Packaging a bottle of wine is now more important than ever?

Over the last few years we have seen an enormous growth of new wines in the marketplace. Not just from California and other states but from all around the world. With this growth, the look and feel of not only the bottle but also the box, label, foil and of course the closure is now more important than ever.

In the past if the wine was great it did not really matter as much how your product was packaged, but with the intense competition for floor space in retail and slots on top restaurant wine lists packaging is almost as important as what is in the bottle.

Lets explore some of the ways to ensure your packaging does not preclude selling your wine!

I think the first thing you must be prepared to do is really listen to your broker/distributor. Too many times I have come across really good wines in horrible packages, and my first comment is to change the package. If your supply chain is telling you that buyers do not like the package then it stand to reason that the consumer will not like it either, therefore, you should be willing to change your packaging.

Don’t be married to your package. It is a product not an art piece, or in many cases like a child.

With that being said, a classic piece of art will remain classic! Do your research into some of the bottles that have stood the test of time. Mondavi, Phelps, Dunn, Hanzell they all have one thing in common, they are timeless.

Second always keep in mind is that 50%+ of all the wine purchased in the US is purchased by females, who in many cases buy the label! If your label is a piece of art the odds are that if you show it to 10 people three will love it, three will hate it and four could care less. Therefore it is a poor business practice to alienate 70% of the market or more before they ever even open up a bottle! Make it beautiful.

Finally, one of the hottest topics in wine right now is closure. This part is relatively simple. If you expect people to drink the wine in 2-3 years then go with a screw cap or Zork. If you want people to cellar your wines always go with a good quality cork! Remember the average life span of a bottle of wine in the US is just under 3 days!

Cheers,

Steve Frederick

Steve Frederick has been in restaurant, retail, importation and wholesale aspects of the wine industry now since 1982. He helped to build the only Wine Spectator Grand Award list in San Diego at The WineSellar & Brasserie. Steve has a passion for wine and loves to share it with everyone who has an interest as Sales Manager at R&R Wine Marketing.

This entry was posted by admin on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Direct Sales, Packaging, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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