Beyond the Bottle with the CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Beyond the Bottle with the CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne"

Podcast: Bloomberg Businessweek
Episode: Beyond the Bottle with the CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne
Date: February 18, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec
Guest: Marvina S. Robinson, Founder & CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the modern champagne business as seen through the lens of Marvina S. Robinson, founder of the Brooklyn-based B. Stuyvesant Champagne. In a candid, wide-ranging conversation, Robinson shares the challenges her small, bootstrapped brand faces today—ranging from tariffs and business uncertainty to consumer trends and the importance of food and wine pairing. The discussion provides unique insights into entrepreneurship, resilience in luxury goods, and the evolving role of alcohol amid cultural and regulatory shifts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Changing Alcohol Consumption Trends

• Alcohol’s shifting role: The hosts open by referencing Kate Crater’s Bloomberg Pursuits article on declines in alcohol consumption, rising interest in no/low-alcohol drinks, and alternate vices like THC gummies (01:46–02:15).
• Champagne at events: Carol notes, “People are ordering…a glass of champagne…more and more.” (02:15)

2. Seasonality & “Dry January”

• Business seasonality: January is slow for B. Stuyvesant and the industry at large, but February & March see an uptick, especially in tastings and activations. (02:53–03:17)
• Dry January’s impact: “It's a big thing. You know, a lot of our customers say, hey, it's dry January, but I'm just stocking up for February.” – Marvina S. Robinson (03:27)

3. The Tariff Struggle: Lawsuit & Small Business Impact

• $78,000 in tariffs (2025): Robinson explains joining a lawsuit to recoup heavy losses. The tariffs forced her to import fewer bottles, hire fewer employees, and raise prices. (03:49–04:18)
• Small SKUs affected: Production of half-bottles (375ml) was cut—impacting gifting and customer experience. (04:18–04:32)
• Unpredictability: “You're planning in a season of uncertainty and it doesn't operate well like that.” – Marvina S. Robinson (05:34–06:14)
• Lack of small business support: Robinson feels current administration hasn’t listened to small businesses, with tariffs applied “as a blanket” lacking consideration for small operations. “We can't afford to send an airplane over to get stuff over before tariffs go into effect, which a lot of the corporations had that advantage. We couldn't afford to do that.” (06:31–07:21)

4. Champagne Pairings & the Tasting Experience (07:21–08:27)

• Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay): “It pairs well with seafood...mussels, oysters, caviar, baked fish.” – Marvina S. Robinson (07:42)
• Importance of food and wine pairing: “Try a wine on its own, try with a piece of food, and then try it together, and you'll see how it totally enhances one another.” (08:15)

5. Building a Bootstrapped Brand

• No outside investments: B. Stuyvesant was launched in a “tough time" (2020, during COVID-19) with Robinson’s own savings. (08:49–08:56)
• Pivot from bar to product: Initially meant as a house brand for a now-shelved champagne bar concept, the product took off in retail, with Happy Cork in Brooklyn as their first location. (08:56–09:35)
• Growth journey: Celebrating 6 years, Robinson scaled from her apartment to a dedicated tasting room at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. (09:35–09:59)

6. Product Lineup Explainer (10:12–10:29)

• Blanc de Blanc: 100% Chardonnay
• Reserve: 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Meunier
• All Day: 58% Pinot Noir, 22% Meunier, 20% Chardonnay

7. Business Outlook & Hopes for 2026

• Retailer mindset: “I worry about...retailers thinking outside the box and not just always headed over to the traditional big houses, because there’s some amazing grower champagne out there.” (10:53)
• Advocacy for small brands: Robinson wants both retailers and consumers to discover and support smaller grower brands, not just established names. (10:45–11:24)

8. Market Presence

• Available in D.C.: B. Stuyvesant is offered in D.C., including exclusive placement in the Thompson Hotel. (11:24–11:41)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On tariffs and uncertainty:
  “As a person who’s a small business owner...it affects what you do and how your business grows, and it’s not consistency...You’re planning in a season of uncertainty...”
  – Marvina S. Robinson (05:34–06:14)

• On policy and small business:
  “Everything, especially with the tariffs, was blanket tariffs, not incorporating how smaller operations, smaller businesses own...and it really hurts because small business are important for this country.”
  – Marvina S. Robinson (06:31–07:21)

• On food and wine pairing:
  “Try a wine on its own, try with a piece of food, and then try it together, and you’ll see how it totally enhances one another.”
  – Marvina S. Robinson (08:15)

• On bootstrapping:
  “I just don’t want to take on investors or people’s money and not know what it’s going to do. So I did five full years...it’s been, let me tell you, I’ve had a lot of, like, roller coasters. But I’m really happy to see where we’ve landed.”
  – Marvina S. Robinson (09:35)

• On the future:
  “I worry about consumers, I worry about retailers thinking outside the box and not just always headed over to the traditional big houses...us growers do have a space at the table and I would love for them to expand more out of the typical big house box.”
  – Marvina S. Robinson (10:53)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Alcohol Culture & Trends: 01:46–02:15
• Seasonality/Dry January: 02:53–03:27
• Tariffs Lawsuit & Impact: 03:49–06:14
• Small Biz Policy Discussion: 06:14–07:21
• Champagne Tasting Talk & Pairings: 07:21–08:27
• Brand Building Journey: 08:49–09:59
• Product Line Overview: 10:12–10:29
• Small Houses vs. Big Names: 10:45–11:24

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Summary

This episode offers a revealing window into the challenges and triumphs faced by modern champagne entrepreneurs. Marvina S. Robinson’s journey with B. Stuyvesant is marked by grit through turbulent economic policies, creative adaptation in a changing market, and passionate advocacy for small producers. Her story is both a business case study and a celebration of persistence—and, of course, of champagne.

Transcript

[Carol Massar]

Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Right?

[Carol Massar]

And the best part? They accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so. Jennifer. Oh yeah, huh? Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on baby, get with the times.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Right.

[Carol Massar]

So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.

[Tim Stenvec]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

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[Carol Massar]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News this is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stenvec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stenvec]

In the most recent issue of Bloomberg Pursuits, Kate Crater, who's the Pursuit's food editor, she writes about how even though alcohol use is declining, consumers still want that buzz. She writes about how GLP1s or legalized recreational marijuana have changed people's appetite for drinking it as much as they used to. Here's what she writes. Perhaps this is what best encapsulates where we're headed. Alcohol is still at the table, but it no longer has all the seats. Now it's got a share with no and low alcohol, neighbors and other accepted vices such as THC gummies.

[Carol Massar]

All right, there's a lot going on. We know that. But I have to say, even at certain events, family events, or you even go out, people are ordering. I feel like a glass of champagne. More and more curious to see what Marvina S. Robinson is seeing. She's founder and CEO of B. Stuyvesant Champagne. Back here once again in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio. We celebrated just, just ahead of New Year's with you. And now we're back here on Valentine's Day where I do feel like a lot of champagne comes out. You were optimistic, I think, when we talked with you ahead of the new year, but you also talked about tariffs affecting your business. Give us an update. How did January play out for you guys? Or, you know, the end of the new year and then into this year?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

I think January is always a slow season for all industries of business. For us, it was actually the uptick beginning of, for February and March as far as people booking tastings, because we do have a champagne tasting room, different activations they want to have on site and off site. That was an uptick for us as far as, like, daily sales. Yes, it was actually down, but it's January, so that's normally expected for.

[Carol Massar]

People are kind of taking a break.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Right. And they have this thing, I don't know if you ever heard it, called dry January. I know nothing about it, but it's there.

[Carol Massar]

It's a thing. It's something.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

It's a big thing. You know, a lot of our customers say, hey, it's dry January, but I'm just stocking up for February. So the last, last week of January, I would say that we began to get orders in and some notes to say, dry January's over, I'm over, I'm back. You know, so I'm glad that, you know, consumers, you know, return. But there are so many different. Like you said, you have to share the industry with a lot of, a lot of different items on, on the market.

[Tim Stenvec]

One thing that also happened in January was you were featured in a Bloomberg News story about the president's tariffs and the Supreme Court and a lawsuit that you joined back in November. You filed a lawsuit to recoup $78,000 that you spent on tariffs in 2025. The effect of that was pretty big for you because you're a small business. You have bootstrapped. You don't have outside investors, but you had fewer bottles from France that came to the US As a result. And you also hired fewer people and you raised prices.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yes, I did all of that. So we reduced the production of half bottles of $3.75. The half bottles, we reduced production. And we did get feedback from customers that, you know, that's what they normally gift with.

[Tim Stenvec]

So that was like 375 milliliters.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yeah, the half bottles of champagne. So we did get some feedback from that. Most of our customers understood the Price increase. Right. We didn't dramatically increase the price, but it did. It comes with the economy and for myself, with the tariffs. Yeah, I'm still waiting on that decision. It's been changed so many times. So I'm waiting to see what the outcome is going to be with the Supreme Court.

[Carol Massar]

So not like you're factoring anything in, like the assumption that it's going to be overturned. You're just wait, waiting.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yeah, I'm not factoring anything. I did actually slow down our next shipment because I want to see if it goes into effect. I want, if I can avoid a tariff for 2026, I would love to. So based on our current inventory levels, we kind of moved it back a little bit because we have a little bit of time before, you know, to get the next one in, hopefully without tariffs.

[Tim Stenvec]

You know, I'm curious what you think as a, as a business owner who has experienced these tariffs, when you hear the president say, we're bringing in so much money from tariffs, other countries are paying these tariffs, We've brought in hundreds of billions of dollars. What is what goes through your head when he, when he says those things?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

The clean version is like it's the business owners that are affected. And beyond that comes the consumer. And it's hard. Right. As a person who's a small business owner, and I've talked with other small business owners, it affects what you do and how your business grows. And it's not consistency because from the administration, there can be a threat. Like the past. There was a threat over a month ago about Champaign. If you don't join one of his boards, the champagne tariff is going to go up. It's not consistent and it's always a flag. And it's not fair to consumers, it's not fair to business owners because how can we actually plan? You're planning in a season of uncertainty and it doesn't operate well like that.

[Carol Massar]

Marvin, I want to be fair. Like, is this an administration that is listening to small business and in general, do administrations, whatever political side they may be. How, how much of an audience does small business usually get from federal government, from White Houses?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

I have not seen a lot of support or even thought of small businesses with this current administration. I think everything, especially with the tariffs was blanket tariffs, not incorporating how smaller operations, smaller businesses own. You know, you mom and pop shots that really operate in this manner. And this should put these blanket corporate taxes. We can't afford to send an airplane over to get stuff over before tariffs go into effect, which a lot of the corporations had that advantage. We couldn't afford to do that. So it hurts. Right. And for myself, I look at the Small Business Administration, I look at some of our local supporters, and I like to hear what other people are discussing, and it's the same feedback, and it really hurts because small business are important for this country. But past administrations, I did see more support from past administrations. You know, I did see a lot, to be fair. Yes.

[Mint Mobile Representative]

Yeah.

[Carol Massar]

To give a little perspective.

[Tim Stenvec]

Did you just open champagne?

[Carol Massar]

Well, I did, because you guys have an ethos. We sip it and let's learn about it.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

That's right. That's it. Yes. I love it.

[Carol Massar]

Let's go there. There is a bottle that's open. Thank you. They were so afraid that I was going to hit a camera, so they hit it on me.

[Tim Stenvec]

Carol, show's not over.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yeah.

[Tim Stenvec]

So there's still time.

[Carol Massar]

Tell us about this. I'm going to share it around.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Okay. This is our Blanc de Blanc. It's 100% Chardonnay grape. It pairs well with seafood. It's actually one of my favorites. I love to have it with mussels, oysters, caviar, baked fish. So it's actually one of my favorites. Actually one of our top sellers. Thank you very much.

[Carol Massar]

It sounds like it goes with a lot of food. And, like, I do think about that. I'm not always good. I'm a real red wine, and I'll drink red wine with everything. But there is something about really matching something, including a champagne.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yeah. Food pairings are very important with wines. Right. It totally enhances the food and actually also enhances the wine.

[Carol Massar]

Can I just say, look at that right at the top. Go ahead. Good.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

And it actually, you know, it tempts your. Your palate. Right. So I always tell people, try, try a wine on its own, try with a piece of food, and then try it together, and you'll see how it totally enhances one another.

[Tim Stenvec]

When we think about the business, I mentioned your bootstrapped, and that's kind of rare these days from consumer packaged goods.

[Carol Massar]

You say you're going to say happy Valentine's Day.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Oh, yes. Happy Valentine's Day. Cheers. Cheers.

[Tim Stenvec]

Valentine's Day. Thank you for joining us.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yes.

[Tim Stenvec]

When you think about businesses today, so many take on outside funding, even consumer packaged goods companies. This is not just for tech companies. How do you bootstrap a company like this in this environment?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

So when I first launched B. Stuyvesant In 2020, I did not know exactly what I was doing as far as a tough time.

[Carol Massar]

To do it.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Tough time, right? Originally, B. Stuyvesant was supposed to be a house brand for a champagne bar I was going to open. And what happened is, with COVID we had our inventory, but it wasn't the best environment to really open anything. So I actually decided. A couple of retailers had asked me about the champagne and I was like, oh, you just have to wait. But it ended up going on the shelves of some stores. We actually launched at Happy Cork in Brooklyn, who still carries our products six years later. We just turned six actually yesterday.

[Carol Massar]

Happy birthday.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Thank you. And the brand just really took off on its own. So I really just decided that this is the business and for myself, I wanted to prove proof of concept.

[Carol Massar]

Right, right.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

I just don't want to take on investors or people's money and not know what it's going to do. So I did five full years and we've done. It's been, let me tell you, I've had a lot of, like, I can only imagine roller coasters. But I'm really happy to see where we've landed. Celebrating six years, growing from operating out of my apartment to going to our first retail stop. And now we're actually in a full service tasting spot in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

[Carol Massar]

I've got to just tell you, people are saying, what? We got no pop. So I'm like, well, how about that? I'm going to do a little sound effect real quickly before we end up. So there's a, there's a reserve. What's the difference from the Blanc de blancs?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Blanc de Blanc is 100% Pinot, 100% Chardonnay grape. Reserve is actually 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Monier grape. No Chardonnay grape, full body, naturally, you have all day, is actually 58% Pinot Noir, 22% Meunier, and a 20% Chardonnay grape.

[Carol Massar]

So first of all, check, check and check. They all sound good. When you think about 20, 26, we're in this moment where we came into it with some, you know, I think it's safe to say some crazy headlines in terms of policy and things coming out geopolitically.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

What's.

[Carol Massar]

What's the biggest thing that you worry about in terms of running your business here? And we talk about the Fed a lot. Like, so I'm just curious from your.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

I worry about consumers, I worry about retailers thinking outside the box and not just always headed over to the traditional big houses, you know, because there's some amazing grower champagne out there. And I always see that they always tend to highlight the big brands. But you know, us growers do have a space at the table and I would love for them to expand more out of the typical big house box. Consumer shopping consumers and actually retailers not going towards more small growers brands.

[Tim Stenvec]

I'm getting messages from bureaus all over about people who want champagne right now and other shows that are happening that don't have champagne on their show. Are you for sale in DC at this point?

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Yes, we are actually in dc.

[Tim Stenvec]

Okay so take note. Amy Morris and the Thomas Onsen Hotel.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Is actually our exclusive hotel that actually carries Beast Ivis and champagne.

[Tim Stenvec]

All right, there it is. Great stuff.

[Carol Massar]

Listen again, thank you so much. We were celebrating a lot of holidays with you lately, so I love it. Trying to think what's next. But we'll figure it out. Happy Valentine's Day.

[Marvina S. Robinson]

Thank you.

[Carol Massar]

And a great read also on certainly small business. Marvina S. Robinson, she's founder and CEO of Beast Ives in Champaign, joining us right here in Studio.

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