In the face of unemployment spiralling out of control and the wide spread debt suppressing the UK population during the current recession, an interesting outcome has been that luxury alcoholic products are flying off the shelves.
We’re not talking bog standard here, but the premium brands – which is odd given the results of research recently carried out by the International Wine and Spirit Record showing the market share increasing.
For example, sales of standard champagne brands have shrunk from 55.12% to 53.72%, whilst luxury champagne has grabbed a morsel more of the market share (up from 42.6% to 44%) over the last two years.
Interestingly, the way that premium alcohol has achieved this is largely by re-establishing older brands, and repackaging them in smaller proportions.
By reducing the bottle volume, say 75cl traditionally now appears in a 50cl bottle, and improving the packaging to appear more attractive, alcoholic brands are still retailing for the same price. Cunning heh? Sadly, we’re all too eager to snap it up so premium brands get away with this daylight robbery.
Prestigious champagne brand Taittinger has repackaged its full range in a bid to ensure that their six products are readily identifiable with the brand. Identically shaped labels, branded foils and smaller neck collars have been key to achieving this.
Keeping the redesign inhouse, artistic director Vitalie Taittinger, and daughter of managing director Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, was tasked with a redesign that respected ‘the existing codes of the house’.
She was to continue the tradition of evolutionary rebranding, rather than revolutionary in order to coordinate the display of their branded products.
What is remarkable is that sales are expected to continue to soar during the recession, as while society struggles financially, the desire to treat themselves to the occasional luxury will keep the premium market afloat.
And it’s not packaging alone that the drinks market is concentrating on. Vinance have recently gone through a whole rebranding process to bring their brand up-to-date.
This includes everything from their logo, down to their packaging, all in a bid to improve their positioning in the market place. This kind of thing isn’t a short process, but in the long run, as Taittinger and Vinance will discover, can be very lucrative.
