Concha y Toro sets out 2013 launch plan

Concha y Toro has set its sights on dominating the UK’s £8-10 wine category as it announced a major new campaign and launches for its Casillero del Diablo, Fetzer and Trivento brands.

“To build a brand at £8-10 is difficult but this is what we want to achieve,” export director Thomas Domeyko told the drinks business as he highlighted some of the challenges currently facing Chilean wine producers.

Pointing to factors such as the country’s strong currency and rising grape costs, Domeyko confirmed: “2012 was a very difficult year for the industry in general in Chile.”

While in volume terms “the country didn’t grow at all,” he added: “value-wise it didn’t do much better, even though the country improved sales of more expensive wines.”

However, Domeyko did draw some reassurance from the problems facing other wine growing regions. “We’re starting to see signs of low crops in Europe so Chile is gaining some comparative competitiveness,” he remarked.

Turning to Concha y Toro’s own position, Domeyko highlighted the value of having “established brands with quite a bit of brand equity among consumers.” As a result, he explained: “We are seeing that many retailers and trade are seeking to gain market share, particularly for what they lost last year to discounters. It makes sense to work with brands that add value.”

In order to capitalise on this position, Domeyko confirmed: “We’re investing more than ever in trade and above the line activities.” With its Casillero del Diablo brand a major focus, Concha y Toro used the London International Wine Fair to unveil its new advertisement, which will launch on UK television and cinemas screens this September.

“We wanted to go back to its roots, telling the legend and adding excitement to the brand,” summed up Domeyko. “We have a very good conversion rate for Casillero del Diablo so the more we can get consumers to try our brand the better.”

In addition to this advertising push, Casillero del Diablo will also see a range extension in the form of “Devil’s Collection”. Due to be positioned slightly above the core range, these Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc based blends will appear later this year “for consumers who want a good quality wine but don’t want to make big decisions,” according to Domeyko.

Indicating that there could also be an opportunity for Devil’s Collection in the on-trade, he noted: “We’re starting to get through with Casillero del Diablo after years of hearing that we couldn’t have mainstream brands in the on-trade.”

Turning to the company’s Calfornian Fetzer brand, which it bought in 2011, Domeyko indicated that some long awaited activity would finally begin this year.

Concha y Toro’s export director Thomas Domeyko shows off the new Fetzer Crimson range

“It took the first two years to basically understand the brand,” he told db. “We received it not in good shape, suffering a lot with declining figures. It went too sustainable and the packaging in the eyes of the consumer was not looking nice – the bottles were too lightweight.”

Having amended this issue, Domeyko confirmed: “We are starting to create new ranges that will soon launch in the UK, but they will be a bit more competitive. Fetzer was only competing above £10, we wanted to bring it sub-£10 and do something like what we have done with Casillero del Diablo.”

However, the brand will retain its presence above the £10 mark, with Concha unveiling new range extension Fetzer Crimson at this week’s London International Wine Fair. Already launched in the US, the five-strong range features a red blend, white blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot, with an RRP of around £13.

Turning to the company’s Trivento brand from Argentina, Domekyo also singled it out for a similar postioning strategy as Casillero Del Diablo with the promise of “some exciting new listings” in the middle of 2013.

“We’re trying to create some equity with Argentina,” he explained. “No brands are really big there so we want to build Trivento Reserva into the position that Casillero del Diablo has for Chile.”

As for the company’s developments back in Chile, Domeyko confirmed: “We continue to invest as ever in land,” highlighting in particular current programmes in Colchagua Costa and Limari, both of which are important sources for Casillero del Diablo’s Pinot Grigio.

Concha y Toro has also begun building a major new research centre close to Curico, which Domeyko hopes will open next year to help Chile improve the quality of its vineyards’ genetic material.

Visit Concha y Toro on stand Q30 at LIWF or click here to view the video.