packaging and labelling trends - keoΣoe - eιδήσεις 1.1a...awards and labelling per se are...

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Global Sustaining & Emerging Trends

25.09.2008 Wine Domain

Critical Publics | EDOAO 80 See confidentiality restrictions on title page

Packaging and labelling trends Packaging and labelling may be wine’s most

important quality cues after price, but remains the

“hidden master of wine perceptions” 137 138 139 140 141 142

Critic Jerry Mead used to say that 60% of wine sales are based on that ever-

elusive air around the bottle. In essence, Mead was referring to the way

wines are packaged or, more specifically, how a label design can

stimulate a consumer's interest in purchasing the product.

One approach to studying food choice derives from social psychological

research into attitude–behaviour relationships. Referring to the Theory of

Planned Behaviour, it is assumed that most part of the influences on food

choice are mediated by the beliefs and attitudes held by an individual.

Concerning wine, the beliefs about its health consequences play a major role.

That is, one of the most prominent factors influencing consumer’s

wine choice has been found to be perceived quality. Quality can be

perceived by human senses, as sight; for food products, and especially for

wine, that means packaging and labels are some of the sources consumers

refer to in order to judge the quality of the product and to make a choice.

Beliefs about the nutritional quality and health effects of a product

may be factors more important than the actual nutritional quality

and health consequences in determining an individual's choice.

The label is considered as an extrinsic cue, an attribute which is not

part of the physical product. Consumers seem to be affected by extrinsic

cues, such as shape, size and colour of the bottle. On the other hand they

consider the dress of the bottle, represented by the set of the other

packaging elements (labels, capsules). The label on the bottle signals the

producers’ names, the types of wines, the origin, the vintage, the level of

alcohol, and the government warnings. But it is also placed on goods to make

them seem more authentic, to add a quality assurance tag, and even

explain their wider context. Such marking helps to make explicit the

exchange value of the product. In general, labels that are perceived by

137 Wine Intelligence: How do Consumers Select Wine? Factors that Affect the Purchase Decision Making Process in the Wine Category – June 2002 138 Renaud Lunardo, Richard Guerinet, University of Reims: The influence of label on wine consumption: its effects on young consumers’ perception of authenticity and purchasing behaviour – March 2007 139 Wines & Vines: Designers and printers team up for award winning labels – 01.09.03 140 EncycloWine: Wine Label 141 Talar Sesetyan: Wine Labels: Only the best will do – March 2002 142 Wine Business Monthly: The Power of Wine Label Design – April 2006

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their design as being ‘cheap’ are disliked and give a negative impression of

the wine.

Another factor influencing consumer’s wine choice is information. Consumers

have become clearly discerning and are demanding more information about

the products they buy. People want to know what they are buying and what

the product’s origins are. In case of wine, the ‘where’ question is

complex and elicits notions of classifications, appellations and the

terroir. It is seen as a sign of quality for reputable production areas, and an

assurance to consumers of quality standards.

Wine quality is based on perceptions, such as price, recommendations of

friends or experts, or the label. Given the incomplete information on quality,

consumers rely heavily on both individual firm-reputation based on the past

quality of the firm’s output and collective or group reputation indicators and

characteristics that allow consumers to segment firms into groups with

differing average qualities to predict current product quality.

Classic marketing teaches that the marketing must be timeless. A package

should effectively communicate the brand message, and will continue to do so

for the long term. After all, it takes years for these messages to work their

way into the mind of the consumer, and packaging is the single most

important interface with the consumer. With that in mind, one suggestion is

that the development of a perfect packaging solution and never change

it. This is basically the philosophy of the great Chateau Lafitte Rothschild

in Bordeaux.

One of the key factors that differentiate the wine market from many others is

the lack of large and dominant brands; where a wine or range of wines is

positioned, distributed, communicated and packaged under a single name

with a recognisable identity. Consumers can consider and indeed utilise

brand indicators when purchasing wine in many different ways.

These vary from the simple brand defined by colour such as red or white; to

more complex indicators such as country or region of origin, style, grape

variety and vinification method.

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Other factors that characterise the wine market include price differentiation

within a single product category and product differentiation within the wine

category in terms of quality, style and labelling.

Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers. The

label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before

purchasing it. German wine labels are particularly noted for the

painstaking detailed information that they can provide in determining

quality and style of the wine.

Labels are an important part of marketing. The wine in the bottle obviously

has to meet the taste test of the consumer, but the consumer might never

give it a try without an enticing label. Labels have become so critical to

the wine business that label competitions are now often held as part

of wine competitions.

In a study conducted at the University of Bordeaux, 54 expert wine tasters

could not tell the difference between a common red table wine and a better

bottle. The study showed that the taste of wine is not in the bottle,

but ‘in one’s head’. Professor Fredric Brocher took an ordinary bottle of

Bordeaux, stuck a fancy label on it, and 40 of the connoisseurs proceeded to

describe it as “woody”, “complex”, and “rounded.” Then he took the same

bottle, this time masquerading as table wine, and most of the experts

switched to “faulty” and “with a sting.”

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The point is that the brain gets more information from the eyes and from

colour than from mouth, and nose.143

According to experts, most consumers (90%) pick a bottle of wine

based upon its label. This explains the explosion of creativity in the wine

labelling industry. Wineries are scrambling to come up with labels that will

stand out above and beyond all others on the store shelves. One way they

accomplish this is by switching to pressure sensitive labels from the traditional

glue-applied versions. The change to pressure sensitive gives designers a

wide scope of flexibility with shape, instead of having to stick with the

rectangular look of the glued label.

In the past, all wine labels were three-by-four-inch rectangles printed on

sheet fed offset equipment, and glue-applied to the bottle. The increasing

number of wineries using pressure sensitive labels are easy to spot. In most

cases the shapes do not conform to the traditional rectangle, featuring

instead rotary die cut shapes ranging from the conservative to the unusual.

Silver and gold are popular, embossing is big, and use of more colour

and elaborate graphics is the current trend.

Usually there is a great deal of emotional attachment to the label because the

owners want to convey a message to consumers associated with the effort

they put into their wine making144

It turns out that many consumers see certain elements of packaging as clear

indications that the wine is of higher quality. The natural cork closure is

one of these cues. So are ivory coloured paper and gold foil. Just about

any kind of seal, medal, or indicia is seen as a guarantee of quality,

even if they refer to awards won 100 years ago, or are simply a winery logo

in that format.

143 Professor Brocher 144 Trevor Maunder, general manager of Adams Label & Tag

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Awards and medals: a winning factor? 145 146 147 148

Awards and labelling per se are not amongst the top factors that

determine wine preferences 149 yet they seem to have assisted

various new wines to “crack” specific markets

The consumption occasion, the colour and the type of the wine are the most

important determinants, thus emphasising the primacy of the personal taste.

Following the specification of the above factors, price is the most significant

element that affects the consumers’ choice.

On the other hand, the actual information presented on the wine label

– front and back - is estimated to be of increasing importance, for the

majority of wine consumers on a global scale. To help deal with that

uncertainty, quality-conscious consumers process various perceived signals of

quality, mainly of an extrinsic nature, such as price, producer, brand, vintage,

region, awards, ratings and recommendations.

Winning a medal or an award is the last determinant for UK and US

wine consumers, however not negligible being a factor for 21% of

the respondents. Finally, as far as Germany is concerned, quality seals

and wine awards are considered a very helpful and efficient tool in

wine marketing.

Case Study: Chasing Awards

Some wineries have a deliberate strategy to enter as many high

profile shows and competitions as possible.

Villa Maria, New Zealand’s second largest producer, is one such producer.

Between 2000 and 2006, they report having entered 26 major domestic

shows and seven international shows. In 2005, for example, they entered two

major domestic shows and two international shows in Australia, where they

won a total of: nine trophies (placing runner-up in five): 35 gold medals; 27

silver medals; 20 bronze medals. This strategy forms part of Villa Maria’s

marketing strategy, with medal stickers placed on winning wines to

indicate their success to consumers and a print advertising campaign

that serves to reinforce the award winning status.” (WM, p. 246)

145 Wine Intelligence: The 2015 Wine Consumer Behaviour Model – 06.04.05 146 Prof Larry Lockshin, Wine Marketing Research Group, University of South Australia: Consumer Purchasing Behaviour for Wine: What We Know and Where We are Going - 2003 147 Wine Intelligence: The Wine Intelligence Briefing – April 2008 148 Australian Government – Austrade: Wine to Germany – 26.10.07 149 According to a study on the 2015 Wine Consumer Behaviour Model

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Case Study: UK Australian wine champions are

serial award winners 150 151 152 153

The success of Australian wines in the UK has been invariably linked with their

success in the various awards. By the turn of the century, Australian wines

had outperformed for the first time the French ones, breaking a decade-long

tradition.

In consistence with the trend that began in 2000, Australian wines won 4

international awards in the 2008 Decanter World Wine Awards, while they

carry on leading sale alongside the French wines. Moreover, Australian wines

won 587 awards in the 2008 International Wine Challenge Awards, 101 more

medals compared to 2007.

Although the vineyards of France had been centuries old when Australia was

settled, British consumers appeared to prefer the wines of the latter in the

off-licence. According to research by ACNeilsen, which runs the Winery

Exchange, an Internet news service for the industry, showed as much.

Australian wines have been aggressively marketed in the UK over the past

few decades and with wine consumption almost doubling in the UK over the

same period, our share of this growth market has increased significantly. By

demystifying the enjoyment and consumption of wine and making wine more

accessible than their European counterparts, Australian wines are increasingly

popular among more recent wine consumers in the UK154

Figures for 2000 showed that 19.5% of the wine sold in British shops was

from Australia, up almost 4% on 1999. The French market share, meanwhile,

was in steady decline. In 1998, French wine accounted for 28.6% of off-

licence sales - but by 2000, it was down to 23.6%. In the same period,

Australian wine had been winning increasingly more awards at

tasting contests. New World varieties were and are seen as more

consistent.

Britain's favourite Australian wines have been Jacob's Creek range. Jacob's

Creek, Australia's top-selling international wine brand, won gold medals at the

prestigious Monde Selection Wine Show in Brussels for its 1997 Chardonnay,

1996 Shiraz Cabernet and the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon. Launched in

150 The Sunday Telegraph: Our wines outselling the French – 18.02.01 151 Europe Business Review: Hand-picked grape growers – 01.01.99 152 Jancis Robinson: London wine competition results tumble out – 20.05.08 153 AC Nielsen: Australian Wines Top UK Wine Charts – 21.07.04 154 Michael Walton, Associate Director, Retail Measurement Services, ACNielsen, Australia

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1976, Jacob's Creek wines are consistent medal-winners - 10 gold, 45

silver and 65 bronze awards at domestic and international wine shows in

1996, and more than 100 medals at wine shows around the world during

1997.

Case Study: South African wines at The Decanter

World Wine Awards 2008 155 156

South Africa is the fastest-growing category in the UK off-trade wine market,

growing by 13% in volume, against a total market growth of 1.1%. 157 The

country's value sales also grew by 13%, making it the fifth largest county in

the UK market. The UK accounts for a quarter of all South African wine

exports.

South Africa was the big winner of the 2008 Decanter World Wine Awards.

However, the extent of the success came as a surprise to the observers of the

competition. The country won 12 Regional Trophies and 6 International

Trophies. Only 26 International Trophies are awarded. Among those were the

International Bordeaux Varietal Trophy (Under £10) and the International

Rhone Varietal Trophy (Over £10). Cederberg Shiraz won in the Rhone

category, while Amani Vineyards Cabernet Franc-Merlot took the Bordeaux

Trophy.

South Africa is increasingly viewed as a producer of premium wines with

distinctive regional characteristics158

155 The Decanter World Wine Awards are considered the most influential wine competition in the world. In 2008 the awards attracted 9219 more than double the amount entered than when the competition launched just five years ago. Decanter's reputation for its unique judging process has often caused the competition to be called 'the ultimate terroir competition'. This year, despite the large number of entries, the consistency in terms of medals awarded, was remarkable. Only 64% of wines were awarded a medal, and of those just 2.84% won a gold medal or a trophy. 12.4% won a silver medal. Wines were judged in two price brackets, under £10 and over £10. 156 Decanter: South Africa sweeps the board at Decanter World Wine Awards – 01.09.08 157 AC Nielsen 158 Jo Mason, UK market manager for Wines of South Africa

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Against intense competition South Africa swept the board in Chardonnay,

winning the International Trophies in both the Under £10 (EURO 12.5) and

Over £10 categories with Paul Cluver Elgin and Rustenberg Five Soldiers

respectively – beating the best that Burgundy, Australia and Washington State

could offer. Moreover, South Africa won the International Sauvignon Blanc

Under £10 Trophy – beating top Chilean and New Zealand wines.

Case Study: Angove Family Winemakers countering

the negative trends of Australia 159 160

Angove's was recently crowned 'Winery of the Year' by acclaimed wine

critic Peter Forrestal in his annual wine guide Quaff 2008 and has been a

consistent winner of the Decanter World Wine Awards since 2006. Its

jump in domestic sales was helped by a 25% increase in its marketing budget

and the winning of a couple of important national awards.

Angove Family Winemakers boosted its domestic sales by 21% in 2007 -

2008, although export sales fell in the face of a strong Australian dollar and

flagging British and United States markets. uiGenuine family wine businesses

such as Angove, McWilliams, Taylors and Yalumba were the beneficiaries of

disenchantment in the liquor trade with the heavy pressure being

exerted by the global companies – Foster’s, French company Pernod

Ricard, which owns Orlando and its Jacob‘s Creek brand, and United States

giant Constellation, which owns the Hardy Wine Company – to increase sales.

Angove bucked the industry trend and increased its total annual sales revenue

by 9.8% to $56 million last financial year and is aiming for $60 million this

year. The sales result was “a remarkable achievement’’ in a stagnant and

highly competitive domestic market, according to Managing director John

Angove. Angove, Australia’s seventh largest wine company by branded sales,

had increased sales in its main markets of Victoria and New South Wales, and

performed strongly in Queensland, while holding up well in South Australia.

159 The Independent Weekly: Happy families in wine industry – 12.09.08 160 Reuters: Australia's 'Winery of the Year' Brings Hottest Line to U.S. Market – 15.01.08

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The increased focus on premium brands in Victoria was benefiting

the bottom line.

Case Study: How awards put Texan wine industry

on the map 161

The wine to receive the 2005 San Francisco International Wine Competition

was 2003 Super Texan, which winemaker Craig Parker produced from

Sangiovese grapes grown on the rolling Tuscan-like vineyards near Marble

Falls. Consumers' taste for the grape boosted Texas wine sales by

16% in 2005, the largest increase in the world. As a matter of fact,

the vintage was so popular that the winery was sold out.

One of the biggest surprises at the venerable San Francisco

International Wine Competition in June 2005 was a double gold win

by Flat Creek Estates, a small, relatively new winery in the Texas Hill

Country. The 2003 Super Texan, made with the hot-weather Sangiovese

grapes and designed to compete with the Super Tuscan wines of Italy, is in

such demand that it's now considered one of Texas' top reds.

It was a significant win for Flat Creek Estates. But it was an equally important

victory for the Texas wine industry that for years has been saddled with

doubts about the state's ability to make great wine. Negativity about

Texas wines is a throwback to the early 1980s when the industry

was in its infancy and much of the wine produced here was

undrinkable.

This lingering perception that the state's wines are inferior has been difficult

for the winemakers to shake, even as their efforts merged into a significant

industry with an annual economic impact of $200 million. Texas wines have

come a long way since the state's winemaking industry emerged in 1981. It's

taken a while, but the state's winemakers are in a groove, producing high-

quality, award-winning wines that command respect.

161 San Antonio Express – News: Texas wines winning respect – 08.01.05

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San Francisco is a tough competition, with countries from all over the world

competing. For a small winery like Flat Creek Estates to win is very big. In

fact, you can't get bigger than that. Awards like this show just how

remarkable Texas wines have become.162

Texas is the fifth-largest wine producing state in the nation with 100 wineries.

In 2000, there were 40 wineries. The growth in Texas wineries follows a

national trend called agritourism that attracts thirsty tourists to wineries with

tasting rooms that sell bottles of wine, glassware, plates and souvenirs. A key

influence in the maturation of the Texas wine industry is Texas Department of

Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. Under Combs, the state has

allocated $250,000 annually for marketing the growing industry. Numerous

recent national and international recognitions of Texas wines have been

critical to proving that Texas can grow great cattle and produce top-notch

wines at the same time.

For instance, Llano Estacado in Lubbock became the first Texas winery to win

a national award, when it took home the double gold for its 1984 chardonnay

in the San Francisco competition. The Messina Hof Winery was awarded a

double gold for its 2004 Private Reserve Shiraz at the Tasters Guild 10th

Annual Consumer's Wine Judging in Washington, D.C. Fall Creek Vineyards,

on the shores of Lake Buchanan, received a "Best Buy" designation for its

1997 Sauvignon Blanc from The Wine Spectator becoming the only state

winery to win the prestigious wine magazine honour.

Size does matter 163 164

The introduction of smaller bottles comes on the back of Constellation’s Wine

Nation consumer research, which revealed that while consumers want to

treat themselves to a glass of wine at home, they won’t allow

themselves to open a full bottle and ‘waste it’

Constellation Europe is extending its flagship brand Hardys with the launch of

a 37.5cl bottle. The half-bottle format works on many levels - it drives trial; it

allows consumers to enjoy a good quality wine while spending the same as

they would on an entry-level bottle and it allows consumers to trade up by

trialing a smaller bottle first, removing the risk of spending more.

162 Dacota Julson, executive director of the Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association 163 The Daily Express: Why wine drinkers must keep their bottle – 03.03.08 164 Off licence news: Hardys goes large on half bottles – 25.07.08

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At the same time, Waitrose launched a new range of French wines called Vin

à Deux, in a bottle that contains enough wine for about two glasses,

supporting the new size as more user friendly. A reinforcing parallel trend

comes from the British Medical Journal’s campaigning for smaller bottles,

arguing that way drinking will be reduced. Many argue that a pimple-size wine

bottle will not work to tackle drinking habits and consumer will just buy more

bottles.

Another cultural trend affecting wine reflects the more active

lifestyle of wine drinkers. More people are consuming wine at the

beach, backpacking, or sailing. This has created an opportunity for

wineries to create newer closures and packages that can fit into the

active lifestyles.

Bottle stopper wars 165 166 167 168 169

In Europe, alternative closures have made their fastest inroads in

the under €5 a bottle category, which accounts for some 70% of the

European market.170

Currently, there is a great deal of innovation in wine packaging. Natural

corks remain the most popular and frequently used closure; and while

synthetic closures and technical corks remain the most widely used

alternatives, screw caps continue to make healthy inroads.171

At the end of 2007, of the 20 billion wine bottle stoppers used, 16 billion are

natural cork in some form, 2.5 billion are the plastic corks that are being

165 Meininger’s Wine Business International: Bottles under cork account for less than half of all wine sold – 22.07.08 166 Talking drinks: Cavit turns to screwcap for its SanVigilio range – 31.07.08 167 Financial Times: A corking tale of the wine-stopper wars – 16.11.07 168 Food Quality News: Largest wine producer in the US adopts screw tops – 11.05.04 169 Wine Business Monthly: 06.15.06 170 Arend Heijbroek of Rabobank 171 Wine Business Monthly's: 2006 Closure Survey

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improved but still do not offer a perfect seal over long periods, and just 1.5

billion, but growing fastest, are the hotly defended screwcaps.

16 billion (2007) 2.5 billion (2007) 1.5 billion (2007)

In Australia 60% of wines are under screw cap and in New Zealand the figure

is 90%. Somewhere between 2.5 and 2.8 of the 17 billion wine bottles sold

this year will be under screw caps, a number corroborated by Dr Olav

Aargaard of Nomacorc, who has been following the transition from cork to

alternative closures over the past five years.

We estimate that 35% of all bottles are currently sealed with alternative

closures. As recently as 2000, 99% of the market was natural cork 172

Nomacorc sold 1.7 billion closures in 2007 and expects to move 2 billion this

year, making it by far the largest producer of synthetic closures. The

advantage of stelvin closures is that bottles can leak through corks and the

wine will stay preserved for longer, allowing wines to age for longer, therefore

all bottles taste the same.

Renaud Laroche, from the eponymous family in Chablis, claims that that his

company now closes 60% of its 8.2 million bottles with screw caps claiming

that “we’ve had whole charges with cork that have gone bad.” Corbett

Canyon, the largest US wine brand, converted all its 750 ml bottles to stelvin

screw top closures in order to protect them from cork taint. But with many

consumers still attached to the cork, are manufacturers too eager to adopt

new forms of wine packaging.

172 Dr Olav Aargaard of Nomacorc

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The naturally occurring chemical compound responsible for cork taint is TCA -

or 2,4,6-trichloroanisole to give it its full name - a naturally occurring

substance that results in the mouldy, musty taste and odour of corked wine.

The number of wine bottles affected by cork taint is difficult to

assess, with figures put at anywhere between 1% (a figure cited by

the cork industry) and 15% (a more anecdotal figure based on

winemakers' own perceptions), but no matter how high the exact figure

is, the problem is one which plagues wine marketers the world over.

First developed in the 1970's for Swiss wines, which are said to be especially

sensitive to Trichloranisole (TCA), its popularity has since expanded to many

new world wine regions including Argentina, Chile and the United States.

Other major wine producing countries are also beginning to show acceptance

of the screw top closure. Corbett Canyon estimates that 40% of Australian

and New Zealand wineries use screw tops and the largest wine retailer in the

UK, Tesco, has over 100 screw top wines in store and expects to stock more.

On the other hand, many casual wine drinkers associate screw tops

with lower price wines. Synthetic stoppers have been seen as the most

obvious way of addressing the problem of wine taint. But while this is one

way of significantly reducing the problem (although evidence suggests that

TCA from sources other than cork - such as wooden barrels or even the

drainage system of the winery where it is made - can still contaminate wine in

screw cap bottles) consumer acceptance of such closures remains

mixed.

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Eco and green packaging are gaining momentum

on the back of global environmental concerns 173 174 175

176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183

Among the efforts to protect the environment, the wine industry is focusing

also on packaging techniques that minimise the carbon footprint. Eco

and green packaging is a growing trend that presents several innovations on

and various packaging formats.

Consumers’ environmental concerns are forcing the wine industry to adopt

environmental friendly methods. Wine producers have found a great

innovation for the grape: wine in a carton. This new type of

packaging is known as "eco-pod". Glass is heavy, and burns large

amounts of carbon-based fuel to move it. Furthermore, producing glass

creates about 45% of the carbon dioxide produced in the winemaking

process, which includes transporting the grapes and the bottles to the winery.

Therefore wine in a box or a PET bottle leaves much smaller carbon foot-print

from transportation.

Tetra Paks are similar to cartons used for milk. This packaging is recyclable,

does not shatter and weighs less than glass, fact that makes it cheaper and

more environmentally friendly to ship. It's being used for young, budget-

priced drink-now wines. In its present format, it's unlikely to have a future for

top-quality wines, as bottle shape and a smart label are important for

marketing.

173 AFP: Drink wine and save Mother Earth – 29.04.08 174 Esmerk Finnish News: Finland: 32% of white wine sold in bag-in-boxes – 04.07.08 175 The National Post: Alternative packaging for wine takes off; Sales Up 300% - 06.11.07 176 Wines & Vines: Green wine without greenwashing? – 02.07.08 177 The Sunday Mirror: Wine lost its bottle – 18.05.08 178 The Express on Sunday: Has wine lost its bottle? – 18.05.08 179 Moulton, Kirby and Lapsley, James: Successful Wine Marketing - New York: Springer, 2006 180 Wagner, Paul; Olsen, Janeen and Thach, Liz: Wine Marketing and Sales: Success Strategies for a Saturated Market - San Francisco: The Wine Appreciation Guild, 2007

181 The Sun Herald:Eco-friendly wine packaging is fashionable – 23.03.08 182 The Sun Herald:Eco-friendly wine packaging is fashionable – 23.03.08 183 The Hamilton Spectator: Can a great wine come in a box? – 02.08.08

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Boisset Family Estates, an American importer of French wines, has begun

offering French Rabbit, wines which come in a rounded, octagonal one-

litre Tetra Pak with a metallic finish. French Rabbit's carbon footprint is

little more than a tenth of that of conventional bottled wines. More than six

million units have been purchased worldwide in the past 18 months.

Asahi Breweries has begun the use of "Super Ecology Bottle" a lightweight

wine bottle designed to reduce CO2 emissions during production and

transportation. The 720ml size bottle produced by Ishizuka Glass is

the same height as conventional wine bottles yet contains 18% less

glass material and thereby requires less energy to both produce and

transport. The bottle is made using a new forming system from 90%

recycled glass which in addition to enabling the thickness of the glass to be

more accurately controlled and therefore reduced without compromising

overall strength.

Banrock vineyard has patented the name Ecomate for their Tetra Pak, which

chills faster than glass. EcoMate provides the drinker with the same great

wine but in a lighter, more portable pack.

In Norway for every bag-in-box of Chateau Le Cluzeau 2006 sold the importer

Bevco buys carbon credits compensating for 18 kilograms of carbon

dioxide. That is almost six times the estimated amount of CO2 emitted in the

production and transport of one bag-in-box. The bag-in-box format is a plastic

bladder of three liters of wine inside a strong cardboard box.

In Finland, 32% of white wines and rosé wines are sold in bag-in-boxes. In

Sweden, the corresponding figure is already 54%. Finnish alcohol retailer Alko

has over 100 bag-in-box products in its range, and new ones are added all

the time. According to Alko’s product manager Sami Itämeri, also experiences

of the wine pouch have been positive.

Wine companies are also putting more thought into the quality of

bag-in-boxes, and some Bag-in-Beautiful-Boxes have been

launched. Alko is also including Montalto’s stylish Bag-in-Tube

package to its selection.

Wine firm Berry Bros & Rudd predicts that in the next 50 years wine will be

shipped in bulk then “bottled” in the UK into plastic or cardboard.

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Sales of wine in tetrapak and plastic bottles were up more than 300% in

2006-07 from the previous year in Canada.184

Respected French wine producer Boisset claims the cardboard and plastic

package will keep its French Rabbit Wines fresher for longer than traditional

bottles. Tetra Paks containing merlot, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay

from the Languedoc Roussillon region of France were launched by Boisset in

Canada earlier this year

There has been a decline in three- and four-liter containers and growth in the

five-liter bag in the box, which is now the most important big size. It is

popular because it fits in the refrigerator against the wall and has a

remarkable shelf life. It is economical, at retail prices that are equivalent to 25

cents per 4-ounce glass. The 1.5-liter bottle is a growing factor in varietal

wine sales.

On the other hand, the American market seems to be considerably less

eager to try new packaging trends than some other wine-producing

countries. Australian wineries have been able to sell top quality wines in

bag-in-the-box packaging for a generation now, but many American wine

drinkers still resist this idea as wine in America is less about

convenience, more about style.

A few producers, such as the Black Box from Napa Valley, have had some

moderate success with more expensive wines in bag-in-the-box packages in

the US, but they are still along way from being major players in the market.

Innovation Monitor: Alternative non-traditional

packaging 185 186 187

Alternative non-traditional packaging in wine offers a variety of

functional benefits to modern consumers

Boisset, one of the first producers to release a wine in Tetra Pak in the UK,

has launched a Beaujolais in an aluminium bottle. The aluminium bottle

carries a temperature-sensitive dot which changes colour when the

wine is at its best drinking temperature, an innovation designed to

encourage consumers to drink red Beaujolais slightly chilled.

184 Chris Layton, media relations co-ordinator for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario 185 Off licence news: Aluminium bottle for new Beaujolais – 27.06.08 186 The Hamilton Spectator: Can a great wine come in a box? – 02.08.08 187 The Hamilton Spectator: Can a great wine come in a box? – 02.08.08

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Boisset is also launching a Burgundy bottle-shaped PET in its Burgundian

Bouchard Aîné & Fils range. The Pinot Noir comes in a semi-opaque green

bottle that looks deceptively like glass and is mainly targeted at the

catering sector. It uses Monoxbar technology to guarantee its

quality on-shelf for 18 months, and weighs 49g compared to about

400g for a glass bottle.

Wine pouches have around one-twentieth of the weight of a bottle of wine

and produce one-fifth of the emissions. Wine pouches have become subject

of a marketing blitz in Britain not only in the wine industry but also in the food

industry. Bagged wines stay fresher longer because the tap allows wine, and

oxygen, to flow only one way, so there's less contamination.

The crossroads of the future of wine labelling 188

Worldwide trends in wine labelling are taking two directions simultaneously

188 WinePros: Understanding Wine Labels – 25.06.03

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One is toward more "branding" of appellations, wine producing

estates, and vineyard names. This method protects the exclusivity of the

producers, favours pricing limited only by demand, and requires more

knowledge and awareness on the part of the consumer.

The other direction points toward increased use of varietal labelling.

This makes for more competition among brands, popular pricing, and greater

appeal to a generally less knowledgeable consumer. Both methods will

probably continue to grow in usage and, in time, may eventually meld so

that all wine labels will then reveal both the vineyard location and

the grape varieties used.

Demystifying the wine label 189 190

The European system of labelling by geographic origin as opposed to the type

of grape is much too confusing for the average wine lover. European wine-

makers are beginning to realise that they must demystify their

wines.

Most European wines are named by the regions in which the grapes

grow rather than the name of the grapes itself. The reason for this is

the belief that regions determine the character of the wine. The French,

particularly, attribute a lot of importance to the influence of terroir. For the

uninitiated, however, it does not throw much light by describing a wine as a

Bordeaux, Burgundy or Chateauneuf-du-Pape — all regions in France.

In contrast, American and Australian wine-makers display the grape

varietal (or varietals if blended) squarely on the bottle. This helps

people familiarise themselves with the grape, and learn to distinguish

between what they like and dislike.

189 The Hindu: Demystifying the wine label – 03.05.08 190 Journal of Food Distribution Research: A profile of the generation x wine consumer in California - March 2001

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But old habits, particularly when they are steeped in a ritual and tradition, are

not easy to change. In Bordeaux, for instance, the official wine classification

— conducted in 1855 at the behest of Napoleon III — is no longer an

accurate guide to the quality of wines. But, the 1855 classification, which

ranks wines in one of five divisions, survives with two small changes, the last

in 1973, thanks to some powerful lobbying by an influential winemaker.

Most New World consumers and, increasingly, many Old World consumers

prefer to purchase wine with varietal labels and /or with brand name labels. A

recent study of younger wine drinkers in the USA found that they

perceived labels with châteaux on them to be stuffy and pretentious.

Some associated them negatively with old people. Many producers now

attempt to make selecting and purchasing wine easy and non-

intimidating by making their labels inviting and playful.

Ingredient lists on wine labels? 191

The interest of consumers about the ingredients they consume

begins to appear also in the wine industry. Nowadays consumers want

to know exactly what that wine is made of, what its nutritional profile is and

what sort of additives may have been used in making it.

Following this tendency the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or

TTB, the wine regulatory arm of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is

mulling regulations that could force all makers of alcoholic beverages

to list serving sizes, alcohol content, calories, carbohydrates, fat,

protein and potential allergens on the label.

191 Chicago Tribune: Ingredient list may become a label requirement on wine bottles – 03.04.08

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Supporters say the information will give wine buyers greater insight into what

they're drinking. Disagreements exist in and out of the wine and alcoholic

beverages industry over exactly what should or should not be on a label.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI is concerned about how

nutritional information might be framed on the label. The Wine Institute, the

lobbying arm of the California wine industry, claims that it will be hard to

comply with the regulations. The group also notes that fitting all the required

information on existing labels would be difficult and might require an

expensive shift to other kinds of bottles.

Design packaging 192

Wine-packaging is now open to design

While other producers are experimenting with distinctive labels and closures,

Voga Italia is presenting a whole new bottle following a fashion-

forward approach to wine packaging. Launched in the spring of 2006,

Voga's Pinot Grigio is packaged in a sleek, cylindrical, 750ml bottle that

evokes high-end vodka and mineral water packaging. In January

2007, the company launched a similarly packaged companion wine for the

Pinot Grigio, a red blend called "Quattro."

Quattro is packaged in a clear glass bottle, with a silver "Voga" logo printed

on it. (Voga is the Italian word for vogue.) The bottle is sealed with a cork

stopper and topped with a silver screw-off cap. To open the bottle, the

consumer unscrews and removes the cap, then uses a corkscrew to remove

the stopper. Even its case configuration has a flair for fashion: The bottles are

shipped in a triangular 15-bottle case that includes a built-in case card. Voga's

packaging was designed to appeal to the tastes of fashion-conscious young

adults. Consumer and retailer reaction to Voga's non-traditional package has

been very positive. The Voga Pinot Grigio sold more than 100,000 cases

within the first few months of its launch. With the addition of Quattro, the 192 Wines & Vines: High-fashion package for Italian wine – 01.03.08

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brand's annual case production is 250,000. The brand's approach to

advertising and marketing is also non-traditional, with a focus on high-fashion

and urban lifestyle publications.

Creating fine art on a bottle of wine 193

Artist Cheryl Wisbrock was asked to design a label for the Bethany Beach

label Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon themed wines.

After trying to find concepts that define Bethany Beach she created labels

that were depicting the World War II artillery tower located near the

York Beach Mall and another depicting old fishing buddies commiserating on a

pier during the shoulder season. According to the artist the challenge was to

make a piece of fine art that would be appealing not only on a wall,

but also on a bottle. The outcome was a piece of art.

The store introduced a successful Bethany Beach chardonnay to

raise funds for a foundation created in honour of a family member

who died in infancy. The Ryan Scott Kappes foundation financially supports

families so they can be with their sick children, helping with things like travel

expenses and utilities. Last year the chardonnay did really well selling 130

cases. This year sales are anticipated to a few hundred, while there is interest

in launching more of the California wines with bottles reflecting life along the

Bethany Beach coast.

193 Associated Press: Wine label captures spirit of Bethany Beach – 08.07.08

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In another case, US-based Knightsbridge Fine Wines signed a licensing

agreement to access certain works by internationally acclaimed pop artist

Romero Britto. That was in order to develop a portfolio of wines bearing

Britto's colourful images on its labels and promotional merchandise. Britto's

imagery was first commissioned in 1989 for Absolut Vodka's Art Campaign.

Subsequent commissions have included Pepsi Cola. Knightsbridge's Britto line

continues the company's Artist Series of Fine Wines, begun under similar

licensing agreements with Guy Buffet and Andy Warhol. By creating new

brands linked to internationally known artists, Knightsbridge aims at

maximizing brand name recognition at minimal marketing cost.

Critter wines ?!?! 194 195 196

More and more wineries are putting pictures of animals on their wine

labels, a plan that has shown early success with younger, fun-seeking

consumers. Wine marketers have drafted in various members of the animal

kingdom, including kangaroos, crocodiles and penguins, as they attempt to

make their wines look fun and dynamic.

The trend has given birth to a whole new category - critter wines -

playing on American slang for animal. Sales of critter wines either

branded around an animal or containing one on the label, have topped EUR

497 million in the fast-growing US market197. 'Critters' appear on the labels of

77 of the 438 table wine brands that have been launched and have sustained

sales on the US market in the last three years.

194 EncycloWine: Wine Label 195 Beverage Daily: 'Critters' prove the winning wine label formula – 22.03.06 196 Beverage Daily: Art labels designed to shake up wine industry – 21.10.04 197 ACNielsen

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While placing a critter on a label doesn't guarantee success, it is important

that wine makers realise that there is a segment of consumers who don't

want to have to take wine too seriously198

However, it can sometimes take more than a critter to sell wine. Pricing,

quality, product placement and relationships with retailers still hold a lot of

sway. Some French winemakers have also caught on to the idea, using

animals on wine bottles to help consumers more easily combine different

wines with specific regions or varieties.

Juices hijacking traditional wine packaging and

labelling

High-end juices are positioned as the new alcohol-free wine by

taking on the wine packaging and labelling mantle and

characteristics

Monavie is an ultra premium line of alcohol-free juices that could easily be

confused with wine. Utah-based MonaVie offers both juices and concentrated

gels made from 19 different fruits, all chosen for their healthful properties.

First among them is the Brazilian acai berry—widely considered a health-

promoting superfood—accompanied by apricot, aronia, acerola, lychee,

wolfberry, bilberry and of course grape, to name just a few. Pricing is very

high-end, indeed, at about USD 40 per 750 ml bottle of juice. MonaVie is

currently sold on a person-to-person basis in the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia,

New Zealand, Singapore and Japan, with plans to expand further around the

globe.

198 Danny Brager, vice president of Nielsen's Beverage Alcohol Team

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Going one step further, First Blush's Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay fruit

juices are alcohol-free varietal grape juices entirely suitable for kids, with no

added sugar or preservatives.

Like wine, however, they're also full of polyphenol antioxidants. Launched last

May, the drinks are available in upscale grocers such as Whole Foods and

Wild Oats, along with delis and restaurants in select states nationwide. Retail

pricing is about USD 4 for each 16-ounce bottle. Rather than focusing on

organic ingredients, as so many others are currently doing, First

Blush takes a different approach with its use of grape varietals.

Personalised bottle labels

Pernod Ricard's customized label program, which has actually been

around for a few years, allows US residents to order personalized labels for

Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, Jacob's Creek, Kahlua, Mumm Napa and Wild

Turkey Russell’s Reserve.

What's interesting is that rather than offering custom label options as part of

a larger product order for the drinks themselves, such as what myJones does,

Pernod Ricard lets customers order just labels, and at no charge.

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An assortment of styles are available for each brand, including holiday,

wedding and sailing themes, with room for up to seven lines of text.

Consumers can then affix the labels over the original ones on bottles they

obtained elsewhere; up to 5 labels can be ordered per e-mail address. By

separating the label offering from orders for the core product, Pernod Ricard

achieves a number of desirable ends in one easy step. Not only does it reduce

the associated shipping costs and broaden the audience that will be interested

in engaging with the brand, it also gains the tremendous goodwill associated

with giving away something for free.

Food pairing on wine labels

For consumers who aren't interested in delving into a wine's expressiveness

what matters most is how well the wine goes with their food.

Making it as simple as possible, the Amazing Food Wine Company has

launched a fool-proof line of Wine That Loves. Each wine is specifically suited

to one dish, which leaves no room for error; these are wines that singularly

'love' pizza, grilled salmon or pasta with tomato sauce. The dishes were

chosen based on popularity in American households.

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Wine That Loves takes the guesswork out of food and wine pairing, while

promising "world-class quality, distinctive character and winning style that will

also delight wine aficionados." The wines were picked and paired by Ralph

Hersom, a wine expert and professional wine taster, who was Wine Director

at New York's Le Cirque restaurant for seven years.

Retail trends The era of supermarket supremacy 199 200

Supermarket chains are increasingly dominating retail wine sales as

they tend to focus on high volume, low price wines and enter B2B relations

with larger distributors.

In order to maximize retail opportunities in supermarket chains, wine

companies will usually have to financially support in-store promotional

activities in addition to any external promotion they will be doing.

Independent and specialist retail stores offer the best possibilities

for retailing the wines of small producers and non-mainstream wine

varieties.

The take home wine market will continue to grow with this primarily being

purchased from supermarkets. Continued drunk driving campaigns in a

number of developed countries will serve to reinforce this trend.

Retailers step-up wine quality battle

Encouraged by its success selling wines as smart as Penfolds Grange (over

EURO 120 a bottle) online, Tesco introduced a specially displayed fine

wine range of about 50 very respectable wines in about 250 of its

1,700 UK stores last year and since then has been in a flurry of upgrading of

the mainstream wine range.

The Tesco wine department in the UK has just undergone its most

fundamental shake-up ever, and most of its rivals have been scurrying to

199 Hall, Michael C. and Mitchell, Richard: Wine Marketing: A Practical Guide - Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008 200 Financial Times: Fine wines? Grab a trolley and head for the aisles – 20.10.07

packaging and labelling trends - keoΣoe - eιδήσεις 1.1a...awards and labelling per se are...

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