09/03/2022

cousins in business, Sam and Dov Falic started Blockbar in 2021 when we had just heard the term NFT (Non-Fungible Token). With an education in Law and Accounting, Sam has a great amount of experience from working in renowned firms and being the founder of many startups. Dov holds great experience as a Buyer for Duty Free Americas, a duty-free company owned by the Falic family. Together Sam and Dov have been an important part of the family business and have immensely developed it over the years. With their experience in the Spirits side of the business at Duty Free Americas, both the brothers went on a mission to start Blockbar, an NFT platform for luxury liquor brands in 2021 to tackle the issue of authenticity. They have changed the face of the liquor industry by making the most of technology.

Define your role and journey.

Dov & Sam

I’m Sam Falic, President and co-founder and I am Dov Falic, CEO and co-founder. In October 2021 we founded BlockBar.com, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for luxury wines and spirits. We have been in the luxury wines and spirits industry for a number of years and we noticed the issues consumers and brands were facing. We were beginning to explore the world of Non-Fungible tokens (NFTs) and became instantly hooked. We wanted to find a role for NFTs to solve a real problem within the industry – transparency, authenticity, accessibility, quality assurance, and storage. We also wanted to introduce luxury wines and spirits to a wider global demographic and provide access to the collecting and gifting aspect, which before NFTs would not be possible. BlockBar.com allows everyone, anywhere in the world to participate in the purchasing of wines and spirits.

Glenfiddich to be the First Partner to Release Rare Whisky via NFT with BlockBar, World's First Direct-to-Consumer NFT Platform for Wine & Spirits Products

Explain BlockBar and how it works?

Sam

BlockBar is a direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for people to buy, sell and collect a number of luxury wines and spirits which are exclusive to BlockBar.com from brands including Glenfiddich, Hennessy, PATRÓN, and The Dalmore.

Buyers can purchase their asset-backed NFTs with crypto or fiat. Once purchased, the buyer receives a digital asset of the bottle (an NFT) and the physical bottle is stored in our secure facility in Singapore with 24/7 security, motion sensors, and temperature control. The NFT acts as proof of authenticity and provides verification of ownership. At any point, the NFT, also known as a digital contract can be resold on the BlockBar.com marketplace, or burned and exchanged for the physical product. The majority of our NFTs are attached with exclusive content or money can’t buy experiences.

As a brand, explain to me my onboarding journey. If I had to list my product on BlockBar, do you take any brand or take only big brands. Are there any qualifications?

Dov

Our family has been in the industry for over 20 years, so we have strong relationships with certain brands. Our mission at BlockBar.com is to solves issues for the brands and consumers. We only work directly with brands and only accept brands we think will excite our community. We’re always open to working with new luxury brands, so please reach out to us!

How are you helping drive traffic to your marketplace and create more value for the NFTs listed?

Sam

We have a global marketing team and amazing brand partners who work hard to build the brand awareness of BlockBar through a number of communication channels. We have built an ever-evolving active global community through our digital channels such as Twitter, Telegram, and Discord, and continue to educate our consumers on buying asset-backed NFTs through events, content, marketing, and PR.

Beyond BlockBar, what NFT activities are going on in wines and spirits? Please name some concepts and companies?

Sam

We’ve seen a few similar concepts but not one that partnered with high-end brands directly or serves as a direct-to-consumer platform, which is what makes BlockBar.com stand out. 

We’ve seen a few brands get into NFTs but none that bridge the physical and digital worlds quite the way we do with an asset-backed NFT. BlockBar.com also provides a direct channel of communication between these high-end brands and consumers.

Royal Salute limited edition bottle in collaboration with House of Quinn sold as an NFT on BlockBar

What trends do you see in tech in 2022 and beyond?

Sam

Web3 has introduced the ownership economy. I think we are still very early in this space. With an emphasis on decentralization, I think 2022 will be the year of the DAO.

What kind of investors or buyers are you seeing buy on your platform, are there any countries that have a higher interest here?

Dov

Our vision is to be the world’s largest luxury wines and spirits marketplace so we attract a global audience. Right now we see strong site traffic from the US, Asia, UK, and key pockets in Europe. BlockBar.com makes the collecting and gifting of luxury wines and spirits accessible to all demographics. We’re democratizing the traditional wines and spirits industry and allowing everyone, anywhere in the world to participate, as well as introducing a younger demographic to the purchasing of wines and spirits. Our audience consumer set right now is skewed to 25 to 34-year-olds.

[[relatedPurchasesItems-35]]

Why should wine and spirits brands pay attention to NFTs and what do you think they can do to market their NFTs?

Dov

Brands and consumers face various obstacles in the industry. Some of which include access, communication, storage, and authenticity. Our goal was to find a way for NFTs to solve a real problem in an industry. Utilizing blockchain technologies, BlockBar.com enables consumers to connect directly with brands and address many of the obstacles in the industry.

At BlockBar.com we only partner directly with brand owners, such as Hennessy, and therefore the NFTs serve as a digital certificate of authenticity, eliminating any concern for counterfeits. Everything is on the Ethereum blockchain and buyers can trace ownership all the way back to each brands’ distillery itself. Buyers can trade their NFT anytime on the BlockBar.com marketplace or burn their NFT and redeem the physical bottle directly.

The product is only shipped twice no matter how many times the product changes ownership. Once from the brand owner to our bonded secure facility in Singapore and once when the final consumer is ready to enjoy their product. This gives the ability for consumers around the globe to transact and invest with one another and removes the concern of authenticity, importation, and storage.

Help us connect the metaverse here for wine and spirits and NFT, how do you see all coming in place?

Sam

It is still very early in the space. Whether it's hosting a private tasting, seminars, or showrooms; we will soon be able to utilize the metaverse in a meaningful way.

What learnings you had to do, sources, any good places for wines and spirits professionals and owners to get educated on this subject?

Sam

We have generational knowledge in the space but there are various films and books on the subject such as Sour Grapes and The Billionaire’s Vinegar. For those new to the crypto space, we often recommend watching and listening to the hundreds of brilliant crypto, NFT, and Web3.0 podcasts there are right now. You can also join our community at BlockBar.com and follow our digital channels – Twitter (@BlockBarNFT), Instagram (@blockbar.eth), and Discord (https://discord.gg/7UWWh8tPDf) – to listen in to educational content from BlockBar and through our luxury brand partners. We’re launching on YouTube and TikTok this month, both channels will have educational content at the heart, so watch this space!

Header Image: Sam Falic (left) and Dov Falic (right), Founders of BlockBar