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From boutique to global, wineries are recognizing the benefits of bag-in-box packaging.
Northlake, IL, January 2009 — Wineries across the United States are boxing wine for many sound business and environmental reasons, including increasing wine sales, reducing costs, delivering better value to consumers and even to package sulfite-free, organic wine so that it stays fresh after being opened!
The first step for wineries choosing bag-in-box packaging is to reach out to Scholle Packaging for assistance. Scholle Packaging provides detailed and hands-on practical advice on finding and collaborating with qualified bag-in-box co-packers, corrugate box producers, graphic arts, and marketing firms.
The attraction for Leon Pierce to start packaging bag-in-boxes was affordability. In materials costs alone, producing a 9-liter case of three 3-liter Le Cask bag-in-boxes is 75 percent less expensive than a case of twelve 750-ml glass bottles.
Leon Pierce, the owner of Le Cask, uses Scholle Packaging’s hand-filler to fill up approximately 1,500 bags a day. Production of Le Cask is currently at the 12,000-box level, but Pierce expects that sales will keep pace with the 49 percent retail sales growth of the category shown in 2008.
Affordability and technical winemaking expertise brought Lancaster, Pennsylvania, L & R Wine Company and Tamanend Winery owners Richard Carey and Linda Jones McKee to making bag-in-box part of their business. Tamanend Winery produces eight different fine wines that retail from $13 to $25 per 750-ml bottle. 75 percent of their wine is sold direct to consumers from their offsite tasting room and winery in 750-ml glass bottles and 25 percent in 3-liter and 1.5-liter bag-in-boxes. Tamanend plans to expand distribution for their Wild Wines boxed wines in 2009, and anticipates that their sales of boxed wines will become a larger percentage of production.
Carey uses Scholle’s TrueFill 900 filler and invested in a Velcorin® dosing machine, which assures that all wines boxed by L & R are completely free of contaminates. Velcorin is used in low dosages against a broad range of yeast, bacteria, and mold, and
does not affect wine taste, bouquet, or color. Carey estimates that the cost of packaging for a case of three 3-liter bag-in-boxes is half that of a traditional case of twelve 750-ml glass bottles. He notes that there are additional savings through economies of shipping as production grows.
In Kennewick, Washington, Badger Mountain Winery owner Bill Powers wanted to produce Washington State’s first organically certified wines. That quest led to the bag-in-box as a unique format to supplement traditional 750 ml business. Always a leader in his field, Powers realized that the bag-in-box packaging offered a great way to assure that his wines stayed as fresh as possible.
The collapsible bag allows wines with no added sulfites to stay fresher longer than a bottle once opened. Badger Mountain’s 3-L boxed wines are distributed in Washington and by twenty-two distributors throughout the U.S.
Badger Mountain Winery’s National Sales Director, Mickey Dunn, attributes the relatively quick success of their boxed wines to the fact that they are certified organic, offer great quality for the price, and are packaged in a unique way. On-premise sales of a by-the-glass pour from the Powers Cabernet Sauvignon box have been positive in Seattle.
To ensure the freshest wine, Badger Mountain/Powers Winery fills their boxes for just-in-time delivery. They are very proactive in rotating product in the market. They use a unique code on each box, which includes a filling date, and willingly share this information with their distribution partners to assure that all of their boxed wines are sold at their best.
Joel Tefft, of Tefft Cellars in Outlook, Washington, was one of the first Washington wineries to jump into the bag-in-box business in 2000. He believed that the packaging would mean more wine sales. Wine lovers would be able to drink a good glass of wine each night instead of saving a bottle for special occasions.
The winery currently bags about 2,500 to 3,000 gallons a month, and up to 300 boxes an hour with their Scholle equipment. Tefft is well-equipped to handle new projects as a co-packer, and has invested in a box erector and several fillers. Bag-in-box wines make up half of Tefft’s current 20,000-case business.
This successful winery does no traditional advertising. Tefft Cellar wines are sold up and down the WA I-5 corridor and in nearby Idaho as well as through their busy tasting room. Tefft estimates that the packaging cost of their 4-liter bag-in-box is $2.40 ($7.20 per 12-L case) compared to $1.25 a conventional glass bottle ($15.00 per 9-L case), over 50% less expensive.
2009 promises to have more boxed wines available across the U.S. Wineries from boutique to global are recognizing the aforementioned benefits as well as the green attributes of bag-in-box packaging, which includes up to 91 percent less materials going into landfills as waste and a up to a 76 percent reduction in greenhouse gases as compared to an equivalent amount of wine packaged in glass bottles with corks. Consumers typically enjoy a savings in price with wine casks, are concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases, and appreciate boxed wines’ singularly unique benefit of keeping the wine fresh for weeks after opening. New brands are in development and will be launching throughout 2009.
Scholle Packaging is a world leader in bag-in-box packaging for the food, beverage, and industrial markets. With manufacturing locations on five continents and products that are sold in more than 60 countries, Scholle Packaging delivers high-quality packaging products and excellent customer service around the world.
