Balfour Winery scraps Union Jack in new major rebrand

Australia will be the only export market for which English winery Balfour will retain the Union Jack on its logo, as the producer undergoes a major rebrand to consolidate its wine, beer and cider portfolio.

Balfour Winery, one of England’s largest producers, has unveiled a new logo and rebrand across its wine, beer and cider products.

The 22-year-old company currently has 16 different logos for its entire product portfolio. Balfour is rolling out a new emblem, depicting the estate’s winery, across the business this spring.

All mention of ‘Hush Heath Estate’ on the logo, the winery’s home in Kent, has been removed.

Jack Merrylees, The Balfour Group’s marketing director, told db the reason behind this decision was due to “confusion for some time about whether it’s Balfour or Hush Heath Estate”.

Merrylees has been working on the rebrand since joining the business last May. He said: “Moving away from this name represents how our brand has grown, and we now have grower-partners in sites across the South East; not just at our Hush Heath home in Kent.”

Jake’s Drinks, Balfour’s beer and cider arm, will undergo the biggest changes, and will now fall under the Balfour overall name as Balfour Reserve Lager and Estate Cider.

These products will launch on 1 April across Balfour’s chain of ten pubs, as well as retailers. Merrylees said the focus will be on marketing former Jake’s Drinks products as “a beer and cider brand which is made by winemakers”.

“We’ve updated the recipe of our lager to incorporate the same burgundy yeast we use in our Skye’s chardonnay, for instance. Bringing the brands closer together really showcases this link,” he said.

Balfour first launched its beer range in April 2021 with a Lager and IPA.

The roll-out of the new look on Balfour’s wines will begin in earnest this spring with the 1503 range, stocked nationwide at Majestic.

Balfour has also scrapped the Union Jack design on its labels.

Merrylees told the drinks business: “English Wine is no longer a novelty; and so we can market on the strengths of our wines and brand – rather than on origin alone.”

However, the Union Jack will still remain for M&S labels, and the shift does not apply to the Australian market, from which Balfour received specific feedback to retain the de facto national flag.

“English Wine is still relatively new to the Australian market, and it was felt the Union Jack would help our wines really stand out in this emerging audience. We’re always keen to work with our export partners to create the right messaging for their regions,” Merrylees added.

As part of the rebrand, Balfour will be launching new brand campaigns, a new website and new collateral.