How Influenced are you by the Wine Label?

How frequent is it that we have chosen something based on what’s on the outside over what’s inside? From that book at the library with an interesting cover we happen to pick up to cosmetics, items which we are unfamiliar with and yet about to purchase for the first time, we tend to be attracted foremost by the packaging.

Many items rely solely on packaging as a big consumer draw as without it the sales process would be difficult. For example, a bakery selling loafs of bread can rely on the product visually selling itself whereas printer ink will rely mostly on branding / packaging (especially if we take out cost).

Plenty of products that we purchase are visually exactly the same and it is purely down to the quality which sets them apart from one another. Perfumes, coffee granules, water, grass seed and more would all mostly look exactly the same in transparent see-through packaging, it is only when used / tasted that we might experience a difference in quality. Price can sometimes be an indicator of what the standard of the product we are purchasing is, though when many similar products are competing at the same price point then packaging can be the decisive factor.

 

Top Packaging Ideas:

• Colour: Vibrant / Bright colours can attract consumers by being eye catching / stand out.
• Textures: From the bottle itself to the label, embossed gives a three dimension impression and is widely used for luxury products.
• Endorsements: Meet the winemaker to celebrity faces on bottles, people are influenced by their peers.
• Innovative: Thinking outside the box to create something different and not simply just ordinary.
• Consumer Interaction / Gifts: The likes of wooden cases, tins or cloth bags to free stoppers / ice buckets can engage buyers better.
• Name: From limited editions to clever wording.

 

Wine Labels

When it comes to wine the all important information point is the label. Most will have to adhere to strict criteria in what they must include with the remaining space over to the winery and their creativity.

The majority of wine labels will be fighting the same battle, constantly trying to improve their wines and their credibility within the sector. Much of the work of the winery is finding key distribution locations and active re-sellers in order to achieve their majority of sales. Thereafter it will be selling to visitors to the winery or, where the label impact grows important, on the shelves of shops / stores.

 

Today we are quite fortunate that supermarkets have embraced the love that the UK consumers have for wines, we have progressed from merely a shelf dedicated to wine in the 1980’s to aisles / sections full today. Superstores such as Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, etc will now have at least 100+ labels to choose from with sections by either country or colour / style. Apart from price points, it is simply down to which labels grab your attention once you are fixed on the style you are after, many consumers will have just red, white, rosé or bubbly in mind.

Wine experts and enthusiasts will most likely know exactly what they are looking for and dare I say the label itself, design wise, will have little persuasion when it comes to what they purchase. The majority of people will need guidance and this is where the label dominates things, though of course with this approach you might get the Forest Gump effect, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.“