Sip Channé is a female-minority-owned brand that is family-operated and dedicated to producing premium wines rooted in Provençal tradition. Its value proposition is to bring prestige, elegance, and iconic French flare to any wine list with its award-winning Provence-sourced blends. Its commitment to quality sets the company apart from other wine brands, as it works with a small, family-owned winery that uses sustainable farming practices to produce wines with unique and complex flavors. The person behind this successful venture is its CEO and founder, Kavita Channe.
Kavita was only five years old when her family immigrated to Coral Springs, Florida, from London, England, where she was born. She is the middle child of two sisters who are also amazing entrepreneurs in their own fields. She admires her Indian heritage, but she draws inspiration from all over the globe, including East Africa, where her parents were born and raised. Her dad gave up a career as a robotics engineer to start his own business in the health industry, inspired by one of her sisters’ health issues. As a teenager, she witnessed her parents go through all the ups and downs as business owners, which prepared her for who she is today. Her parents loved wine and often had wine-tasting parties with their friends. She never imagined being in the wine space until the summer of 2016, when she had a long season reporting in the sports world and needed a vacation. During her summer trip to Provence, she was introduced to rosé that was harvested just outside of the area where she was staying. “When I returned home, I found that the rosé I was being served at my favorite restaurants couldn’t compare to what I had experienced in France.” At that point, she decided to share her newfound love of rosé with others by bringing that piece of France home.
“If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, then you’re not dreaming big enough.”
A Sip of Sip Channé
The company was launched in the year 2018 in Florida and is now situated in seven states of the United States, including Hamptons, Nashville, and Aspen. In parallel, it is capable of shipping directly to almost every state in the United States. At Sip Channé, the mission entails crafting exceptional wines that embody the most discerning qualities, bring people together, and enhance life’s special moments. With that commitment to quality as well as innovation and sustainability, Kavita and her team strive to create a positive impact around the globe. The company’s passion for winemaking drives them to continuously improve and offer its customers a unique and memorable experience.
Sip Channé’s unique selling proposition is the premium quality of its wines, which are rooted in the traditional winemaking practices of Provence and made from sustainably farmed grapes. Its wines are made in collaboration with a small, family-owned winery outside of St. Tropez, using 40–60+ year-old vines, which adds to the complexity and unique flavor profile of its blends. Additionally, its wines are sugar-free, additive-free, and low in sulfites, setting the company apart from competitors who may not prioritize such quality standards. Its commitment to producing high-quality, sustainable wines in partnership with a team from diverse backgrounds also sets the company apart and adds value to its brand.
Becoming a leader
Kavita believes that understanding other people’s opinions helps a leader grow robustly. She likes to put herself in other people’s shoes. “It’s kind of like parenting, where I try to encourage strengths rather than focus on weaknesses,” she mentions. “Obviously, weak links in a chain need to be addressed, but offering solutions and seeing what people DO bring to the table is very important.” She also believes that it’s important to consider the wants and needs of your team; depending on the individual, some prefer to assume all responsibility and proceed independently, while others require direction.
According to Kavita, everything in her path has changed with time, including her leadership style. Her parents instilled in her the belief that she could achieve everything she set her mind to, which helped her become more confident as she got older. She does, however, think that confidence is generally like a muscle that takes some time to grow over time. She highlights that she used to discuss players getting “reps” when she was doing sports announcing in order for them to keep getting better. Similar to this, she has acted as a leader in business, so using that muscle is in her purview. Kavita considers mistakes as lessons and finds an opportunity to overcome such obstacles. Thus, she is unafraid of making mistakes along the way. “It’s inevitable,” says Kavita. “The key is being able to recover quickly and learn from them. Focusing on what we CAN do as a unit is the play right now.“
Kavita emphasizes that she has had numerous mentors along the way, including coworkers, clients, friends, and family. She focuses on a situation where she attended a tasting at one of the most well-known establishments in the region that generates a lot of business in the rosé sector. She received a lot of positive feedback for her product there, and not only did the owner buy some wine, but he also recommended it to a couple of his business associates who owned restaurants nearby. “He wasn’t getting anything out of it other than just wanting to help someone else that he saw giving maximum effort, like himself,” she states. According to Kavita, who fully believes in fate, such moments are extremely rare, but when they do happen, they are eye-opening and inspire others to pay it forward in the right way. “The universe works in magical ways,” she adds.
Self-care is vital
Kavita is a leader who is aware of the importance of taking care of herself. She tries to maintain good physical and mental health by putting an emphasis on eating well, getting enough sleep, taking vitamins, engaging in regular exercise, and practicing yoga and meditation. She understands that beginning each day with a physical program helps set a positive mood, boost productivity, and sharpen attention. She places a high priority on encouraging her team to practice self-care and frequently inspires them by getting them to work out together when she can. She feels that taking care of oneself results in happier, healthier, and more productive people who can then lead more successfully.
Additionally, she emphasizes professionally that the rise in demand for the production of rosé wines over the past five years has been one of the major developments in the wine sector. Rosé has become one of the wine categories with the highest global growth among consumers. As more wineries adopt ecologically friendly practices, there has also been a trend towards sustainability and organic farming in the production of wine. The expansion of online sales and direct-to-consumer delivery is another trend that has made it simple for customers to access and buy wines from all over the world.
The million-dollar advice
Kavita celebrates the immense growth in women’s empowerment; she thinks women are becoming wiser and more confident. They are starting their own companies without having to be promoted. She is friends with so many female founders and C-level executives—”and it’s so exciting when we get together and we are able to have a meeting of the minds while at dinner or an event,” she says.
She advises aspiring company leaders to take action now rather than waiting for the ideal moment. Further, she advises focusing on work rather than the negative notions passed on by other people. She asserts that caring for oneself is not selfish but highly important to make time for things that bring one joy and relaxation.
