The investments made during the last two years of activity by Sarom Packaging – one of the most important local and regional glass packaging players – amount to €3 million dedicated to research & development, acquisition of equipment and intellectual property rights, expansion of the team and of the storage capacity.
The strategic changes peaked with the development of a 10-model collection of unique wine bottles to be released on a market where over 80% of the players use standard glass packaging. Danube Wine Collection is Sarom Packaging's premium reply to the industry standardization trend.
"This uniformizing trend makes it difficult for anyone who intends to pay the effort to differentiate in the market or who manifests the desire to move the brand to the premium area. And we are talking about wines, a field where the desire to define the origin and mark the identity of the product is a very strong one and frequently encountered," explains Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, CEO Sarom.
Danube Wine Collection is the result of the unique and fascinating fusion between the sophistication of the urban landscape and nature's serenity and simplicity, under the name of Europe's emblematic river. Over the centuries, the Danube has witnessed the diversity of the beauty patterns of this continent, conveying to it the imprint of the human civilization attracted by its rich shores. The lines of the wine bottles in the new Sarom collection harmonize all these elements into a spectacular and elegant result.
"Through this refined collection, we try to make the specialty bottle much more accessible to the widest possible spectrum of customers, including smaller wine producers who, perhaps, cannot afford big budgets, but aim to target the premium area. From what we know, this is the first initiative of the kind carried out by a Romanian glass manufacturer. In what the client avatar is concerned, we are particularly addressing those who identify themselves as "challengers" in their market or business category, brave brands looking to build a high-standard image," said Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu.
The 10 bottles that make up the new Sarom Packaging collection carry the names of several towns and cities laying on the banks of the Danube – Tulcea, Vienna, Ulm, Linz, etc. – and silhouettes that bring together the bustling cities and the serene countryside, in simple lines and unexpected angles.
Technically speaking, the Danube Wine Collection stands out through four areas of benefits:
Innovative Design: the new shapes derive from the classic wine bottles, making them easy to recognize and to associate with a certain type of drink; still, they all feature new and surprising elements, flattering for the product they bottle.
Hi-Fi Glass®: the collection promises an extra level of quality through the additional tests it undergoes in the manufacturing process. This intervention results in a minimal risk of defects in bottle production and conveys an exceptional finish.
Eco-Empowering: the bottles are lighter than the standard ones, giving their size; this translates into lower energy consumption in the production process and, consequently, into a reduced carbon footprint. Also, the new packaging is completely recyclable, like any other bottle.
And there's more about the Danube Wine Collection's contribution to environmental protection: for each bottle sold, a percentage of the price is directed at the activity of an NGO working for the conservation of the Danube Delta.
The Affordable Premium character is, perhaps, the strongest claim of this collection. The new products are available under the best quality-price ratio in this market segment, enabling the purchase of premium glass especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers.
"We have also decided to reduce the minimum quantity required for an order in order to eliminate another significant obstacle this category of producers was facing," emphasizes Jacques-Edouard Săvoiu, CEO Sarom.
The models in the Danube Wine Collection are available in three shades: Licorice® (the darkest, for the highest protection against light & rays); Pure Flint® (the lightest, with the highest level of transparency, perfect for wines that rely on a complex appearance); Vintage Flint® (the middle shade, a guarantee of sustainability through the significant percentage of recycled glass it contains).
Danube Collection is the result of a creation, design and production process carried out for more than a year by a multinational team, coordinated from the company's Romanian headquarters.
The initial investment in the development of the collection reached approximately €500,000. In what results are concerned, Sarom representatives estimate that the new products will add one €5-6 million to the turnover in the two-year period following the launch.
The prognosis is backed by the strategy built for the Danube Wine Collection, orienting it mainly towards the European market. Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Greece are among the countries targeted firsthand for the sale and promotion of the new wine bottles.
The Danube collection is also a premiere for Sarom Packaging, but the company is planning further initiatives aimed at other types of beverage manufacturers.
