With innovation, Wineries distance from the competitors and become more attractive

One of the most worrying issue in a winery is the problem of wine fraud as it can result extremely harmful for a winery’s wine and brand.

That is why some wineries are adopting technological solutions to fight counterfeiting and protect their precious and unique wines  . As we have seen in the last news on Decanter, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has said all bottles from the 2009 vintage will use Prooftag anti-fraud seals.

In our wine innovation questionnaire this month we count with the participation of Franck Bourrières, Prooftag Marketing Director. The company, founded in 2004, is specialized in security systems for brand protection and document security.

WSP: Prooftag develops security and traceability solutions for use in brand protection, which are your main innovations for the wine business?

Franck: Prooftag solutions offer all in one powerful solutions for wineries :

· To certify the origin of their bottles, giving them a unique identity that can be verified by anyone, anywhere, thanks to a mobile phone or a PC connected to the Internet.

· To trace each bottle from the winery to the final consumer helping wineries to detect parallel market.

· And finally, to promote and enhance bottles with interactive marketing solution to create a link between wineries and its consumers.

WSP:  How big can be the damage of counterfeiting for a winery?

Franck: Economic burden to the producer, damage brand quality and may expose consumers to health risks.

WSP: How has technology been changing the wine world?

Franck: More than changing the world, technology has changed the relationship between consumers and brands. Wine producers, for example, could highlight their innovation like continuously improving their production know how, their packaging and their relationships with consumers.

More than a revolution, technology has become their ally in everyday life and business, as important to their image than their products themselves. Moreover, for Prooftag, we understood, since the birth of our company, that this relationship to technology is a fundamental added value. Our authentication and track and trace technologies, our web applications, our interactive marketing solutions and our software suites prove that technology as an innovation for our customers is in our ADN and is one of our strongest value.

WSP: In your opinion, which are the main advantages for a winery for innovating in its products?

Franck: In a globalization world, where New world wine production is more and more significant, with pressing competition on the traditional world’s wine producers, wineries should find new arguments to maintain or win new market share. With innovation, Wineries distance from the competitors and become more attractive than the others.

WSP: Why do you feel it’s important for consumers to contact with wineries through channels on Social Media?

Franck: Since Facebook, and the constant development of social media, the relationship between brands and consumers has changed and evolved. It is no longer one sided relationship but “exchange” and “sharing”.
This observation is especially true for wine producers who can now establish a direct relationship with their consumers. Social media allow that and more: they increase the establishment of an affective link. They also allow consumers to identify with the history and values of each wine producer, making them even more unique and special for those consumers. We are back to the time when producers knew their clients because they were selling the wine directly at the winery.

WSP: Who are your 3 “must-follow” wine innovators on Social Media?

Franck:

Pillitteri (Canada) @Pillitteriwines Pillitteri on FB

Château Palmer (Bordeaux, Médoc) @ChateauPalmer Château Palmer on FB

Bilton Wines (South Africa) @BiltonWines Bilton Wines on FB

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Thanks for answering Franck.  WSP team thanks you for your kindness and collaboration. We wish you all the best!

www.prooftag.com

@Prooftag