Packaging Design – an asset when it comes to supporting the growth of the rosé wine market

April 09, 2019

Personalized packaging is a commonly used concept nowadays when it comes not only to helping brands stand out from the competition in a developed market but also to attracting and winning over the loyalty of consumers. Customization is no longer the sole province of luxury products: it is now possible to personalize many products, and the rosé wine market is a perfect example of a place where packaging solutions can play an important role in supporting market growth.

The rosé wine market has for several years now been experiencing sustained growth, on both the French and international markets, with global consumption in hectoliters rising 32% between 2002 and 2016, and 46% in France (Rosé Observatory CIVP/FranceAgriMer – Abso Conseil 2017). That growth has been encouraged by the market's premiumization (+3.30 CAGR 2011-2015), which has involved, among other things, increasingly personalized products as well as special or limited editions. 

According to the Nielsen Institute (2015), 64% of consumers are likely to buy a new product simply because the design attracted their attention, and 41% of consumers would be ready to buy a wine again based on its packaging.

This is a nice opportunity for the French rosé wine market, which represents 35% of global rosé consumption (CIVP/FranceAgriMer – Abso Conseil, 2016), and is the favorite wine of the French, according to the latest figures.  Rosé's main consumers are millennials, women, and summer and special occasion consumers. The design of the bottles must meet these new consumers’ expectations.

This type of consumer is more likely to pay more for brands that offer individualized products and experiences.  Therefore, creating packaging that's worth sharing on social media has become a key purchase driver.  What's more, with more than 70% of purchasing decisions being made in-store (POPAI, 2012), packaging is often the only way for brands to communicate.

Since rosé wine has been voted French people's favorite wine in opinion polls, as well as the most festive, sociable, simple, and accessible kind of wine, its producers enjoy more creativity and flexibility when it comes to coming up with differentiated bottles.  Which is even more true given that rosé wines are not confined by the strict and traditional codes that other kinds of wine have to adhere to. 

These trends were highlighted at the Pink Rosé Festival in early February in Cannes (France), during the Pink Design Awards, where aesthetics and design were recognized.  The second edition of the Pink Design Awards was sponsored by O-I, the glass industry's global leader.  

Rosé is the sector of the wine market that uses packaging the most to stand out and attract consumers, who are more and more sensitive to bottle design. The conclusions we can draw from this contest confirm the market trend that consumers are looking for a more pared down, premium, and, for rosé, lighter design.

Christine Bour O-I's Sales Director in France and Spain

We are convinced that the future is promising for this very evolving market, and we have recently developed a new service for personalizing glass packaging, O-I : EXPRESSIONS. Leveraging digital printing, O-I : EXPRESSIONS makes it possible to create highly personalized bottles through customized, flexible, and fast service.

Melianthe Leeman O-I's Innovation Platform Director

This solution was created for brands who want to stand out on very competitive shelves and also offer consumers a new reason to like and choose their brand.

"O-I : EXPRESSIONS perfectly meets the needs of rosé brands because it offers a broad freedom in creative solutions, by playing with text, drawing, photo, color, opacity, transparency and even embossing! It is probably for all these reasons that the media spoke of  O-I : EXPRESSIONS as "instagrammable" bottles!", says Christine Bour.