Banta Box changes consumers’ perspective on drinking cask wines

As the wine industry sees a rise in competition from different players, Calabria Family Wines has released Banta Box, wines in casks to offer something new for customers and to stand out from its competitors.Inside FMCG interviewed Andrew Calabria, sales & marketing manager at Banta Box, on how the company is changing consumer perception on drinking wines from casks rather than traditional wine bottles.Inside FMCG: Cask wine has traditionally been seen as being an inferior product compared to bottles of wine. How is Banta Box changing that?Andrew Calabria: We use a smaller format that’s built around the occasion – mid-week moments or outdoor experiences – where it’s not convenient to open an entire glass bottle. People want the convenience of a cask without compromising on quality or flavour. Banta Box delivers on that, particularly as we explore alternative varietals like Montepulciano and Nero D’Avola. I think we also need to look around the world to truly see how cask wines have developed and are not seen in a negative light. In Scandinavia, cask wine is packaged well and contains great wines. We wanted to bring that to Australia. We are not pushing a fruity white, we are selling quality bottle wines in eco-friendly packaging.Inside FMCG: Banta Box looks like it’s aimed at a younger demographic. How would you describe your customer base and the ways that you are communicating with them?AC: Banta Box is targeted towards a younger demographic. From our research, we’ve established that the millennial crowd does not view or carry the negative stigma towards cask that older generations often carry. Our Banta Box is approachable for multiple occasions. The first way we communicate with this demographic is through the wine – good quality wines that aren’t complicated and offer plenty of variety depending on the occasion. In our marketing, we’re focussing on digital and social to drive conversation as we know that’s where this audience seeks out information about what’s happening in the drinks space. We’ll be rolling out more experiences in this channel over the coming months.Inside FMCG: Traditionally, wine has been seen as inaccessible and elite by consumers, but Banta Box looks like it’s changing that. Tell me about your brand messaging and what’s behind it.AC: Wine has seen a huge and exciting shift from being a drink for those ‘in the know’ to something everyone can share and enjoy. Banta is ‘the wine to banter with friends’ as we think the format is perfect for bringing people together for a glass of wine and a good chat with mates. It’s great to see more people turning to wine as more of a social drink and we think Banta ticks all the boxes, so to speak, on quality, value and variety to become a new favourite for wine lovers and those just getting into the category. Banta is about people coming together and sharing their life stories. We are not complicating our wines; they are made to be enjoyed with friends and family.Calabria Family Wines is celebrating its 76th anniversary this year.Inside FMCG: How would you describe the competitive wine landscape right now? It looks like there are newer brands entering the market, tapping into younger consumers.AC: The wine industry is definitely seeing a rise in competition from a variety of factors. As the industry becomes more diverse with innovative offerings, it becomes even more challenging to stand out on shelf to customers as they are constantly offered something new to try. We’re also seeing a lot of competition come into play from other drink options like low-alcohol, seltzer and more crafted spirit options, and wine isn’t protected from these formats stealing share or shelf space. Cask competitors have also been quiet as competition in the wine category grows, and we wanted to buck the trend and push to grow a sector of the category that was supposed to be on the way out. We believe in innovation and passing a new message on to consumers thirsty for new and different. Fortunately, drinks consumers are still seeking quality, well-made products so will continue to turn to those producers with a proven history in crafting a good drink.Inside FMCG: How do you create vegan wines?AC: By eliminating traditional animal-derived fining agents such as milk protein, egg white and gelatin, which are used to remove phenolics and help with wine and juice clarification. Vegan friendly wines now uses only fining agents which are free of animal origin and are instead derived from yeasts and plants.Inside FMCG: Tell us the process of creating a sustainable cask wine box.AC: We’ve worked with a long-term cardboard supplier to divert most of our cardboard and paper waste from our business into producing the outer case packaging for Banta Box. This allows us to give waste from our business a second life through usable packaging and reduce our impact on the environment.Inside FMCG: What are your plans for this year?AC: We’ll be celebrating Calabria Family Wines’ 76th anniversary. Given the challenges from last year, we kept quiet for our 75th anniversary, so would like to hopefully bring everyone together to celebrate this milestone. We’ve also just undergone a total brand refresh across the entire Calabria portfolio to make sure our name is more prominent across our wines.In addition to the new Banta Box release, we have a few new products to unveil over the next 12 months that we think people will be really excited to see. And finally, we’ve just welcomed some fantastic brands under the Calabria umbrella, including Deakin Estate, La La Land and Azahara Sparkling so will be continuing to grow these exciting brands both domestically and overseas.