BUILDING AN INTERNATIONAL WINE BRAND IN THE MODERN ERA

COMPONENTS OF PRESENTATION• Product

• Infrastructure

• Distribution– Local– International– Online

• Marketing– Traditional– Modern

PRODUCT

Before building a brand – you need to have a product. To compete internationally, the product needs to comply with certain requirements.

QUALITY

The quality of the product has to be of an international standard.

POINT OF DIFFERENCE

• UNIQUE: Your product has to offer something with a difference.

• Example: Kraft Beer – it is trendy and brings some freshness and originality to a commercial industry.

• What can the South African wine industry offer the world that is interesting and different to what they can get from other wine countries?

• What is our Point of Difference?

POINT OF DIFFERENCE - DIVERSITY

• I think the SA wine industry’s uniqueness and one of its best selling points, is in its diversity.

• South Africa’s wine growing areas offer diverse terroir that results in diverse wines.

• The wines from a certain area / terroir has a specific finger-print.

• Terroir can be our “something interesting”

RECOGNISED STYLE

Your product needs a specific style. Not only does it differentiate you from the other products, but it also offers reliability to your consumers. The importance is that the consumer can rely on your product to comply with the style-promise.

INFRASTRUCTURE

To comply with international standards and demand, you need proper infrastructure and facilities.

DISTRIBUTION

• Distribution is a very important part of building a successful brand.

• Even when you have the best quality / best looking / best researched brand – it does not help if it is not in the market.

• Distribution used to be a simple concept in the past with a relative straightforward relationship between producer, distributor and retailer.

• Today it is much more complicated than that.

DISTRIBUTION – SOUTH AFRICA• In South Africa distribution is challenged by the long distances.

• It is expensive to get our wine to the rest of the country. How do you service a small restaurant in Johannesburg?

• Introducing Redistribution.

DISTRIBUTION – SOUTH AFRICA

• To counteract the added cost and redistributor margins, we have introduced Meridian Wine Merchants.

• Meridian gets the wine straight from the farm and forms part of our own network to curb costs.

• It does stay a complex model as the redistributor needs to have an offering that is both attractive and diverse.

DISTRIBUTION – INTERNATIONAL

• International distribution traditionally works through a system of agents.

• There are however other ways – especially in the non-traditional wine markets, such as China.

• In China we work with a direct sales structure that although more expensive, keeps you involved in the chain and brings personal contact to the end consumer.

• Will this direct sales method work in the rest of the world? Perhaps to a certain extend, but the retail with its discount culture is very strong in the West.

DISTRIBUTION – ONLINE

• E-commerce is the distribution model of the future.

• Online sales has only been catching on in South Africa over the last few years, but in the rest of the world is already a popular way of shopping.

• In the long term, I expect it to have a definite impact on traditional distribution and retail shopping.

• Time is a scarce commodity and even when online sales are not price competitive, it still saves time.

DISTRIBUTION – ONLINE

• According to SAWIS:• Online Sales internationally: 10 – 15%• Online Sales South Africa: 4 – 6 %

• According to China Daily US:• Online Sales in China (2013): 27%• Europe: 8 – 10%• USA: 2 %

TRADITIONAL MARKETING

• Wine marketing as with other marketing, traditionally is all about the 4 P’s – price, product, promotion, place.

• Marketing was also based on Expert opinions and ratings. • But this has changed.

MODERN MARKETING• What has changed?• In today’s world with easy access to online media and social

media platforms allowing everyone to share their opinion with the world, we need to take a different look at marketing.

• Suddenly expert opinions are not the only thing that matters, it is also about the individual or family visiting your establishment or drinking your wine – it is also about what they think and what they share online. Everyone has become a journalist.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE

• At both our Franschhoek properties, La Motte and Leopard’s Leap, we have created experiences around the brand passions.

• Brand associations such as art and culture, conservation and literature has been evolved into tourism experiences such as a historic walk, art exhibitions, hiking routes, classical music concerts, cooking classes, a programme of talks and various food and wine matching experiences.

IN CONCLUSION

KEY ELEMENTS OF BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL WINE BRAND

PRODUCT - competitive quality / true to style / USP

INFRASTRUCTURE – correct facilities and technology

DISTRIBUTION – though complex, very important. Ensure involvement in whole chain / understand the system / realise the importance of online sales.

MARKETING – create an experience around your product / tell your story / stay true to your brand

THANK YOU

SOURCEShttp://www.info-sourcing.com/features.htm

http://realfood.tesco.com/our-food/tesco-finest-range.html

http://networkingstar.com/articles/industry-news/national-food-distribution-company-old-port-international-is-now-a-premier-distributor-of-north-country-smokehouses-high-quality-meats-and-cheeses/

http://www.peninsulatimes.org/2014/07/17/3-5-million-saudis-flock-e-commerce-boost-sales/

http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2013/06/internet-wine-sales-top-5-billion

http://healthyvoyager.com/the-advantages-of-buying-wine-online/

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-03/17/content_17352708.htm

http://www.sawis.co.za/info/statistics.php

http://www.hautbourg.fr/wine-advocate.html

http://getsocialeyes.com/wine-social-media-perfect-blend/

http://www.sanpedro.cl/en/2014/07/wine-advocate-otorga-grandes-puntajes-a-vinos-de-vina-san-pedro/