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October 2014 Bottles and Labels Issue

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46 W i n e s & V i n e s O C T O b e r 2 0 1 4 s executive vice president of marketing for Purple Wine Co. and Sonoma Wine Co., Lisa ehrlich has been at the helm of a three-year packaging transformation for Purple Wine Co.'s brands. She discussed the process while speaking at the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference in August. Purple Wine Co. is the branded wine arm of the company, while sis- ter Sonoma Wine Co. is a winery services operation from crush to bottling that produces Purple Wines as well as those for other wine companies. Sonoma Wine Co. processes 4 million cases of wine per year, of which 25% is the company's own brands. Purple was best known for its 600,000- case Mark West Pinot Noir brand, which it sold in 2012 to Constellation Brands, trig- gering the redesign and new focus on its other brands. All products but one have changed in the past two years: Four pack- ages have been redesigned, four new brands were introduced, and one stayed the same. ehrlich noted that change is not always good. "You don't want to just change for the sake of change. You don't want to lose existing consumers and accounts loyal to a brand." But there can be good reasons to change since the market is competitive, she said. There are more brands and labels every day, and innovation may make sense to stand out from the pack. Wineries can use pack- aging to tell a story about the wine, explain where it comes from and give it a sense of place and identity. elements in packaging can also suggest luxury, elevating the value of the wine among potential buyers, ehrlich observed. And the right package can help set expectations about how the wine will taste. Unusual packages can create buzz, pro- viding something new to talk about with distributors and key accounts, as well as a reason to visit them or present new infor- mation. But more than that, she said, exciting packaging will generate interest among consumers and the press. The best packaging does all the above. ehrlich presented four case studies to illustrate Purple Wine Co.'s packaging innovation, two recent brand introduc- tions with label-printing design innova- tion and two screen-printed package designs—each with different goals. "These packages didn't come about by accident or overnight. We worked to ensure success in bringing these projects to market." To succeed, the company: • Set goals and involved internal and external customers, • established communication between the internal team and suppliers, • Created a timeline (the company always feels pressure to get innovations to mar- ket, so it often works on a short timeline), • Planned to test the packages, • expected the unexpected. Calista Pinot noir Since Purple Wine Co. had a large stake with its Mark West Pinot Noir prior to the label's sale, a successful new Pinot Noir brand was a major goal for the com- pany. The new Calista brand filled that niche, and at a higher price point. It used a four-panel label design, which allowed space to differentiate the product yet still speak to the Pinot Noir lover. "We looked at various packaging and discov- Case Study on Applying Packaging Innovations Purple Wine Co. executive describes process of packaging development By Paul Franson BOTTLES &LABELS Highlights • The marketing chief for California's Purple Wine Co. spoke about the importance of packaging in brand identity at the Wines & Vines Packaging Conference. • lisa Ehrlich recommended that wineries identify the goals of a new package early, then communicate them with the graphic designer, production and purchasing departments as well as vendors. • She said it's important to set and respect timelines, test the bottling pro- cess before committing to full produc- tion, and expect the unexpected. Calista's 360-degree de- sign involves four separate panels that wrap around the entire bottle. p a c k a g i n g

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