French wine brands in the in the UK wine market: two different stories

J.P Chenet: The wine in the funny shaped bottle

In 1984, Josepf Helfrich owner of Grand Chais de France launched the JP Chenet brand with the idea of stepping out of the French mould and build the first French market-driven brand. Today, the wine in the “funny shape bottle” is the number one French brand sold in the UK and number 13 of the top 20 most sold wines in the off-trade. In British supermarkets it started to fly off the shelves and jumped from the 51st place in 2004 to twelfth in 2005, a 580% rise in sales.

A clear cut approach, outside of the French Appellations of Origin, the brand has three Vins de pays d’ Oc ranges: classic varietal, reserve and sparkling. Their higher end wine sells at $5.99, while the varietal range is kept below £4. A clear packaging that keeps a traditional French look, at a price point that suits their volume needs and according to the wine’s quality and a taste profile adapted to consumer demands.

They are now turning their attention to the independent sector pushing their rosé and sparkling wines.

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Chamarré: a clever idea that didn’t work.

In 2005 the new company Opéra Vins et Spirituex launched Chamarré a French wine brand aiming to compete with the New world giants. The idea of a simple and enjoyable French wine sounded very promising plus the name was easy to pronounce and the label quite modern an attractive. Articles favouring the concept of a non-arrogant French brand portfolio indicated that the market was not reluctant to the idea.

To do it, the company had to source suppliers from around France and it grouped together several wine cooperatives from across France providing a range of 17 different wines and with a potential production of 300 million bottles. The concept included three ranges: Tradition (AOC wine), Selection (varietal wines) and Reserve Speciale (blended wines).
The idea sounded very promising and