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Chambord liqueur: A brand with room to grow in travel retail, says Brown-Forman |
Against the backdrop of Jack Daniel’s relentless rise, the emergence of Woodford Reserve as a serious player in the premium American whiskies market, the enduring popularity of Southern Comfort and the solid international expansion of Finlandia vodka, it can be easy to overlook some of the less heralded, niche brands in the Brown-Forman portfolio.
Chambord black raspberry liqueur is one of those, among consumers and the trade alike. But Brown-Forman’s travel retail team is determined to change that – and shared the vision for the brand on a media visit to the home of Chambord in the Loire Valley after TFWA World Exhibition.
Brown-Forman Travel Retail Managing Director Jim Perry says: “It’s early days still for Chambord in travel retail. What we are finding is that many consumers recognise the orb-shaped bottle and are aware of the brand, but they still don’t know what the liquid is inside, or the many ways it can be used in drinks.”
The brand has grown steadily though not rapidly, since its US$255 million acquisition by Brown-Forman in 2006. In the last calendar year Chambord sold 133,000 cases globally (across all channels), while Chambord vodka (launched in late 2010) had a further 20,000 cases, mainly in the US. That’s where most of its business lies, with a strong presence in bars and hotels due to its value as an ingredient in cocktails.
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Ch̢teau Chambord: According to legend, King Louis XIV paid a visit here in 1685 and was treated to a fine liqueur made of wild raspberries Рa drink said to be the inspiration for the more modern version of Chambord liqueur |
In travel retail, the brand has enjoyed greater exposure lately through Brown-Forman’s portfolio campaigns at airports. One of the highest profile was its launch of The Essential Collection with World Duty Free at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 earlier in 2012. The campaign carried an inventory of the company’s premium and super-premium brands, Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack and Silver Select Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve, Southern Comfort Special Reserve, el Jimador Tequila, Finlandia Platinum Vodka – plus Chambord.
This was the company’s first foray into joint marketing of its premium spirits portfolio in the channel, as well as the first use of an “˜umbrella’ approach to in-store marketing.
Brown-Forman Travel Retail Marketing Director Tim Young says: “This was a test of what we could do with the portfolio and it will be part of the future too. The key message to the traveller was “˜a premium cocktail begins with a premium spirit,’ bringing together a number of brands.
“It’s about suggesting uses for a brand such as Chambord. For example we created a French martini combining Finlandia with Chambord, but Chambord also goes well with the brown spirits range. In a portfolio promotion such as that at Heathrow, the major names like Jack Daniel’s draw people in, but that gives us the opportunity to up-sell the niche products.”
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The Brown-Forman Travel Retail team and travel retail media on the Chambord estate (above) and on the ramparts of the nearby Château Chambord (below) in late October |
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Cross-category merchandising of Chambord is another route that the brand owner is keen to explore. It has hosted campaigns with other brands – notably Bottega during its Valentine’s Day campaigns in the UK.
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Championing Chambord |
| From Cannes to the Loire Valley might seem a short hop from south to north through France, but for those of us who made the trip at the end of TFWA World Exhibition last week, the contrasts could hardly have been sharper. |
Young says: “We ran a promotion at Heathrow T3, T5 and at Gatwick South, where we linked with a quality sparkling wine in Bottega. From our learnings, there’s also great potential to partner with fragrance, cosmetics or chocolate brands to take the brand into different areas of the store. It can create impulse purchase and it has great gifting opportunity. Chambord can benefit from linking with these other categories.
“There may even be an opportunity to work with different, smaller sizes – currently 500ml is the main reference in travel retail – so we link a miniature Chambord with a sparkling wine or Champagne to promote the Chambord Royale for example. We need to be mindful of profitability in going for different sizes, but it’s an area worth exploring. In all of this, of course, sampling is critical and we aim to get as many people trying it as possible.”
There are other opportunities too. The ingredients in Chambord are 100% natural – featuring raspberries, blackberries and flavours of blackcurrant, vanilla, a proprietary blend of Cognac along with fragrant herbs. Yet consumer awareness of the fruity ingredients and the distilling process is quite low. Perry says: “We have a great opportunity to talk about the natural items that make up Chambord and we have maybe not played on this as much as we could have until now. There is consumer interest in that area of natural flavours.
“Chambord can build on other trends in the market too. We are seeing many more women travelling and they are interested in products that appeal to them. The market isn’t only about brown spirits in the way it used to be, and that’s an opportunity. But it’s not only women: there are many men who are looking for a gift for their partners.”
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Guests were treated to a cocktail-making sesssion at Chambord |
While the US is the dominant market for Chambord, it’s not the only one with potential. Perry says: “It makes sense in duty free to place Chambord in locations where there is a strong domestic business, and where the brand is known.
“The US and UK are among those, while France should be a major market for destination gifting. Then there’s Australia and some Asian markets where sweet food and drinks are popular – plus places where those nationalities are travelling. That’s a world of opportunity for a growing brand.”
And the company has heady ambitions for that growth, challenging though they may be. “One of the company’s priorities is to grow the portfolio as a whole faster than Jack Daniel’s,” says Perry. “That means brands such as Herradura, Woodford Reserve and Chambord have to grow at pretty significant rates. It’s ambitious, but in the first year since that goal was announced internally, travel retail met it, and that’s an achievement which we’re very happy about. Now the target is to maintain the growth, and Chambord will be part of that drive.”
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Chambord is made using 100% natural ingredients at its distillery in the Loire Valley – and this natural approach can be a big selling point, says Brown-Forman |
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The chateau on the Chambord estate, one of the stops on a memorable media tour |
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