The company Whiskystack was founded in 2021 by Jan Nygaard Hesselby and serial entrepreneur Kristoffer Glerup, who previously built up the design brand Sackit. The initial business idea was to sell quality whisky to both consumers and investors. Two years ago, the range was expanded to also include wine – a decision that is now driving the majority of the growth.
In 2025, Whiskystack generated over 10 million Danish kroner in sales of spirits, wine and champagne. After the first half of 2026, the company notes that turnover is four times higher compared to the same period last year.
Focuses volume on few articles
While many e-commerce companies in the beverage industry build their business on the widest possible range, Whiskystack has chosen a different path. The company works with a deliberately narrow assortment where the founders themselves test and select the products.
When a product is selected, large purchases are often made. An example is a Californian Chardonnay (Buttercup), where the company initially purchased an entire container of 15,000 bottles to get the wine into the range. In total, the e-commerce retailer has now sold 80,000 bottles of this specific wine, making them the largest European retailer for the current producer.
It was a big gamble with a wine that virtually no one knew here at home. But I was convinced it had something. When we find a wine we really believe in, we are willing to bet big. This gives us the opportunity to work with wines that are not on the shelves everywhere, says Kristoffer Glerup.
The strategy also involves increasing the repurchase rate by reducing the risk of wrong purchases by the consumer.
I think most people can relate to having a wine standing around that they don't really want to drink. It is then hidden away and may never be drunk, or it ends up in the sauce. We are trying to find the opposite. Therefore, we carry a narrow assortment and only bring in a wine if we ourselves really like it, says Kristoffer Glerup.
High proportion of returning customers
According to the company, one third of the orders in the online store come from returning customers. However, reaching new customers requires significant investment in marketing, especially since many of the wines offered are exclusive to the platform and therefore initially unknown to the public.
The business is run from Aalborg in Denmark, but the company is also established in the Swedish market with a Swedish online store. To adapt to Swedish consumers, payments are handled locally via, among others, Klarna and deliveries are made via Postnord with a delivery time of one to three working days.