Producers hope Chamarré will evoke spirit of France
as branding becomes de rigueur
June 23, 2006

By Adam Jones in Paris

When choosing a name for their new wine, Pascal Renaudat and his colleagues wanted something that could be easily pronounced by drinkers all over the world and which was also evocative of France.

The name they picked was Chamarré, chosen partly because it sounded similar to several other famous French places and products, such as Champs Elysc´es, chardonnay, Champagne and Chanel.

Purists might scoff at this brand-led approach but Chamarré is exactly the type of demystified wine that France needs to export as Europe confronts the glut that has threatened many of its producers.

Mr. Renaudat is the founder and chairman of OVS, a company that has managed to unite co-operatives representing some 15,000 producers in various regions of France in order to make a range of wines under a single brand predominantly for exports.

He says the difficulties faced by the wine industry in France are not the fault of the government, powerful retailers or competition from brazen “New World” wine makers in countries such as Australia. “It is too easy to say that it is fault of others.”

Instead, Mr. Renaudat says France has not worked hard enough to discover what modern consumers want from wine and then embrace the latest marketing techniques to meet these expectations and, crucially, the expectations of bigger retailers. “Today France is offering something that does not correspond to demand.”

Simplicity is the watchword in Chamarré’s bottle design and labelling. Taking a leaf out of the New World’s book, many of its wines are labelled by dominant grape type rather than the place in which they are made. A butterfly logo provides visual continuity across the range.

Others have noted the need for approachable French wines that can appeal to drinkers. E. & J. Gallo Winery, the marketing-savvy US group and the world’s second biggest wine company by volume, has launched a Languedoc wine brand called Red Bicyclette for instance.

Before launching Chamarré, OVS conducted consumer research in the US and UK, its two priority markets. The US and UK are attractive to exporters because drinkers are prepared to pay relatively high prices for wine, particularly compared with the parsimonious Germans.

Chamarré has been available in the UK since May, selling at between £4.99 and £7.49. The French company has struck distribution deals with Somerfield and Morrisons, the supermarket chains, as well as Thresher, the specialist drinks retailer. The weak dollar is a complicating factor for US sales, but Mr. Renaudat says it will also make Chamarré marketing budget go further during the early stages of brand building.

Mr. Renaudat, who set up a food import business before specializing in wine, remains frustrated by the strict production rules that hamper French winemakers. While he is allowed to blend chardonnay from two different regions, he complains that he cannot then call it chardonnay – unlike New World competitors who have more sourcing freedom. “That’s French stupidity,” he says.