Vintner Stages Brand Relaunch with Strategic Sampling
Last year Fetzer wine, the flagship brand of 48-year-old California-based Fetzer Vineyards, underwent a major makeover with a new label, improved grape quality and lower yields resulting in an overall elevated product. Now it’s up to Brian Dorn, regional vice president for Fetzer Vineyards, to spread the word in Texas and tastings are his method of choice. “For us tastings are vital, especially in Texas,” he says. “Out of everything we spend to manage the business, demos and incentives we run for our distributor team make up the bulk of what we do.”
Established Wine Supplier Retools Tastings for Millennials.
After 100 years in the United States, many baby boomers know Freixenet, the 150-year-old leading global supplier of Spanish sparkling wine known as Cava. “A lot of the comments are, ‘Oh, my grandparents drink that,’” says Devon Schmitt, Freixenet’s Gulf Coast regional manager. Now the company wants to reach younger buyers that tend to askew traditional advertising in favor of more personalized buying experiences like in-store tastings. “What we’ve been trying to do over the last couple of years is tap into the millennial market and we use tastings to get the brand in front of them.”
Beverage Supplier Sweetens Tastings with Timely Data.
On any given day, Jake Buckingham, key account manager for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, is likely crisscrossing the state of Texas building relationships with retailers to ensure that the company’s products stay visible and get sold. He says in-store tastings play a key role in this effort. “In order for retailers to give us good brand representation, they want to know we’re investing in the brand and going into their stores and helping invest in their stores specifically.”