Killer Marketing: How to Sell Boxed Wine

We tasted Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and liked the wine. We were also impressed by Killer Juice’s use of the packaging to enhance the shelf appeal of the wine.

In a typical supermarket or wine shop, the customer is presented with a staggering array of wines. Boxed wines in particular may be a challenge, since many consumers associate the concept with ultra-cheap product from brands like Franzia. Killer Juice does several things to stand out beyond the wine’s attractive black packaging.

Their first step is far from unique – they put a big gold emblem on the box to promote the Cab’s winning a gold medal at the 2007 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. Other wineries do that, but most don’t. Particularly for a boxed wine, a prestigious-looking award is a vote of confidence that could turn an uncertain wine shopper into a buyer.

The second thing Killer Juice does is even more clever. Many wine shoppers may have difficulty assessing the value of a box of wine. For one, boxes are deceptively compact – a three-liter box doesn’t look like it holds the same amount of wine as four 750ml bottles, even though it does. Many box wine makers print the equivalent number of bottles, or even use little bottle pictures to illustrate the capacity of the box. Killer Juice goes a step farther, and prints “Contains 4 Bottles of Killer $10 Wine” on three sides of the box.

This message communicates more than quantity. It says something about quality to the consumer – a $10 bottle value suggests wine that is better than plonk, and might actually be pretty good. In one fell swoop, Killer Juice establishes an equivalent bottle value, and highlights the big savings their package offers.

Will these small enhancements make Killer Juice boxed red wines fly off the shelves? Probably not. But they will help, and as the glassy-eyed wine buyers stares at the shelf laden with boxwines, they could tip the balance.