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“The juice is all important and we can stand over the company’s award winning products with confidence.“ |
Barry Geoghegan Owner and Managing Director Barry Global Innovation |
IRELAND/INTERNATIONAL. Barry Global Innovation (BGI), the new Irish-based company that specialises in multi-layered PET (MLP) wines for the travel retail industry, has made some vital breakthroughs as it pushes into international markets. And this is just the beginning of the MLP “revolution” in the channel, according to Founder Barry Geoghegan, as BGI plans its debut at the IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas.
The company, first listed with Dublin Airport Authority, where it has reported strong sales, has secured listings with many of Aer Rianta International’s overseas locations, with Aelia for its Belfast and Luton airport operations, and with Dufry for multiple locations. The company is also close to securing facings with a number of other leading international travel retailers.
As previously reported, BGI is the exclusive global travel retail agent for Paul Sapin, which is the sole producer of MLP bottles. The key selling points of the MLP bottles are their long shelf life (at least twice the life of monolayer PET), lightness (three MLP bottles weigh the same as two glass wine bottles) and their unbreakability.
Importantly, Geoghegan noted, the wines perform well in taste tests among consumers. “People have preconceived ideas about the quality of wine in a “˜plastic’ bottle,” he said, “but Paul Sapin is first and foremost a wine maker, not a marketing company. The juice is all important and we can stand over the company’s award-winning products with confidence. As a leading French wine maker Paul Sapin has a proud tradition in the industry.”
The company has won many awards for its wines, including both Gold and Silver accolades for its Chateau Blomac 2008 and 2009 ranges – which feature in BGI’s travel retail portfolio – in the Mundus Vini Awards in 2010. It has also collected numerous prizes in the International Wine Challenge, Decanter and Chardonnay du Monde awards in the past three years. A notable award was Best Chardonnay in Europe for Domaine Peiriere in 2008 in the Mundus Vini Awards.
The wines also have other benefits from a quality viewpoint, as they do not oxygenate as quickly as other PET formats with the MLP packaging, the company noted.
From its initial launch of a New Zealand Sauvignon and a Pinot Grigio last summer, BGI’s portfolio for travel retail has expanded quickly, a strong mix of French, other European and New World wines. The brands are created entirely for the travel retail channel, with names such as Giuliana from Italy, Ta Moko from New Zealand or The Rocks from Australia. Pricing is around three for €25 but Geoghegan reported that there is now strong demand for more upscale items, such as Bordeaux Reds.
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The CTC-ARI Airports’ wine team displays the MLP bottles at Larnaka Airport | ||
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The company aims to provide retailers with strong merchandising support in-store | ||
“The possibilities are enormous,” he said. “We’re seeing people purchase MLP now as a lifestyle item, and their reasons for buying vary greatly from place to place. Self-purchase is key, and the leisure market is vital. It’s proved hugely popular among holiday-makers, while in Scandinavia – where there is a tradition and huge awareness of MLP from the domestic market – we’re seeing large volumes from backpackers who want to take a bottle for the weekend. In the Middle East, it’s becoming a staple of the Arrivals market where it’s available.”
Geoghegan also highlighted how cross-category merchandising could benefit MLP and other product sectors. “When we’ve taken the wine outside the store the response has been tremendous,” he said. “The holiday-maker makes the link with sunglasses for example, and it even performs well adjacent to health food and other lifestyle stores. It fits many types of wine occasion.
“It also reinforces the key point that travel retail doesn’t have to focus on very high-end wines to make the category a success. The industry has focused on the premium end for a long time but fine wines are only 5% of the business in other channels, so why are we missing out on the opportunity in travel retail? It can still offer good margins for the retailer, you can still offer a quality product, and the consumers love it.
“We’ve found that if the traveller touches the bottle, then they’re inclined to buy. The challenge is to get them to physically engage with it. It’s not about capturing the wine lover who will always seek out something new or special in travel retail; this is about differentiation, and capturing the many people who never buy anything in travel retail.”
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Patrick Nilson and Roger Thompson of BGI partner Haleybrooke International | ||
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Muscat Duty Free General Manager Tom Byrne (with bottle) and team in Oman | ||
Barry Global Innovation is partnering with Haleybooke International as it develops its Americas business (Booth 207 at the IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas).
Contact: Barry Geoghegan, Founder, Barry Global Innovation
Email: barry@barryglobalinnovation.com
Telephone: +353 121611400
Fax: +353 12959036
Mobile: + 353 ( 0) 862354173
Website: www.barrygi.com
