Independent wine and liquor retailers across the country are drowning. Not in the way you might think, though! They’re cobbling together outdated, disconnected systems to run their businesses - juggling different tablets for POS systems, online orders, and inventory - usually while manually updating spreadsheets to track what’s actually in stock.
Santé is changing that by giving these retailers what they've never had: a modern, unified platform built specifically for how they actually work, simplifying day-to-day operations and helping them generate more revenue. We're excited to share more about our investment in Santé, which today announced its $7.6 fundraise led by our friends at Bonfire Ventures.
Bonus fun fact - our founder and partner Mallun Yen’s first job was in her parent’s liquor store, and I grew up managing the cash register at my dad’s small restaurant & bar in Ohio!
The Company
Santé is a modern operating system built specifically for wine and liquor retailers. The platform combines in-store POS, e-commerce, payment processing, inventory management, marketing tools, and delivery logistics into one integrated system. What started as an inventory solution has grown into a comprehensive business platform that will soon include payroll, bill pay, and AI tools that help these retailers with ordering, merchandising and employee scheduling.
Why You Should Pay Attention
Here's the thing about wine and liquor retail: it's a shockingly fragmented, low-tech industry. Walk into most independent shops and you'll find owners piecing together software from the early 1980s, manually reconciling inventory counts, and losing sales because their online ordering system doesn't talk to their POS. They're running real businesses with real revenue, but operating with tools that would make most tech workers wince.
Santé gives these store owners a single platform to handle everything. Ring up sales. Manage payroll. Track inventory across multiple locations. Run promotions. Process payments. Connect with delivery apps. All from one place.
In under two years, Santé has signed over 200+ retailers processing hundreds of millions in annual transaction volume. Store owners who make the switch see immediate operational improvements: better inventory visibility, faster checkout, smoother online ordering, and more time to actually talk to customers instead of fighting with their software. And as Santé expands into adjacent categories like grocery and convenience stores, the addressable market keeps growing.
The Details
Santé handles the full spectrum of retail operations. The POS system processes in-store and online transactions while inventory management tracks stock levels in real time across in-store, delivery apps and online. Payment processing is built in, so no need for separate merchant accounts or reconciliation headaches. Their AI Marketing platform curates campaigns for retailers, promoting loyalty programs, in-store events and new products based on the shopper’s purchase history. Delivery logistics connect stores with third-party apps without the usual manual data entry nightmare.
But Santé is going beyond the core retail functions. Store owners will soon be able to run payroll, pay bills, and use AI-powered tools for tasks like demand forecasting and reordering. The vision is to become the single operating system for running a retail business - removing the complexity of managing multiple vendors and disconnected systems that all need their own logins, support calls, and monthly fees.
Current customers include independent wine shops, liquor stores, and specialty beverage retailers across the country. Many are multi-location operators who previously had zero visibility across their stores. With Santé, they can see sales, inventory, and performance metrics for all locations from one dashboard. Finally.
Why We're Invested
Santé fits squarely into one of our core investment theses at Operator Collective: vertical solutions for underserved industries. We've backed companies like Supio, Blueprint, and AgentSync that bring modern software to sectors historically overlooked by tech builders. Wine and liquor retail is exactly this type of opportunity - a massive, traditional industry where independent operators need better tools but have never had access to purpose-built solutions.
The complexity here runs deeper than just outdated software. Alcohol retail is highly regulated, with laws varying dramatically state by state. What works in California doesn't fly in Pennsylvania. Generic retail software can't handle these nuances, which is why store owners have been stuck with niche legacy systems or jury-rigged workarounds. Santé navigates this regulatory complexity while delivering a modern experience, which is no small feat.
Darren Fike, Santé's founder and CEO, brings both enterprise tech sales experience and genuine knowledge of the wine industry. As an oenophile who worked in a local wine shop, he saw the inventory management problems firsthand and built a solution that has since expanded into a full platform addressing nearly every operational challenge these business owners face. The early customer traction, expanding product vision, and clear path into adjacent verticals give us confidence that Santé can become the definitive platform for retail operations in its category and beyond.
Get Involved
To learn more about Santé or explore partnership opportunities, visit Santé HQ or get in touch with our team for an intro.
