Moderato: Sébastien Thomas (EDHEC Master 2002) has developed a wine-based drink that is light and responsible

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Sébastien Thomas, I was born in Cognac into a family of winegrowers and distillers. I went on to study in Paris and later at EDHEC in Lille, graduating in 2002.

Having gone from the south-west to the capital and then up to the far north, I thought I would stop there geographically speaking, but I ended up crossing the Channel to live in London for nearly 13 years. I worked a lot overseas with Pernod Ricard, as well as some stints in consultancy and later as international marketing director for Platinum Guild, an organization that is developing the market for platinum jewellery.

Before Brexit, I packed my bags for Paris where I have now been living with my wife, daughter and son for a little over 5 years.

The landing was a bit bumpy because I had actually never worked in France but rather in quite multicultural environments. I took my time and decided to gradually to move towards more strategic posts in operational development and slightly away from pure marketing, but still in segments with a consumer focus and in brands with value-added.

How did your project come about?

At the end of a mission in 2019, I had the good fortune to cross paths with somebody I knew quite well and who had set up an investment fund (Eutopia). The fund invested in brands that reflected the changes in consumption we are all now aware of: more responsible, more transparent, with a focus on well-being and social and environmental impact, etc. It was looking into the world of “no-low” wines and spirits, i.e. with little or no alcohol. This was an area that was beginning to attract a lot of attention, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, where remarkable changes were taking place in consumer habits.

They wanted to find entrepreneurs to develop and put in place a real project. So I explored the topic in-depth and detected its potential. It also spoke to my roots. It was a very meaningful project with the ambition of offering something fundamentally new.

I was put in contact with another potential founder, Fabien Marchand Cassagne, who has since become my associate, and a pioneering winegrower in the region of Béziers, Vincent Pugibet. We hit it off and there was great complementarity between us so we started working on the project.

We launched "Moderato" in September 2020 and have just ended our crowdfunding campaign on the Ulule platform, where we far exceeded the initial goals we had set ourselves. So now we are in at the deep end!

What is the Moderato concept or promise?

Our mission with Moderato is simple: to create and promote innovative, light and responsible products made with French winemaking know-how.

In concrete terms, we take inspiration from this know-how to create an entirely new experience with an alcohol content of just 5% and zero pesticides, a product better suited to today’s lifestyles and one that cares for the planet.

What is specific about your products?

Although they are made from wine, they are no longer considered wines from a legal perspective (our wines have an alcohol content of just 5% and the minimum is 8%). We use a mechanical procedure to reduce the alcohol content (inverse osmosis like the desalination of water), while maintaining all of the aromas. The result is a lighter product: 30 kcal for 100ml, which is 2.5 times less than a glass of traditional wine. The result is a new experience that is lighter, fresher and perfect for impromptu moments like an aperitif.

The other specificity is that Moderato is made from new grape varieties obtained through hybridisation without the need for any pesticides. This is a huge step forward, as vines generally need 12 to 15 treatments each year to protect them from the diseases that attack them, particularly in the spring.

How does the collaboration between your winegrower and production work?

It was important for us to promote the unique know-how available in the world of French wine. The “no-low” market is enjoying rapid growth, mainly thanks to alcohol-free beers and to a lesser extent ”hard seltzers” (sparkling water with added flavour and alcohol), but what if we used our know-how to offer a truly high-quality product in this market segment for low-alcohol drinks? We had the good fortune to meet an excellent and pioneering winegrower who was already working with this grape variety and on the partial reduction of alcohol content. Very precise expertise is needed to produce a high-quality product having modified one of its key aspects (alcohol), and we are delighted to be able to promote this unique know-how!

We teamed up with our winegrower, who has good production capacity. Our work is completely transparent, we are constantly in contact with one another and our relationship is built on trust. It is important for each of us to focus on our consumers, to meet and anticipate their expectations and be more innovative.

Resistant grape varieties with no pesticides are the cornerstone of Moderato, but this is only the beginning. Step-by-step and with a great amount of humility, we want to see how we can rethink the value chain. For example, 30% of our bottle is made from recycled glass, our cork is all natural and our label is 100% recycled and recyclable.

What advice would you like to give to entrepreneurs interested in taking the plunge?

First of all, I wouldn’t divide the world into entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs: sometimes opportunities, encounters and moments in your life arise that give you a chance and you ask the right questions before taking the plunge.

I would also say you must be structured. It might seem straightforward, but the sum of your work and your rhythm are very important, so you need to know how to channel your efforts, towards what, why and how, that’s essential. Basically, you need a clear plan to which you regularly return to adapt and adjust it.

Lastly, I would mention the human aspect: it’s hard to put a price on complementarity between people and profiles to form the right team and get support. You also need to ask the right questions about the ambition of the project, what you want to put into it and the values that drive you. Asking those questions from the outset is fundamental as they are often the pillar for moving forward ... although I’ve only been an entrepreneur for a short time!

What are your expectations from the community of EDHEC Alumni?

It represents a great opportunity to share and exchange views about Moderato as well as other projects. Discussions and openness are essential, they help open up new prospects, find solutions and also, quite simply, help others. I think the community has great potential to play that role …