Chile: Trade Talk 2

WE ASKED: “What do Chilean producers need to do to further establish the image of the country in the mind of UK consumers?”

“They must continue to work on generic activity through the Wines of Chile UK office. The wines need to be shown off to the consumer on as regular a basis as possible to drive home the message of quality. In order to keep building Chile’s reputation, the brands need to keep overdelivering on quality against the competition.”
John Osborne, business development manager for South America, PLB

“Producers need to promote brand Chile as a premium product. Brand building needs to position the product as high quality to consumers, and Chile is a great offer. Therefore, generic work through Wines of Chile is key, but it is also important to have many wineries focused on brands as opposed to sending diluted messages to the consumer. We should avoid short-term opportunities, such as too many private labels or exclusive brands – it is good for the business, but not for brand Chile’s health and its awareness.”
Andrés Barros, corporate marketing director,  Santa Rita

“Chilean wines maintain a consistent market share in the UK. The marketplace is dominated, however, by cheap and reliable off-trade brands, and progress in the market can be made by raising the profile of the top-end sector. The on-trade can play an important role in this by representing the smaller, more interesting growers and promoting wines at higher price points. On-trade training and joint promotions with the generic body and importers will also boost the image of interesting, high-quality wines from Chile, thereby raising the profile of all Chilean wines through the whole range of price points.”
Kate Harborne, marketing manager, New World, Enotria Winecellars

“Chilean producers need to generate awareness of the quality of their wines among consumers. We need to have presence at wine fairs and events to generate tasting and awareness. We also need to validate the quality of our wines by taking part in wine challenges and getting this message through to the specialised media.”
Rafael Vargas, export director Europe and Asia, Viña Ventisquero

“The two key words for Chilean producers are ‘surprise’ and ‘seduce’. We want to seduce
consumers with a wide variety of exciting good-quality products; then we want to surprise them with the
good prices of our quality wines. A focus on terroir is something that can establish Chilean wine in the minds of the consumer.”
Raúl Katz, commercial and marketing manager, Viña La Rosa

“At the moment UK consumers do not have a clear image of Chile in their mind. Developing a campaign based around the natural beauty of the country and the relaxed Chileno attitude while establishing the link between wine and tourism would be a sensible strategy. That, along with highlighting the overdelivering quality of the wines (especially Carmenère and Sauvignon Blanc), will give Chile the USP it is looking for.”
Elaine Dickie, category manager, Americas, WaverleyTBS

© db September 2006