“Young consumers are starting to think of and view wine as a casual, social beverage for friendship occasions as opposed to something very ‘precious’,” Karen Maley, VP of marketing and sales at StackTek, told BeverageDaily.
According to Maley, the wine industry has had a hard time thinking outside of the traditional landscape of how wine should be consumed and what it should look like. StackTek is aiming to challenge that convention through its partnership with Constellation Brands to bring well-known brands like Woodbridge and Simi into four serving, stackable package.
Using BPA-free PET, 750 mL of wine is divided into four single servings of wine, which are designed to look like stemless wineglasses stacked on top of one another and that can be snapped off similar just like Lego pieces.
Wine in StackTek packaging will, on average, cost $1 more than its traditional glass bottle counterpart, Maley said.
StackTek is currently in test markets such as HEB and will expand nationwide in 2017.
Millennials are paying more for wine
Company research found that most of the sale activity of wine falls within the $10 to $15 range, when it used to be between $5 and $10.
“People are willing to pay more for higher quality and that’s the exact same thing that’s happened in the wine business particularly in the last five years,” she said.
“One of the biggest unmet needs in that $10-15 segment, whether you’re a millennial or whether you’re a woman in her 30s or 40s, is the idea of having premium wine in a single serve in convenient package.”
What is currently on the market for single servings of wine is perceived as lower quality, she added.
Convenience factor
StackTek’s social media account will reveal that consumers are using wine packaged in the pre-filled stackable glasses at outdoor social events such as music festivals and boating.
Weighing in at 2/3 the weight of traditional wine bottle and eliminating the need for glassware or a corkscrew, StackTek bills itself as a complete solution to casual, social, and fun wine consumption.
In addition, consumers can enjoy a glass of wine without worrying about the rest of it spoiling until they ready to have another glass which could be a few hours or days away.
Where does it go in the store?
There are three placements the company directs to retailers that Maley refers to as “fishing where the fish are.”
“It should be where premium wine drinkers are going to select wine,” she said. “Put this package with the premium $10 to $15 glass bottles of wine.”
The other placements StackTek recommends are in the cold box area in the single serve format where consumers can pick up a fast, easy dinner and a glass of wine. The third area for the single servings is in the easily-accessible “grab and go” section of the store.
“Sometimes you only want one glass of wine,” Maley said.