Carolyn Miller was looking forward to being a first-year law student when a family tragedy in her final year of high school threw her life into turmoil.
Carolyn Miller enrolled for a law degree at the University of Cape Town in 1997 but following her dad’s unexpected death the year before, she struggled to cope with her studies and dropped out. “I realised my destiny lay in marketing and PR, so I started anew at Varsity College,” she says. She also started working part-time in the Groot Constantia tasting room. “That’s where the wine bug bit me.”
Heroes
Carolyn completed her Cape Wine Academy diploma and gained experience working for Distell (now Heineken Beverages), followed by various roles at several other wine brands. She credits mentors such as Ross Sleet, Carina Gous and Denise Johnson who’ve helped shape her career. “Without them, my journey would’ve taken a very different path,” she says. The challenges in Carolyn’s personal and professional life had taken their toll on her physical and mental wellbeing, leaving her feeling despondent and useless. Sitting outside one beautiful spring day, she was suddenly struck by an idea. “I wanted to explore the potential of the industry further and look for ways to help smaller brands with bigger dreams,” she says.
Inspired by the examples set by her mom, Sandra, who raised her daughters while navigating the death of her soulmate, and friends and family who’d stepped up during difficult times, Carolyn also saw this as an opportunity to support and celebrate the heroes in the wine industry. “A hero is someone who can stand up and make a difference every day to change their own circumstances,” she says. “They show passion and make their mark doing what they love.”
A daunting journey
Starting her own consultancy would give her time with her daughter, Olivia, and an opportunity to prove her mettle. Through SincerelyCaz she intends to help empower women to become leaders in the industry. “Female mentors bring such a different perspective to learn from and can effectively cultivate
strong connections,” she says. She could also rely on her own support structures. “I wouldn’t be able to run a company and see through my ideas and passion without my husband, Garth, and my daughter, who gives me the will to stand up every day and be the best version of myself as her mentor.”
As a first-time entrepreneur with little financial support, Carolyn faced a mountain of uncertainty. “I had no idea how I was going to obtain clients,” she says. “But after I posted about my new journey and company on LinkedIn, we were setting up meetings to bring brands on board within a few hours. It was the most thrilling, humbling and frightening experience – but one that I value daily.”
Liquid to lips
Connecting small, independent producers to end consumers in various markets is challenging. In the first six months, SincerelyCaz encountered agents who refused to take on any additional brands – especially if they were just starting out. “Markets are uncertain, budgets have changed, and consumer spending has dwindled,” Carolyn says. “For many in this economic mess, wine is a luxury, not a necessity.”
Despite this, she draws on one of life’s lessons: rather than cry and complain, brace yourself and change direction. “We are currently working on a project to deliver South African wines, including our portfolio, directly to the end consumer. Their demand will create demand with the importers and supply will follow. That way, we mitigate the brick wall of agents, because they can’t ignore demand from their own markets. Watch this space for the details and how it will work.”
Girl power
Carolyn has also been hard at work on a wine brand of her own – a non-alcoholic sparkling wine in a can. “We’ll have two variants: a sparkling rosé called Rosie and Blanche, our sparkling white.”
The brand is unashamedly focused on women with its “Choose You” strapline but also serves as a conduit to Carolyn’s passion project, which is to curate care packages for underprivileged young women who don’t have access to basic needs such as sanitary pads, which in turn is keeping them from attending school. “Education, empowerment and safety represent our best chance to pull these women out of their dire circumstances and restore their dignity,” she says.
It’s an ambitious project that will take time to pull off. Still, Carolyn is set on an international launch, specifically for Western Europe, the United Kingdom, America and the Middle East. “With an estimated market size of $1 223.93 billion in 2023, the market for non-alcoholic drinks is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% over the next six years,” she says. “This is clearly the way to go. Non-alcoholic was a non-negotiable from the beginning of the care-package project.”
Carolyn is looking for an investor to help kickstart the production and distribution. “I hope this will take flight sooner rather than later so we can start activating the community side of the project,” she says. “I’m excited to see how either business will develop and hopefully grow. My biggest lesson from this venture is to stay flexible and true to your values and boundaries. It’s a lesson learnt after many years of being unable to draw that line.”
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