October 2009 Newsletter

Friends, we are sending this newsletter to you because we know you are interested in news, trends, and best practices in packaging for the wine and spirits industry. Please feel free to pass it along to colleagues.

Enjoy!
-Erica

• Classy Glass
• Consumer Appeal
• On the Cheap
• No Time Like the Present
• News ‘n Notes

High-end, Low-cost
Around this time last year Michael Othites, senior vice president of operations for Constellation Wines U.S., was extolling the virtues of heavy glass, saying that “consumers of expensive, high-end wines tend to prefer heavier bottles, which convey a sense of quality.” Click here for the article. What a difference a year makes. While top-of-the-line wines will likely still use heavier glass now and in the foreseeable future, environmental and cost factors have led to unprecedented growth in lighter weight bottles. To address demand, we at Global Package recently created our own proprietary line of bottles — Elegant Light — which combines the cost-efficiencies and ‘green’ considerations of lighter glass with the distinctive shapes and colors of ultra-premium Burgundy and Bordeaux styles. They’re in stock now and readily available. If you’d like to see samples, just send us an email info@globalpackage.net or give us a call at 707-224-5670.

Bottle Basics
ShelfImpact.com cited a recent survey conducted by Newton Marketing Research in conjunction with the University of Oklahoma that found that “wine drinkers of all ages and regions of the U.S. believe glass bottles are the healthiest way to package wine (98.1%) and keep the taste of wine pure (79.8%)… Consumers believe glass is the most appealing packaging material for wine in appearance (97.8%), does the best job of keeping the product fresh (94.1%) and keeping the original flavor of the product (95.3%). They also believe glass is the best material for packaging organic wine (95.4%). . . Of nearly 75% of American wine drinkers expressing an opinion, (72.3%) believe glass is the best packaging material for recycling, compared with bag-in-box containers (4.8%).” Pretty impressive testimonial for glass. Click here for the study: http://bit.ly/sDc7S

Cheap Drunks
I found this interesting study on a recent post on “Well,” the blog by New York Times’ Tara Parker-Pope. She cites a new study by researchers from the University of Florida and San Diego State University that found that the higher the cost of a drink, the “less intoxicated bar patrons (mostly college students) were upon leaving the establishment.” Evidently, there’s a strong correlation between the cost of a drink and amount consumed: “For every $1.40 hike in drink price, the bar goer was 30 percent less likely to leave the bar legally drunk.” Unsurprisingly, they also found that college students are more sensitive to price reductions than older drinkers, who typically have more disposable income. Yet another argument for higher-end quality wines. I always believe drink well and drink less now it seems we will be safer, too! Click here for the full story: http://bit.ly/4AXb7I

Planning Ahead
Studies have shown that between 70 to 80 percent of wine packaging costs are determined during the design stage. Six Cost Saving tips your packaging suppliers don’t want you to know.” South African Wine Journal. Given today’s fluctuations in supply and demand, it’s imperative to decide as early as possible on your wine’s packaging. Know what retail price point you want to hit and then look for packaging that suits that range. When deciding on the right bottle, many factors need to be considered: price-value equation, aesthetic appeal, style of wine, fill level, bottle diameter (in terms of equipment compatibility), capsule size, bottling line restrictions, closure requirements, among many others. The glass industry is evolving and sectoring itself for “best selection” solutions. European glass, although affected greatly by the exchange rate, still offers the most specialized solutions. However, the new era of mid-sized off- shore factories with creative design agents are making huge inroads. If you’re unsure how your particular circumstances affect bottle choice, give me a call. I’ll be happy to help. If you’d like a quick tutorial on bottle selection, go to this piece I wrote for Bin to Bottle. Click on Newsletters, 30 June 2009, Bin to Bottle Newsletter, Issue 3: June ’09 to download the PDF. For more good information on bottle selection, here’s another article: “Six Cost Saving tips your packaging suppliers don’t want you to know” — by Mike Carter in October 31, 2006 Wine, South Africa’s wine journal. Click here: http://bit.ly/1aPXT9

News ‘n Notes
Glass factories are difficult to run in the best of times and that is proved by the news of Cameron Family Glass Packaging’s much anticipated manufacturing plant in Washington being closed down due to a furnace fire and a string of resulting legal claims. (http://bit.ly/44crpH) …Here’s a pretty good resource for those who are new to bottle selection. It provides pictures and descriptions of traditional and non-traditional bottles: (http://bit.ly/1iRPjM) …Wines & Vines lists these wine bloggers as trade favorites: E. Asimov, J. Robinson, S. Tanzer, E. Orange, T. Colman, G. Vaynerchuk, and A. Yarrow. Wine trade members also ranked Facebook and LinkedIn as significantly more important for communication than Twitter, MySpace and YouTube… (http://bit.ly/Cq1Mb) …Wine Bottle Recycling LLC in Stockton, CA, has picked up where other attempts failed in recycling wine bottles. According to founder Bruce Stephens, the 92,000-square-foot facility will use facial recognition software to sort the bottles and automated de-labeling system. Stay tuned (http://bit.ly/zBTTX).