Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/437909
94 Wines&Vines January 2015 PACKAGING displayed" at individual stores, depending on local demographics. Wineries would be wise to take a lesson from the rapidly growing craft beer industry, Mann said. "Look at beer. People buy beer in 12-packs. Brewers like Lagunitas Brewing Co. display variety packs in different forms, build- ing an in-store billboard. It's good to get that billboard display. Vintage dates are not re- quired on a wine box," he said. "What we see are items on display get a 24% increase (in sales) vs. those featured in our print ads," Mann noted. "When people come in, they are looking by varietal. They generally are not too brand loyal, and they are willing to switch" if drawn to an in-store display. Individual store merchandisers implement display levels. "At the store level, case shippers are important," he said. "Stores like to build displays, and they are probably more interested by the box." Mann said that box manufacturing and print- ing has improved along with attention to the shippers. "There are only so many opportunities to promote your product. Your best opportunity is to take advantage of what you can." Packaging may not be the reason consumers buy your product, but he stressed, "It's an impor- tant component that you can continue to acti- vate after sales via clear, concise messaging." Expensive wooden presentation boxes are never discarded at Raley's, and they may be re-used after their initial display, Mann said. Corrugated case shippers may be recycled at checkout. He recommended using 12-bottle case shippers vs. lay-down six-packs, which are difficult to position at retail. "Think about selling for retail: Stacking flat six-packs is difficult. To sell a lot of cases, they have to be easily stackable," he said. Cues from Costco Costco is considered the largest wine retailer in the United States. But statistics suggest that compared with other retailers, the Issaquah, Wash.-based big-box chain offers a fairly lim- ited array of wine brands at any given time. Annette Alvarez-Peters, Costco's assistant general merchandise manager, spoke to Wines & Vines about the chain's wine strategy. "In the role of merchandising, we know we have a rule of five and five: five feet away and five seconds for our member to see the product and make a decision if they want to purchase it." Humans are attracted by colors: "If the ship- per case is displayed in a white or brown box on a pallet next to a pallet with a full-color glossy box with bottle design or messaging, Chateau Big Top auston DesIGn GrouP The circus-inspired branding for Chateau Big Top was designed by Auston Design Group and produced by Synergy Solutions Group. High- resolution digital printing on coated stock allowed for high quality usually reserved for larger quantities. Sofia francIs forD coPPola Presents Elisa Tanaka designed the shipping containers for Francis Ford Coppola Presents' line of Sofia still wines. The cases were produced by Diablo Valley Packaging. Bucatini JIm moon DesIGn Jim Moon designed the 12-case ship- per for Bucatini, the red blend from Anders-Lane Artisan Wines, with retail store floor stacking in mind. It was printed on a high-quality corrugated press by Packaging Innovators in Livermore, Calif. Piper Sonoma BrItton DesIGn The Piper Sonoma Mèthode Champe- noise shipper communicates the brand name in large type. The varietal name is directly above the blue band, allow- ing the store to either show the brand name alone or cut slightly above to display the varietal name. form meets function at raley's family of fine stores, where attractive wine shippers are used as displays.