Robinson, who has been an entrepreneur since 2009, launched her own bubbly brand, Stuyvesant Champagne, in February 2020. She was inspired to name the brand after the neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, that shaped her. Her brand offerings include a salmon-colored Brut Rosé and a pale golden-colored Grande Réserve.
Rolling out spoke with Robinson, who is one of only a few Black-owned champagne owners in the world, about cultivating her brand.
What inspired you to create Stuyvesant Champagne?
I was in the process of opening a champagne bar, and I wanted to have my own house brand. I was going back and forth to France developing it, and people kept asking, “Are you going to put it on the shelves?” And I was like, “No, it’s just for the bar.” [The business] comes with all this paperwork, requirements and licenses that you have to get. Why should I only keep it in this one spot? I said, “I can put it on shelves and see where it goes.” I thought, if it flops on shelves, then it really wasn’t meant to be. But, it’s taking off, and now this is the business.
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