 was the pivot point. This transaction immediately addressed a critical issue: NYSE American compliance. Here's the quick math: the deal resulted in a preliminary stockholders' equity of approximately $80 million, which is a massive jump above the $4 million compliance threshold. This move saved its public listing.

The financial profile post-acquisition shows the new direction and its immediate impact:

• Revenue Surge: Total net revenue for Q2 2025 was approximately $870,000, a huge increase from the prior year's $70,000, primarily due to the new Amaze operations.
• Gross Profit Turnaround: The company achieved a gross profit of $788,000 in Q2 2025, a significant turnaround from a gross loss in the same period a year earlier.
• Liquidity Warning: What this estimate hides is the severe liquidity risk; as of September 30, 2025, the company reported a massive working capital deficit of $26 million, driven by a year-to-date cash burn of $9.8 million from operations.

The company is now a digital commerce entity operating under the name Amaze Holdings, Inc., with the wine brand as a small, non-core segment. You can dig deeper into the current financial standing by reading Breaking Down Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Ownership Structure

The ownership and governance of Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. have fundamentally shifted following its strategic acquisition of Amaze Software, Inc. in March 2025. The company is now known as Amaze Holdings, Inc., trading under the ticker AMZE on the NYSE American exchange, but still carries the legacy of its wine-focused origins.

This publicly-held entity is controlled overwhelmingly by retail investors, a common structure for smaller-cap companies, while its strategic direction is now firmly set by the Amaze Software leadership team who took the reins post-merger.

Given Company's Current Status

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. is a publicly-held company, but its corporate identity and focus have changed dramatically in 2025. The company successfully completed its acquisition of Amaze Software, Inc. in March 2025, and subsequently changed its name to Amaze Holdings, Inc. with a new ticker symbol, AMZE. The original wine business is now part of a larger creator-powered commerce platform.

This strategic pivot helped the company regain NYSE American compliance, reporting a preliminary stockholders' equity of approximately $80 million as of March 6, 2025. That's a massive jump from prior periods, driven by the acquisition's accounting, including about $98 million in goodwill and intangibles. If you want to dive deeper into the financial health of the combined entity, check out Breaking Down Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

As of November 2025, the company's capital structure shows a high concentration of shares held by the public, reflecting the dilution from the merger and subsequent capital raises. For instance, Amaze Holdings, Inc. sold 10,735,000 shares of common stock to a single institutional investor between September and November 2025 for about $4.87 million in a private sale. Honestly, the public owns most of the float, so retail sentiment matters a lot here.

Given Company's Leadership

The company's leadership team is a blend of the former Amaze Software executives and experienced directors from the original Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. structure. The executive team, with an average tenure of 2.5 years, is steering the company's new direction toward creator-driven commerce. The board, however, has a much shorter average tenure of only 0.7 years, suggesting a very new governance structure post-merger.

• Aaron Day: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board. He was appointed CEO in June 2025 and brings two decades of executive experience, having previously led Amaze Software, Inc.
• Keith Johnson: Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Secretary. He was appointed CFO in April 2025, overseeing the financial integration of the new entity.
• Rick Nechio: President & Head of Sales. He was a key figure and top investor in the original Fresh Vine Wine structure.
• Danielle Pederson: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). She was promoted to this role in August 2025, focusing on the new platform's brand development.
• Michael Pruitt: Vice-Chairman of the Board. As the former CEO of Fresh Vine Wine, he remains a key director, providing continuity and historical perspective.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Mission and Values

The company's core purpose has shifted dramatically in 2025, moving beyond premium wine to focus on empowering the creator economy through technology, a change signaled by the corporate name transition to Amaze Holdings, Inc. The mission now centers on giving creators the tools to scale their influence into profitable, lasting brands, uniting the original wine business with innovative e-commerce solutions.

Given Company's Core Purpose

You need to understand that Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) is now Amaze Holdings, Inc., trading as AMZE since March 24, 2025. This acquisition of Amaze Software Inc. fundamentally changed the company's cultural DNA and long-term aspirations, pivoting the mission from a niche beverage brand to a technology-driven commerce platform. The original wine brand's values-wellness and accessible luxury-are now integrated into a broader strategy for creator-driven commerce.

Official mission statement

The combined entity's mission is a clear statement of intent: to empower the next generation of digital entrepreneurs by giving them the technology, tools, and opportunities to scale their brands and turn creativity into lasting success. This is a massive leap from just selling wine; it's about building a commerce ecosystem.

• Give creators technology and tools to scale their brands.
• Enable sustainable monetization and deep community connection.
• Help creators turn influence into powerful, profitable businesses.

Honestly, the mission is now less about the low-carb wine and more about the 14 million creators the Amaze platform supports, which is a huge shift in focus for investors.

Vision statement

The vision is to become the leading platform that shapes the future of creator-driven commerce, using technology to simplify product creation, marketing, and sales for influencers and entrepreneurs. The original Fresh Vine Wine vision-to lead the emerging natural and accessible premium wine category-is now a product line within this much larger, digital-first ambition.

• Strengthen position as a platform for creator-driven commerce.
• Unite premium consumer products (like the wine) with innovative e-commerce technology.
• Expand revenue opportunities for creators at every stage of their evolution.

The old vision saw the company capturing 3.7% of the premium direct-to-consumer wine market by 2025, but the new vision targets a much bigger, $3 trillion global total addressable market for creator commerce. If you're looking at the financials, the 2023 reported revenue of $13.4 million for the wine business shows the scale of the original foundation, but the future growth is clearly tied to the Amaze platform.

For a deeper dive into who is backing this new direction, you should be Exploring Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company slogan/tagline

While the company doesn't use a single, formal, and public-facing slogan for the combined entity, the underlying ethos and call-to-action is clear: Go from where they are today to something truly amazing.

• Active Lifestyle (Original Fresh Vine Wine brand focus).
• Thoughtfully Crafted Wines (Original Fresh Vine Wine product promise).
• Sell Anything, Anywhere (Amaze Software core capability).

The transition to the ticker AMZE is defintely a statement, signaling a commitment to the success of creators and the future of digital commerce, which is the most actionable tagline for investors right now.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) How It Works

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. fundamentally operates as a two-part business: a high-margin digital commerce platform for the creator economy, Amaze, and an asset-light premium wine producer, Fresh Vine Wine, following its strategic acquisition in March 2025. The company's value is now primarily driven by the Amaze platform, which enables social media creators to launch and monetize their own product lines through direct-to-consumer commerce.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

The company now operates under two distinct segments, E-commerce/Subscriptions and Wine Products, with the E-commerce segment driving the significant revenue growth seen in 2025. In Q2 2025, total net revenue reached approximately $870,000, largely due to the inclusion of Amaze's operations.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The operational framework is now centered on scaling the Amaze platform, which is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model with significant operational leverage. The wine segment, while still active, is now an operating subsidiary under the larger Amaze Holdings structure.

• Creator Monetization: The Amaze platform provides tools for its base of 12.2 million 'Total Active Creators with Stores' to design, list, and sell products directly to their audience, generating Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $2.7 million in Q3 2025.
• Asset-Light Wine Production: The wine segment maintains its original model, utilizing third-party partners for grape sourcing, production, and bottling in Napa, California, which minimizes capital expenditure.
• Cost Containment: Management is focused on achieving GAAP profitability by Q1 2026, a goal that relies heavily on planned cost reductions. This includes a labor cost reduction of $215,000 per month starting in December 2025.
• Technology Integration: The company is integrating its new Amaze Moments AI engine to improve platform efficiency and coincide with the planned labor cost cuts.

Here's the quick math: Q3 2025 net revenue of $1.25 million with a 93.6% gross margin means the cost of revenue is tiny, but the net loss of $5.15 million shows the massive burn rate from high Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses. You defintely see the high-stakes pivot in those numbers.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

The company's primary strategic advantage is the unique combination of a high-margin tech platform and a premium consumer product brand, which positions it at the intersection of the creator economy and the 'better-for-you' consumer trend. Exploring Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

• High Operational Leverage: The E-commerce/Subscriptions segment delivered a gross margin of 93.6% in Q3 2025, validating the Amaze platform's capacity for high-value software and service delivery.
• Unique Product Category Access: Amaze is one of the few creator commerce platforms that can legally and logistically offer wine and spirits as a product category for creators to launch their own branded lines, a highly sought-after product by their audience.
• Brand-to-Tech Synergy: The original Fresh Vine Wine brand, founded by celebrities Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough, provides a proof-of-concept for celebrity/influencer-driven commerce that the Amaze platform can replicate for its creator base.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) How It Makes Money

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) has fundamentally transitioned its financial engine from a low-calorie wine brand to a high-margin, creator-powered commerce platform, Amaze Holdings, Inc., following its acquisition of Amaze Software, Inc. in March 2025. The company now generates the vast majority of its revenue by facilitating e-commerce, subscriptions, and digital sales for over 12 million creators, with a minimal, legacy contribution from its original wine product line.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

The strategic pivot has completely reshaped the revenue mix, with the high-margin e-commerce platform now dominating the top line. For the third quarter of 2025, the company reported total net revenue of $1.25 million, a 44% sequential increase driven almost entirely by the Amaze platform's operations.

Here's the quick math: The E-commerce/Creator Platform revenue is the primary driver, reflecting the platform's ability to scale with minimal Cost of Revenue (COR). The legacy Wine Products segment is now a marginal contributor, a clear sign of the company's new focus on the creator economy. Exploring Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Business Economics

The new business model is a high-leverage software and commerce platform, which is why the gross margin profile looks so strong, but the overall profitability remains challenging due to high operating expenses.

• Monetization Model: Amaze generates revenue through a hybrid model combining transaction fees, software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription fees, and margin on physical goods. Approximately 20% of the Amaze platform's revenue comes from software subscriptions, which is pure high-margin income.
• Commerce Margin: For physical goods sold through the platform, Amaze facilitates the sale of creator merchandise across over 250 base catalog products, generating a selling margin of 40-50% on product costs.
• Creator Efficiency: The platform boasts 12.2 million 'Total Active Creators with Stores,' yet this massive base generated Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of only $2.7 million in Q3 2025. This low utilization is a structural flaw; the estimated Creator Lifetime Value (LTV) is only $200.00, indicating a high volume of dormant or non-revenue-generating users.
• Pricing Strategy: The platform is designed to be accessible to a wide range of creators, with a high Average Order Value (AOV) of $50.20 (Year-to-Date 2025) across its storefronts. The legacy Fresh Vine wines, by contrast, had a premium pricing strategy, retailing between $14.99 and $24.99 per bottle.

The high gross margin is defintely a good sign, but the low LTV suggests the platform needs to shift its focus from mass acquisition to increasing transaction value per creator.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc.'s Financial Performance

The latest financial results for the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025) highlight the enormous operational leverage of the new platform, but also the significant near-term financial risk from aggressive spending.

• Gross Margin Profile: The company achieved an exceptionally high gross margin of 93.6% in Q3 2025, generating a gross profit of $1.17 million on $1.25 million in net revenue. This margin profile validates the scalability of the Amaze platform's technology.
• Net Loss and Burn Rate: Despite the strong revenue growth, the net loss expanded severely to $5.15 million in Q3 2025. This loss was primarily driven by a $4.3 million increase in Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses, reflecting the cost of scaling the new creator-focused business model.
• Liquidity: As of September 30, 2025, the company's cash position was only $0.30 million. Critically, the company subsequently raised $9.2 million in gross cash proceeds, providing a temporary liquidity buffer, but this funding only covers roughly 1.8 quarters of losses at the current burn rate.
• Forward Outlook: Management is targeting GAAP profitability by Q1 2026, a goal that hinges on a planned strategic cost reduction of approximately $215,000 per month starting in December 2025 and capitalizing on expected Q4 seasonal strength.

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Market Position & Future Outlook

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) has fundamentally shifted its market position following its reverse merger with Amaze Software, Inc. in March 2025, pivoting from a low-calorie wine producer to a high-margin, creator-powered commerce platform now operating as Amaze Holdings, Inc. This strategic pivot means the company's future outlook is tied to digital monetization, not wine sales, despite the legacy ticker.

The company now operates in the high-growth creator economy, aiming for GAAP profitability in Q1 2026, a highly ambitious target given the current cash burn. Here's the quick math: Q3 2025 saw net revenue of $1.25 million but a severe net loss of $5.15 million, driven by a $4.3 million increase in Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses. You're looking at a tech turnaround, not a beverage play.

Competitive Landscape

While the business has pivoted, the original Fresh Vine Wine brand still competes in the 'better-for-you' wine segment, a category that continues to sustain double-digit growth. However, the company's focus and revenue now come from the Amaze platform, making its share in the wine market negligible. The table below reflects the competitive reality in the legacy wine space as of 2025, which is where the VINE brand's recognition still lies.

Opportunities & Challenges

The new Amaze Holdings, Inc. (VINE) is pursuing a high-risk, high-reward strategy by leveraging the operational efficiencies of a software model. The core challenge is bridging the gap between massive user acquisition and actual revenue generation. Honestly, the liquidity position is defintely a concern.

Industry Position

Fresh Vine Wine, Inc., now Amaze Holdings, Inc., is positioned as an emerging player in the 'creator-powered commerce' space, which is a segment of the broader e-commerce market. This is a crowded, capital-intensive space, so scale is everything.

• Niche Focus: The company aims to monetize its large base of 12.2 million total active creators by enabling them to launch digital storefronts and manage commerce through the Amaze platform.
• High-Value Proposition: The exceptionally high gross margin of 93.6% on its Q3 2025 revenue suggests that each dollar of revenue is highly profitable once the substantial SG&A costs are brought under control.
• Legacy Brand Value: The original Fresh Vine Wine brand, while no longer the core business, retains its value proposition in the premium low-carb, low-calorie wine category, which is one of the few growth pockets in the declining overall U.S. wine market.

To understand the ownership structure and why this pivot occurred, you should read Exploring Fresh Vine Wine, Inc. (VINE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?