Abbie Bennington reports from Concha y Toro’s recent Casillero del Diablo Experience and how it hopes to keep leading the UK branded wine market.
Casillero del Diablo is the number four branded wine by value worth £188 million in retail sales value, with over 2.25 million cases sold according to the latest figures (Nielsen MAT, 52weeks to 20/05/23). Its success in the UK is driven by awareness. This is further solidified through longstanding partnerships with Sky Cinema, Manchester United and celebrity endorsements. The latest campaign with Chilean actor Pedro Pascal (‘Last of Us’ fame) continues to be leveraged across the range.
Pedro Pascal: the face of Casillero del Diablo’s high profile TV advertising
The recognition of the brand speaks for itself; it’s big business in the UK, bigger than your breakfast Weetabix, your cup of Twinings tea and more recognised than any Dolmio day!
The UK is a mature market for the Concha y Toro owned brand and counts for around a third of Casillero’s volume globally. “As a brand there’s still a lot more to do” says global marketing manager, Lynn Balaresque.
“We’re continuing to be consumer centric and try to keep surfing the waves and not resting on our laurels”. There is, though, one clear strategy: “To be recognised as the most valuable wine brand in the world” she says.
Although best known for its Cabernet Sauvignons, raising awareness of the entire wine portfolio is a big part of its strategy. The landscape is changing as focus turns to its white varietals of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
“We are the bestselling Sauvignon Blanc outside of New Zealand here, which is a fantastic achievement” says Preety Johl, UK marketing manager.
What next?
The new Belight range from Casillero del Diablo has an abv of 8.5%
So what does a brand that sells 7.2 million cases globally a year still have to prove? The key trends of wellbeing and reducing alcohol intake has given inspiration and resources have been put into new lower calorie wines. Step into the limelight Casillero’s ‘Belight’ baby. At a reduced 8.5% alcohol and at 65 calories per 125ml glass, could this be the next golden goose for the brand in the UK market? The lower alcohol trend certainly plays into a market that sees many consumers keen to reduce both alcohol intake and striving for a healthier lifestyle. It also neatly fits into the reduced duty rates that will be applied to wines below 11% abv when the new duty regime starts on August 1.
The lower alcohol levels in the ‘Belight’ Sauvignon Blanc brand is achieved through early harvest rather than dealcoholisation with nothing added or taken away. This may save only around 24 calories less per glass than its regular 12% alcohol Sauvignon Blanc offering. But CYT believes even small adjustments can help fit into the wider trend of healthier drinking and reduced alcohol intake; “every little helps” say Lynn Balaresque.
Work on marketing and presenting the ‘Belight’ white and rosé wines continues, and they are currently being shown to a number of customers. CYT is hopeful of listings to follow but as yet there has been no confirmed launch date for the UK and Europe.
The message coming through loud and clear is the drive toward continued brand premiumisation. This is through Casillero’s Reserva Especial range of five white and red wines where the soil has a big role in the story of the wines produced. This plays into Casillero’s desire to not only premiumise but stay relevant to a loyal consumer base invested in the wider brand.
Brand appeal
The core Casillero del Diablo brand – one of the most successful branded wine stories in the last 15 years
The Devil is indeed in the details. As with such strong brand notoriety globally, Casillero del Diablo comes in number one in its native Chile at 96% brand recognition; closely followed here in the UK with 94%. For Casillero its Cabernet Sauvignon is king as the number one Chilean wine brand in the UK. Red maybe the devil’s own colour but for Casillero the fight for brand growth and fortification lies increasingly with its white wine varietals. At the same time the brand is expanding in markets with wines produced outside of Chile.
Plans are also underway to see further expansion of wine styles not produced in its native Chile. Take its smooth Spanish Tempranillo, a variety loved by many UK consumers. Marcelo Papa is technical director at Concha y Toro and responsible for all wine production in the group, his insight into the brand’s expansion is an enlightening one. It has already partnered with another family in Emilia-Romagna to make a sparkling wine for a Mexican market thirsty for Lambrusco.
So could we see more expansion into foreign wine markets for the brand whose heart lies in Chile? “I imagine a Prosecco Casillero del Diablo why not? We have a Tempranillo from Spain why not a Prosecco from Italy?” says Papa.
CYT’s technical director, Marcelo Papa, says the company is very much open to making wine in different parts of the world
The company is proud of its B Corp status. Certified B Corporations must demonstrate high social and environmental standards, transparency and accountability. An achievement that Casillero del Diablo holds dear.
Other challenges Papa sees for the brand is the ongoing uncertainty around climate change. “We are working on that we use 50% less water than other wineries, because we live in a county without a big amount of water.”
Water consumption is being reduced year-on-year by 10% he says, through motivating employees to meet new “reduced water consumption targets; on average they use 10% less water each year”. The move is combined with last year’s decision to bottle many of the wines, including the Bordeaux varietals and Sauvignon Blanc ,in the UK to reduce its carbon footprint.
His commitment to achieving the wines’ perception as a reliable, attractive and above all delicious glass drop after drop, remains across the entire range. This brand has a thirst for continued innovation, premiumisation and investment in the environment, which makes these wines as iconic as the story behind the label ‘Casillero del Diablo’.
