The Hindu Business Line : Champagne Indage to launch wine in cartons, PET bottles

In an effort to get more consumers to sip wine in the country, Champagne Indage (the group's wine-selling company) is looking to market its wine in cartons and PET bottles, besides offering wine at different price-points.

Confirming the development, Mr Ranjit Chougule, Executive Director of the group, told Business Line: "Price is the single largest inhibiting factor for first-time consumers of wine." The company is looking to break the price barrier and sell wine at less than Rs 99 per litre, he said.

"The brands that would be made available in packs and PET bottles are being reviewed. The product should be in the market this fiscal," he said. Indage's wine portfolio includes Riviera, Chantilli and Marquise de Pompadour.

The Rs 125-crore Indage Group is talking to packaging company Tetra Pak in Pune to support its plans. "The decision to go PET is because glass bottles are costly. Besides, wine is lower down in terms of priority for a glass manufacturer, after soft-drinks and IMFL," he said.

The wine-products would, however, continue to be sold only in licensed outlets. At present, entry-level prices for wine are at about Rs 130 and it goes up to Rs 1,000 for a 750 ml bottle.

Further, Mr Chougule said that an average 30 per cent cut on wine prices was in the offing. On how he could support such packaging and pricing initiatives, he said: "Earlier there was not enough fruit to crush to reduce the per unit cost of wine. But we later introduced a new technique, backed by international practices, and now we have expanded both the quality and quantity of wine. Which is why we are able to support the reduction of the per litre cost of wine."

Meanwhile, the wine company is bubbling over with plans ranging from bringing its fruit-based wines Sinn in the market to foraying into beer.

Sinn, priced at about Rs 26 for about 330 ml, has 8 per cent alcohol and has been soft-launched in Goa. A Rs 12-crore promotional budget has also been earmarked up to December 2005 for the group's new initiatives.

The Indage Group is also looking at setting up more wineries in Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, he said. The company is planning to raise about Rs 22 crore through debentures to fund its plans.