Accolade Wines will return to the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes this year to highlight four of its innovation brands: Hardys, Jam Shed, B.Ink by Grant Burge and Wise Wolf.
Its stand (Yellow Village D26) will offer immersive visuals and a focus on the company’s sustainability ethos. Delegates can visit the Accolade space and taste wines at the open bar between 4.30pm and 6.30pm each day from 2 to 5 October.
The Accolade bar will host themed tastings: rosé on Monday, B.Ink by Grant Burge/Jam Shed on Tuesday and Hardys on Wednesday. On Thursday, all the wines will be available to try.
The Accolade Wines team will be on hand to discuss products. The key travel retail personnel will include Channel Sales Director EMEA Jeff Bond, International Sales Manager – Distributors & GTR Alexandra Wilding, International Key Account Manager – GTR & Distributors Paul Campbell, and General Manager/Sales Director Martin Mackinnon.
This year, Accolade Wines will present a shift from its core portfolio of premium wines – which has been very successful across the airlines, ferries and cruise channels.
Bond said: “We are taking a new approach with the wines we are presenting this year, with a more vibrant and playful feel to the look of the stand.
“We have focused on our premium portfolio for the last few years, which was the right decision at the time. But this year, with an eye on our strategy in travel retail, we felt that representing this particular portfolio at TFWA Cannes better reflects where we are strong in the channel and where we believe the most growth will come from in the near future.
“This is why we will hero Hardys, Jam Shed and our new innovation B.Ink by Grant Burge, as these are becoming ever more popular domestically and are generally at great price points for global travel retail.”
B.Ink by Grant Burge, which retails for under £10 (US$12.44) in travel retail, will feature on the Accolade Wines stand alongside the slogan ‘Make your mark’. Ink by Grant Burge is one of Accolade’s key innovation brands with an eye-catching label and it comes in three versions: Red Blend, Chardonnay and Rosé.
The six Jam Shed expressions will also be highlighted: Tempranillo, Shiraz, Malbec, Rosé, Chardonnay and Sparkling Rosé. Jam Shed currently stands in the top 50 fastest-growing alcohol brands in the UK (Grocer Biggest Brands Report 2023).
Wise Wolf will also be under the spotlight at TFWA. The French wine (expressions: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rosé) comes in a 100% post-consumer recycled glass bottle.
The product line-up for Accolade’s stand will be completed with wine brand Hardys, which is celebrating its 170th anniversary this year. The full Hardys range – from Crest to the global travel retail-exclusive The Eight – will be on display.
Hardys The Eight has been crafted with fruits procured from three of Australia’s most renowned winemaking regions: Frankland River, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra. Only eight barrels of this wine have been produced.
The Accolade Wines stand for Cannes is being designed and built by doplr, a specialist Bluedog Group agency. This commission follows on from Accolade’s successful partnership with Kounter (also a Bluedog company) for its activation materials in travel retail.
Sustainability is at the forefront in the creation of the low-carbon-footprint stand, which will incorporate timber and a re-usable aluminium frame sourced from beMatrix. It will be stored and adapted for future use.
beMatrix offers a sustainable alternative to traditional stand-building materials with a lightweight aluminium frame system. Since assembly is modular, the frames are versatile and can be reused again and again.
Bond added: “Premiumisation remains a key theme for us in the airport channel, but there is also great potential in airports for the lower price point lines that have been successful for us in our ferries, airlines and cruise business. Our listings and activations for 2023-24 will be focused here.
“We are very excited about the look of our stand, the sustainability credentials that come with it, and are confident in the great wines we have to present this year. TFWA Cannes promises to be a great and memorable event as the industry comes back bigger and better after the challenging years we have all come through.” ✈
