Piper-Heidsieck wears black tie ice jacket

Piper-Heidsieck Champagne has been given a new limited edition black tie ice jacket in celebration of its sponsorship of the Cannes Film Festival. As the official Champagne supplier of the prestigious festival, UK distributor First Drinks has designed a black tie ice jacket for the Champagne to raise awareness of its high profile partnership and encourage gifting purchases.

The limited edition bottles will be available only in the UK at supermarkets Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda as well as select department stores including Selfridges from early May.

The pack has been designed to create stand out on shelf and capture the attention of new consumers to the category, while offering the benefit of keeping a chilled bottle cooler for longer.

The neoprene jacket, manufactured by Innerworkings, can be removed and re-used as it zips up the back of the bottle.

Oliver Dickson, senior brand manager for Piper-Heidsieck, comments: “Champagne remains in growth, currently worth £267m in the off-trade* and we know that over half of all Champagne is purchased as a gift. Gifting options have become more sophisticated in recent years, leading to increased consumer demand for creative packs, meaning brands look to differentiate themselves from the competition.

“The new Piper-Heidsieck black tie ice jacket adds value and appeal to the product, and this is an attractive proposition to consumers looking for a gift in off-trade accounts.”

On-trade activity will run alongside the black tie gift pack to drive awareness of the Cannes Film Festival partnership. When consumers purchase a glass or a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck in selected on-trade outlets they will have the opportunity to win prizes such as a ‘movie star’ gift bag containing designer sunglasses and a £250 Selfridges voucher.

13 May 2014 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor