Stateways

StateWays - March/April 2015

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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25 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ March/April 2015 attracting a lot of attention, especially with Millennial consumers, and creating a niche for themselves within the industry." Rogers points out that quality table wine brands, like Leese-Fitch, were noticeably absent from this year's list. In many cases, previous Fast Track winners didn't grow the necessary 10% in 2014 to remain in that category, and also haven't reached 400,000 nine- liter cases to qualify as an Established Growth brand. But the winners do include first timers that capitalized on industry trends. "Myx Fusion's fi rst-year case sales were very impressive, which translates back to creating a niche through spokes- woman Nicki Minaj," Rogers says. Spanning the Portfolio A number of wines, both mature brands and newcomers, from the Delicato Family Vineyards family earned Growth Brand Awards this year. Despite falling under a single sup- plier, Belle Ambiance, Gnarly Head and Hand Craft each represent a different target consumer and a different stage of the brand growth cycle. "The 2014 launch of Belle Ambiance was the largest in Delicato Family Vineyards history," says Brand Man- ager Charene Beltramo. "The brand was embraced early by distributors and retailers. For 2015, our promotions include a signifi cant focus on wedding season, which presents opportunities with all channels at different times of the year." HandCraft launched three years ago. The brand's proprietor, third-generation vintner Cheryl Indelicato, is an active supporter of breast cancer awareness and has contributed more than $220,000 toward finding a cure. "Cheryl's exposure in market as an active participant at the street level has resonated with consumers and been a major factor in the continued growth of the brand," Bel- tramo says. "HandCraft will be involving consumers in multiple interactive campaigns tied to breast cancer aware- ness in 2015." In addition to community outreach through its in- volvement with the Lynne Sage Foundation, which sees specifi c consumer opt-in activations at retail, the brand is also launching a Pinot Grigio and Malbec to the portfolio this year. As a more mature brand in the DFV portfolio at 10 years old, Gnarly Head has built brand awareness out -of-store through social media and digital campaigns, as well as working with retailers to create impactful POS. 2015 GROWTH BRAND AWARDS – WINES WOODBRIDGE BY ROBERT MONDAVI Constellation Brands Established Growth 2014 Cases: 9.15m (+2.0%) Woodbridge engaged with consumers in a number of unique ways during 2014, including the "Moments Worth Sharing" campaign during the summer and holiday seasons, a partnership with No Kid Hungry and working with HGTV star Sabrina Soto to host a Dream Thanksgiving contest. "2014 was a banner year for Woodbridge by Rober t Mon- davi," says Jon Guggino, Vice President of Marketing for Rober t Mondavi and Premium Wines at Constellation Brands. "Building upon last year's success, we're entering 2015 with plans that will resonate with consumers." Upcoming campaigns include a "Summer Block Party" that will play out through digital, in-store promotions and media activations, as well as supporting local food banks during the holidays through the brand's "Holiday Traditions" platform. BOTA BOX DFV Wines Fast Track 2014 Cases: 3.05m (+21.3%) Q&A with Mark Koppen, Brand Director for Bota Box. SW: What promotions in 2014 contributed most to sales growth for Bota Box? MK: As the original eco-friendly box wine, we're a proud partner of the Arbor Day Foundation and 2014 was the sixth consecutive year that Bota Box teamed up with them to support reforestation. More than 50,000 trees were planted as a result in the past year. We also initiated the tagline, "Here's to Your Next Adventure," which we promoted through Facebook, encouraging consumers to share their everyday adventures via comments and images. SW: What industry trends are most contributing to the success of Bota Box right now? MK: Modern day wine consumers want a more approachable, everyday drinking with that offers a softer, smoother and more fruit-forward profi le. Bota wines fi ll that niche. The core wine consumer population also wants an accessible wine that pairs with a wide variety of foods at the dinner table. SW: What are you planning for 2015 that will maintain Bota Box's growth trajectory? MK: This year our Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are hitting broad distribution, joining the 1.5L Bota Brick, which launched within the last few months. We've also retained a new integrated public relations agency to expand our "Here's to Your Next Adventure" campaign in content-driving mediums, both online and offl ine. KENDALL-JACKSON Jackson Family Wines Established Growth 2014 Cases: 3.24m (+1.3%) "We continue to invest in the Kendall-Jackson brand across multi- ple disciplines, including brand marketing, trade marketing, digital and social," says Corinne Nosal, Sr. Communications Manager at Jackson Family Wines. In 2014, the company launched two new line extensions for Kendall-Jackson Avant, in addition to targeted event and multicultural campaigns aimed at attracting a younger consumer to the brand. In 2015, Jackson Family Wines plans to build on the success of those campaigns, investing in the brand to build relevance with its younger audience. "We'll still remain an attractive, quality offering for our current consumers who are Kendall-Jackson loyalists and have been for many years," Nosal says. "And we'll continue to focus on producing high-quality wines from the best regions in coastal California."

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