The Glimmer Story
Every celebration begins with a glimmer.
A Chance Meeting
During the pandemic, Marina and Jane meet by chance at Marina's brother's winery in the Okanagan.
They stay connected through social media, unaware that one day they will build something extraordinary together.
Business Before Partnership
Marina reaches out to Jane to ask when her next coaching program begins. She joins Business Booster, hoping to bring more structure to her creative business.
What starts as mentorship quickly becomes friendship. Jane brings strategy, organization and accountability. Marina brings creativity, vision and imagination. Together, it simply works.
Creativity, connection & the first spark
After graduating from Business Booster, Marina is invited to Jane's Organized Jane Business Retreat in Cabo, where she attends and teaches a watercolor workshop.
Soon after, Jane invites Marina to attend W North (in May 2021), where Marina once again leads a painting experience. The more time they spend together, the more their conversations drift toward building something of their own.
During a celebratory sparkling wine toast, an idea quietly begins. "What if we created our own?"
Jane sees the opportunity to build something meaningful together. Marina's years designing wine brands throughout the Okanagan make the creative vision feel effortless. The dream has begun.
A beautiful idea takes shape
Jane visits Marina throughout the summer in the Okanagan as they explore what their own sparkling wine brand could become. The concepts begin to emerge. They fall in love with the vision.
But something doesn't feel quite right. The timing isn't there. Neither is the product.
The dream isn't abandoned. It simply waits.
the story keeps going↓
Life has other plans
Life moves both founders in beautiful and unexpected directions. Jane marries Farid, the love of her life. Marina discovers she's pregnant.
Meanwhile, devastating freezes impact vineyards throughout the Okanagan, making another traditional sparkling wine increasingly difficult to justify. The dream quietly waits.
In May, on Mother's Day at a Whistler restaurant, Jane tastes the best non-alcoholic sparkling wine she's ever had — made in France. She's impressed, but it's nearly impossible to find again, and there's nothing local.
The missing piece
Jane attends the Wild Blue Long Table Dinner in Whistler with her husband. Neither is drinking, and there's nothing to toast with beyond sparkling water — she feels left out of the celebration.
By chance, she's seated beside Janet Helou, who sparks her interest immediately. Janet is working for a large wine and spirits agency, sponsoring the Champagne for the dinner, and is just as frustrated by the lack of quality non-alcoholic options.
Janet is a food scientist, certified sommelier and accomplished wine industry professional with decades of experience in formulation, production and sales. Jane leaves dinner knowing she may have found the final piece of the puzzle.
The call
Jane phones Marina. "I think I've found it." Not another wine. A de-alcoholized sparkling wine.
Before Jane can finish explaining, Marina already knows her answer. Yes. They're solving the exact problem she'd been living.
Officially incorporated
Before every detail had been figured out, one thing was already certain: this dream was worth building.
Glimmer is officially incorporated. A company founded on one simple belief: celebration should never require compromise.
Glimmer finds its name
Momentum builds quickly. Jane begins researching production, logistics and financing. Marina begins imagining the brand.
Then one Sunday afternoon, while Jane is driving along the Sea to Sky Highway, her phone rings. It's Marina. "I found the name."
Glimmer. A word inspired by hope, possibility and those tiny sparks of light that remind us something beautiful is about to happen. The company finally has a name.
Three become one
Months after that night at Wild Blue, Janet reaches back out. She's looking for her next opportunity, and interested to talk more about developing a non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
Jane brings her in to meet Marina. The chemistry is undeniable. Marina brings the creative vision. Jane brings the strategy. Janet brings the science, production expertise and industry knowledge.
The formulation begins. Production begins. The dream is finally in motion.
The first bottling
Months of dreaming become reality. Janet leads the formulation of Glimmer's first Blanc de Blanc. The first bottling. The first shipment. The first customer.
Four years after one chance meeting in the Okanagan... Glimmer is finally real.
The Glimmer Ball
More than 300 guests gather inside Vancouver's Terminal City Club. No alcohol. No compromise. Just incredible food, music, laughter and connection.
Joy was never inside the alcohol. It was always inside the people.
The night also marks the close of a pre-seed funding round: $100,000 raised through FrontFundr at a $2.5 million valuation.
Growing across Canada
Store by store, restaurant by restaurant, Glimmer begins finding its place across Canada. Every new retailer means another table where everyone feels included.
The movement begins to spread. The reorders prove the concept.
Momentum builds
Momentum becomes impossible to ignore. Restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and liquor retailers embrace a new category of celebration.
The team grows. Production expands. Glimmer quietly becomes one of Canada's fastest-growing de-alcoholized sparkling wine brands.
Glimmer in a Can
Because celebration doesn't always come in a bottle.
Glimmer goes portable this December — same bubbles, same joy, now in a can built for stockings, coolers and grab-and-go toasts.
Cheers, wherever you are.
The first pre-seed raise
In less than two weeks, Glimmer raises $500,000 in private funding from its existing network — enough to expand production, build the team and prepare for the next chapter.
The belief that began with three founders is now shared by an entire community.
A moment of recognition
Jane Stoller is named BC Business Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year, recognizing her leadership, vision and unwavering belief in building businesses with purpose.
The journey is only just beginning.
Rosé blooms
Glimmer introduces its second varietal. Rosé.
The launch feels beautifully fitting as it debuts during Three Sisters Winery's annual Rosé Party. Marina spends the day hand-painting bottles while families, friends and guests celebrate beneath the Okanagan sun.
Full circle
The entire Glimmer team returns to W North — not as an idea, not as a dream, but as the sparkling wine being poured at the very conference where everything first began.
Just the beginning
Today, Glimmer can be found in more than 270 retailers across Canada and continues to grow at an extraordinary pace.
But the founders have never measured success only by bottles sold. They measure it in birthdays remembered. Baby showers celebrated. Tuesday dinners made special.
Because Glimmer was never really about wine. It was always about giving people another way to celebrate.
