Conviviality and relaxation, sharing memories and swapping stories – enjoying wine and beer with friends and at certain events with co-workers is an activity that millions of American adults look forward to.
And the “locavore” wine and beer industry is growing to accommodate demand. In New Jersey alone, the number of wineries increased from 38 in 2011 to 50 in 2016, with more in the works; the Garden State also now has 100 craft breweries, a number that, like wineries, has grown quickly.
Microbreweries are still hot and are getting a lot of attention, according to Stephanie Schroeter of Logomark, who comments, “We see a lot of beer/microbrew-related campaigns in certain markets such as Boston, Richmond, Tampa, as well as Colorado, California, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Microbreweries have seen incredible growth over the past few years and has become more competitive, as breweries are increasingly trying to differentiate themselves. “We helped with a Connecticut-based brewery make a big splash with their campaign – while most other companies only focus on a product with their logo on it as a give-away, this company chose to add packaging as well, which allowed them to tell their whole story and show what really differentiates them from other breweries.”
In the wine category, Schroeter adds, Millennials are really driving the market and “changing the wine-selling game.” She cites an article reporting that US wine sales are approximately $62 billion annually, and millennials are consuming an estimated 42% of it.
In early June, Walmart announced it is launching its own wines – “Winemarkers Selection” featuring wines from California, Italy, and France; this private label brand will be sold in 1,100 Walmart stores.
“We continue to see a strong consumer interest in both wine and beer,” said Jim Ristuccia of A+ Wine Designs. “It seems that consumers have more sophisticated palates these days. Instead of requests for simply red or white, we’re getting many more specific requests, either by grape or appellation or winery. With beer it’s all about craft, specialization and unique combinations. There are so many different options that never even existed a few years ago. It’s an exciting time to be a beer enthusiast.”
Taylor Martin of Imagen Brands has observed that there are several micro-trends in the wine and beer market. When it comes to beer, Martin sees Mexican imports such as Tecate and Modelo being very popular now, and lighter beers. There are several wine trends, such as bourbon barrel-aged wine, French Cremant (a sparkling wine that is a fast-growing alternative to champagne), and red blends, which Taylor says is a craze “largely been driven by the younger shoppers. The blend craze is often equated to the craft beer craze – trendy, hip, and resonates with the Millennial wine drinker.”
Restaurants, even casual-dining establishments, have begun investing in higher quality selections of wines and craft brews to provide better patron experiences, says Carrie Lewis of BIC Graphic. “Unique beers, ciders, sours and even wine on tap are ways to try different beverages that appeal to a variety of customers.”
In the craft beer segment, she highlights, breweries are turning to cans over bottles to appeal to their top demographic, as cans are perceived to be more eco-friendly and stylish, and less expensive. “In 2018, expect cans to make their way into the wine market as well to appeal to younger consumers and further shed wine’s stuffy image,” she predicts.
Innovations for Imbibing
“We’re biased,” asserted Ristuccia, whose company customizes wine, beer and liquor bottles for the promotions and events industry. “Decorating the bottle is what gets noticed. It contains the juice that people want, and that’s what gets the attention.
He explains that A+ Wine Designs etches the bottles with sand-carving that produces a deep, rich feel to the bottle, and the company does a lot of corporate gifts usually recognizing corporate milestones such as product launches, anniversaries or closing gifts. “Name brand wines such as Coppola, Silver Oak and Duckhorn are among the most popular of the thousands of wines that we have available,” he adds. “Finishing touches such as fulfillment and custom packaging are additional options we offer.”
Imagen Brands’ Duet Wine Bag (VBAG011) is a unique two-tone fringe accent bag with a silver snap closure. “It is the perfect item for a winery to package a new wine launch,” Martin suggests. If, like New Jersey, your state has a growing winery industry, check for upcoming wine festivals, where this item may be used as a gift bag. Other attractive end uses include as corporate gifts, holiday time thank-you gifts (with wine inside of course!), wine bars and wine stores.
Ideal for wine shops, tasting rooms and winery tours, BIC Graphic’s 4-bottle wine tote (#15891), says Lewis, is divided into compartments to accommodate four wine bottles plus snacks with a front slip pocket, and wrapped carry handles. “Add an accessory set (#36572) and KOOZIE® wine glass kooler (#46169) for a versatile, wine-themed campaign,” she suggests.
Logomark also provides a wide selection of both double and single wine carriers, made with leatherette or leather exteriors. “Wine carriers – very popular as executive corporate gifts (especially around the holidays,” says Schroeter.
Drinking vessels, of course, make perfect sense for events and campaigns featuring the delights of wine and beer sipping.
“Our CECE is clearly shaped like a stemless wine glass; however, it is a double-wall vacuum insulated item that will keep wine cold for ours (unlike a single wall wine glass) or keep coffee hot for hours,” explains Adam Kovar of ETS Express Inc. The CECE is a sleek, sophisticated all-day piece (i.e. coffee in the morning, wine in the evening). It is available in currently trendy matte colors – mint, sky blue, red, navy, black, neon green, and white.
ETS Express’ COOLER, Kovar adds, is also a double-wall vacuum insulated item designed for keeping a beer or wine spritzer can cold for hours. It holds 15 or 16-oz cans, which are placed within, then screw on the gasket. This versatile cooler also comes with a clear lid so it can be used as a tumbler.
Josette Bosse, program manager of Bay State Specialty Company, notes that bottle openers, of course, are a must when it comes to any event that features beer in bottles. The supplier’s Multi-Use Magnetic Bottle Opener (#K291) opens bottles of all kinds, she notes, standard bottles and twist tops alike. It can be attached to magnetic surfaces for easy access.
Bay State’s Little Tapper Light-up Bottle Opener (#K386) is “great advertising sure to light up and be the life of the party,” Bosse comments. “End users have added their company names along with a reminder to drink responsibly. The subtle reminder is there each time they open their next bottle.” She notes too that these are great giveaways for food and beverage-related tradeshows, restaurant associations, festivals and outdoor concert venues. Also for outdoor festivals and events is BIC Graphic’s pubWARE® line, which looks and feels like glassware but are unbreakable, according to Lewis. Featured are stemless wine glasses (#51006) and pint glasses (#51007).
Bars and restaurants, meanwhile, want to stand-out in a crowded market and connect with clientele to build repeat business, she adds. “Taprooms and restaurants may be able offer imprinted and refillable stainless steel growlers (#46067) to continue brand promotion after patrons return home. And, new sizes of KOOZIE® can koolers will be available July 1st that accommodate both slim cans for wine drinkers (#46206) and the larger style of craft brew cans (#46208).”
Depending on the end-user’s needs or event, Logomark has several wine sets, such as the Villagio (#EH3321), an elegant presentation with corkscrew, pouring spout with bottle stopper and foil cutter; the Mendoza 4-piece wine set 9#EH3322), with one bottle stopper, one wine pourer with drop stopper, and a three-function bar tool with corkscrew, knife and bottle opener, all stainless steel. Each is inset in a wine bottle-shaped case made of wood with transparent glass swivel lid cutting board. Logomark also offers several cheese boards, as “wine and cheese” remain an extremely popular combination at events.
Naomi Berkowitz of Picnic Plus also sees a surge in requests for beer and wine-specific items, as distributors are fulfilling orders for these types of events. For example, the supplier’s Signature Wine Boxes (#PSL-701 and #PSL-702) - available in single and double and a choice in genuine cork, vegan black leather or brown leather – “hit the mark for not just wineries, but for those companies associated with wine production,” she describes. They also make a great gift package including a bottle of wine for real estate agents to use as closing gifts as well as holiday gifts for executive board members, banks, car dealerships and more.
Picnic Plus Omega Double Bottle Bag (#PSM-220) is “impressive for car dealerships, employee recognition awards, holiday gifts, tourist destinations and vacation/tour packages to wineries, Berkowitz suggested. “Our fully thermal foil insulated, rugged bag with brass hardware is equipped with Tritan® wine goblets, wood handle corkscrew; it’s available in brown or charcoal grey heavy-duty cotton canvas or espresso leather,” she notes.
For beer enthusiasts, Picnic Plus; Brew Fest (#PPB-206) beer-tasting set is a bottle-shaped wood carrier with built-in bottle opener, two beer flight paddles and six tasting glasses. Distributors have sold it for promotions for independent brewery shops, beer distributors, credit card companies, music venues, company stores, outdoor/sporting clubs, and as donor gifts, Berkowitz says.
"Most beer- and wine related products make perfect executive gifts and are popular throughout the year – with the high-end items seeing a definite spike around the holidays (like the cheese sets and high-end wine carriers), or the more outdoors oriented items seeing a big demand during the summer (like for example the wine tumblers),” summarizes Schroeter.
Every day, it’s always 5:00 somewhere in the world!
CASE STUDIES
Carrie Lewis of BIC Graphic: “A craft brewery created a promo event around the launch of an innovative water-resistant 12-pack featuring an assortment of seasonal ales, and appeal to craft beer enthusiasts. The wet-strength paperboard pack was able to hold ice/water for up to six hours, so purchasers could just add ice for an on-the-go cooler pack. In addition, each pack contained a KOOZIE® britePix® Can Kooler (#45448)vividly imprinted to coordinate with the cooler pack. The innovative packaging and KOOZIE® can kooler supported the idea of keeping beverages chilled for the summer and was popular with craft brew enthusiasts. To promote the special summer pack early, the brewery founders drove up the East Coast stopping at different venues for meet and greets with patrons. These meet-ups, called KOOZIE®-palooza, gave people the chance to preview/sample the ale varieties included in the summer pack while receiving limited-edition KOOZIE® can koolers to commemorate the events.”
Carrie Lewis of BIC Graphic: “A promotional products distributor who was seeking a self-promotion for an end-of-year gift, noticed that clients were especially interested in wine-themed products throughout the year, so they thought that theme for end-of-year client appreciation gifts would be well received. They wanted to showcase a color imprint so they chose the black KOOZIE® Wine Bottle Kooler (#46056) to highlight a vivid four-color logo and brand message. They placed a bottle of wine in each bottle kooler and sent them out in December. Clients were very appreciative and followed up with inquiries about both the product and the imprint method.”
Jim Ristuccia of A+ Wine Designs: “Taking a company public is a unique gifting situation. We worked with a distributor representing Planet Fitness, the gym studio known for its bold colors in its branding. Planet Fitness decided on a name brand wine, gravitating to the sleek, clean look of the Freixenet Cordon Negro, a sparkling Cava. The commemorative design chosen was an elegant text design etched into the bottle with its new ticker symbol ‘PLNT’ and ‘Listed NYSE,’ in silver letters.
“With 350 employees and investors in multiple locations, the challenge on this project became the cost, which over-stretched the client’s budget. The solution we presented was to drop down a size to 375 ml bottles. Opting for the less expensive half-size bottles freed up some of the budget. We added the options of a custom capsule replacement to silver and a custom neck label, which displayed Planet Fitness’ distinctive logo. Finally, most of the bottles were packed into black gift boxes presented out to employees on the big day.”
Jim Ristuccia of A+ Wine Designs: “Making a splash while setting just the right tone can be a difficult balancing act in the promotional products industry. The USA Network wanted to create a unique keepsake to launch their new TV series Unsolved, a true crime anthology based on the murders of rappers Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. On the 20th anniversary of the murders of two of rap music’s most controversial performers, there was an explosion of renewed interest in this case. With multiple TV specials and news reports revisiting the story, the challenge was to find an appropriate and tasteful means of drawing attention to USA Network’s version.
“The distributor came to A+ Wine Designs with a vision: a graffiti-style label with the rappers’ silhouettes on a wine bottle. The customer fell in love with the etched version that displayed each rapper in an edgy, urban style on separate bottles. The customer immediately doubled their budget to cover the etching for two wine bottles, one for each artist. The bottles were packaged together in a matching wooden wine crate engraved with the series title.”