Premium wine brand pivots from glass to Ardagh’s Slim Wine Cans

05 Aug 2020 --- Wine producer and exporter Producto de Aldea has selected Ardagh’s 250 ml Slim Wine Can as the new packaging option for its premium wine drinks and wines, previously only available in a classic glass bottle. The winery has also purchased its own filling line from the supplier, which offers the capacity to fill 1,600 cans per hour. After a short delay due to COVID-19 restrictions on technicians’ travel, the line began operating in mid-July.

“The Wine Can is our response to the demand for convenient, lightweight and sustainable packaging that also provides protection for sensitive beverages like wine, and we’re proud to see Producto de Aldea embrace it so fully,” says Dirk Schwung, Sales Director at Ardagh’s European Metal Beverage business unit.

Manuel Gil, CEO and winemaker at Producto de Aldea, adds: “We were looking for a new packaging format to satisfy our customers’ diversifying tastes and habits. We also appreciate the great service and support Ardagh provides its customers, so committing to the slim special can from Ardagh was the ideal solution.”

The first two Producto de Aldea canned wine drinks to roll off the line will be an organic white wine-based sangria, Chisposa (5.5 percent ABV), and an alcohol-free sparkling white wine drink carrying the company’s core brand Aldea. Further labels are in development and will be added over the coming months, as the company builds on the positive commitment it has made to Wine Cans.Ardagh’s wine can features unique characteristics developed to conserve wine flavor and quality throughout the filling, transportation and storage lifespan.

Ardagh’s wine can features unique characteristics developed to conserve wine flavor and quality throughout the filling, transportation and storage lifespan. The 250 ml slim format is marketed as suitable for casual dining and socializing, whether on-the-go outdoors, or with a restaurant meal.

Producto de Aldea’s key markets include younger and single-person households, particularly those in premium export areas such as Asia and Sweden, where consumers place high value on guaranteed quality and convenience, the company notes.

The winery is also targeting the international hotel, restaurant and café market, recognizing that cans are particularly appealing to the on-trade as they are quickly chilled, have excellent shelf life and reduce the potential for wastage of larger formats.

Producto de Aldea is further aiming to achieve distribution in higher-end Spanish supermarkets such as El Corte Inglés, and Froiz in Galicia.

Adopters of canned wine
Ardagh Group’s 187 ml cans hit the market last spring, featured in Boutinot’s trio of The Long Little Dog wines. According to Boutinot, the branding reflects the easy-drinking nature of the wines and will particularly attract “younger and outgoing” consumers for whom portability and ease of recycling are important.

Last June, British beverage company NICE chose to bottle its vegan French wines in Ardagh’s 187 ml aluminum wine cans. Amid an upcoming canned wine market, NICE stated it wanted to “lead, not follow” and be “early adopters of this uniquely sized and specialized can.” In the same month, UK beverage company The Naked Collective unveiled a new range of premium health drinks in Ardagh’s “infinitely recyclable” 33 cl sleek aluminum cans.

Meanwhile, in a “perfect marriage of modern and traditional,” Ardagh also Austrian winery Weingut Johann Müllner with its slimline aluminum can for its “Kiss Me” Sauvignon white wine spritzer, designed to appeal to contemporary audiences.

Across the board, the aluminum can, which has been popular in beer and soft drinks for decades, is expanding its reach in flavored water and coffees in addition to wine. The expansion of aluminum throughout the beverage segment can be attributed, in part, to its versatility in design, shape and size while the material is achieving impressively high recycling rates in Europe.

By Benjamin Ferrer

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