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The British wine brand "When in Rome" markets Italian wines in alternative packaging such as bag-in-box, cans and paper bottles and has convinced importers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Rob Malin, founder and CEO of the company, says in an interview with the industry magazine Drinks Business: "Our main reason for introducing paper bottles is that it is the path of least resistance for a consumer who has only ever drunk wine from a glass bottle. Our bottle is the same shape, size and price as a glass bottle. The only hurdle is that it's made of paper instead of glass, while switching from a glass bottle to a bag-in-box or can is a much bigger leap of faith."
According to Malin, there is another reason for the brisk interest in paper bottles in Japan and Taiwan: "There are a lot of earthquakes there. If there are glass bottles on the shelf, it's a risk to stock, so suppliers are very interested in paper bottles." He hopes this could be an argument in favour of paper packaging for other seismically unstable regions.
Now the company has launched crowdfunding campaign to drive its expansion in Asian markets. It aims to raise £400,000 to do so. In the UK, "When in Rome" wines are listed in 350 branches of the Waitrose supermarket chain and will soon also be available in 450 Sainsbury's shops.
(al / drinksbusiness; photo: facebook/wheninromewine)