Editors’ Note

Jake Kloberdanz has bee< recognized by Businessweek as one of the “Top 25 under 25,” OC Metro’s “Top 40 Under 40,” and was the youngest nominee for Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. A graduate of UC Berkeley, he has served over 5,000 volunteer hours since 2001, and has been widely referred to as an expert in cause marketing and branding.

Company Brief

ONEHOPE (onehopewine.com) is a brand with a mission to bring people together to celebrate and serve the world with every product supporting a charitable cause. ONEHOPE has quickly become one of the most recognizable cause brands due to the success of their cornerstone product, ONEHOPE Wine. Today, ONEHOPE also has gourmet coffee, artisanal pantry items, and beautiful gift sets, as well as viaONEHOPE, an inspired community of entrepreneurs that make an impact while earning an income, and ONEHOPE Vineyard with Estate 8 private residence.

Would you discuss the history and heritage of ONEHOPE and how the brand has evolved?

ONEHOPE was founded by a group of friends with one vision: to create exceptional products that give back 365 days a year.

The company has grown tremendously since we started in 2007 with a large portfolio of products, a merit-based marketing platform called viaONEHOPE, and a vineyard in the heart of Napa Valley with a private residence called Estate 8.

ONEHOPE has purpose at the heart of its culture. What made the focus on giving back and supporting causes so critical to the mission of the brand?

I came up with the idea for ONEHOPE after my close friend from grade school found out she had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It was the first time as a young adult that I became truly in touch with mortality, and instead of scaring me, it made me more fearless to take chances. It also confirmed that if I was going to build a business, I wanted it to make a difference in other people’s lives and leave a mark on the world.

Every ONEHOPE product supports a charitable cause, from educating people on the risks of heart disease, helping shelter animals find their forever homes, providing people with clean drinking water and much more.

How do you select the causes to support?

ONEHOPE partners with a wide variety of nonprofits to make a positive impact in the world. We know that there are many important causes in the world and people tend to be passionately connected to one or two. For those reasons, we do our best to reflect a diverse variety of causes.

You have placed a major emphasis on the quality of the wines. Would you provide an overview of the varietals and the winemaking process?

Our commitment to quality wine is as important as our commitment to the causes we support. In fact, we’ve received recognition at national and international wine competitions as well as 90+ point ratings from respected sources such as Wine Enthusiast, The Tasting Panel Magazine, New York World Wine & Spirits and Beverage Tasting Institute, among others.

We also work and collaborate with some of Napa’s finest winemakers, such as Rob Mondavi Jr., Tony Coltrin and Mari Coyle.

ONEHOPE has a vineyard on the most recognized and trafficked road in Napa, St. Helena Highway. What makes this flagship property so special and how critical has the acquisition of the property been to the growth of the brand?

The ONEHOPE Vineyard is situated in the heart of the Napa Valley region and is located amongst many of the most iconic brands in the world.

We are also nearing completion of Estate 8, ONEHOPE’s private residence, which will open by the summer of this year. We believe at the intersection of our property, community and wine is the opportunity to bring the most influential and innovative leaders together to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges.

Our Vineyard Investment Partner (VIP) community are all proprietors alongside us and range from athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs and executives. They all bring different temperaments, talents and convictions but are bound together by a common belief in giving back and leaving this world better than how they found it.

How much of a focus is the corporate gift market for ONEHOPE and would you highlight these product offerings?

ONEHOPE products are ideal for key celebratory and gifting occasions, and the corporate gifting market is no exception. Beyond just wine, we offer a variety of beautiful gift sets that are ideal for corporate gifting. Similar to our wines, every gift has a built-in impact.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth as you look to the future?

ONEHOPE is proud be one of the top 25 wineries by volume in the U.S. in 2017 out of more than 9,000. We also launched 25 new wines, obtained 100,000+ square feet of new warehouse space and sold more than 1.3 million bottles of wine. Our goal is to grow ONEHOPE to be the biggest direct-to-consumer wine brand in the world.

Our community of Cause Entrepreneurs viaONEHOPE (CEOs) grew to nearly 3,000. These Cause Entrepreneurs hold wine tasting events in homes all over the country and events in their communities, all of which raise money toward the host’s cause of choice. Therefore, every viaONEHOPE CEO is able make an impact in the world while also earning an income.

Are you able to take moments to reflect and appreciate what you have built and the impact that ONEHOPE has made to the causes it supports?

Absolutely. As mentioned, what we’re most proud of is that we can demonstrate the impact that our donations have, which connects our consumers to the impact they are making directly.

To date, ONEHOPE has donated more than $3 million dollars, including finding forever homes for more than 52,000 shelter animals, providing more than 18,000 hours of clinical trials for women with breast cancer, nearly two million meals for children fighting hunger, uniting more than 8,000 veterans with their sense of purpose, and the list goes on.

More than “disrupting” a traditional space, we’re excited to be democratizing the wine industry, and more specifically, the Napa wine tasting experience and the opportunity to own a piece of a vineyard, home and winery in Napa. Creating these experiences and opportunities around wine will lead to increased human connectedness as well as a great long-term impact on the world.•