Russian wine launch in cans

Marine Express, a leading wine distributor in Russia, has chosen 250ml slim cans from Rexam for the launch of its Elsa wine-in-can brand. 
Wine in cans is a new venture for Marine Express, which uses traditional glass bottles for the majority of its wine packaging. Elsa, a semi-sweet Liebfrauenmilch produced in the Rheinhessen region by Burgherrn Weinhandels, was previously packaged in 750ml glass bottles.
 
The slim wine cans, which use a matt varnish, are being made at Rexam’s Recklinghausen plant in Germany and will be distributed, by Marine Express, to retailers from this month (September 2009).

The launch will be supported by a large marketing campaign that will include advertisements in local underground stations and across the internet as well as in store and point of sale communications. The target audience is predominantly female, aged between 25 and 35 years old.

Andrey Kuzmin, CEO at Marine Express, says: “We understand that wine in cans is a new concept for Russian consumers who still prefer traditional cork to the more recently introduced screw cap but we feel we can demonstrate the clear benefits of packaging wine in a can. Through our local advertising we will demonstrate to consumers the convenience benefits of the product as well as the fact that there is no impact on quality.” 

The next planned wine in a can launch from Marine Express is said to be a semi-sparkling red and white Lambrusco.

1 September 2009 - Felicity Murray