The eminent British wine connoisseur and one of the three creators of Le Grand Noir-French Wine- Robert Joseph, said, that in his opinion, experiential marketing contributes a big part in Sula Vineyard’s overall growth in India.

Sula Selections, the import arm of Sula, organized wine tasting sessions in Goa, Pune, Mumbai, and amidst greens and slow music, inside the Lodi Garden Restaurant of the capital city, New Delhi, on November 17 with Joseph, to embrace experiential marketing favoring both the brands.

Joseph’s Le Grand Noir French labels were launched last year during ‘Globe in a Glass’ roadshow in the country. While it is leading in US, Belgium, and Russia, Sula Selections enabled the French brand to carve its niche in the Indian market as well, claimed Joseph.

In a conversation with Everything Experiential, Joseph talked about his recent book, ‘The Future of Wine Has Changed’, India and its blooming affection for wine, women as revolutionaries in the Indian wine market, and why events such as these hold so much prominence for brands.

In our half-hour long tete-a-tete, Joseph threw light on climate change affecting the drinking pattern in most of the parts of the world. Also, how artificial intelligence is molding the vineries today by replacing labor with robots. Speaking about India, he said that Indian market will soon witness super-premium wines and that women are going to accelerate the consumption of wine in the country.

Experiential Marketing

While speaking about sessions like these and the experience that it offers to its consumers, Joseph said that experience is a story that you tell yourself. “This generation cannot just read about a brand, they want to experience it first and then decide whether to invest in it or not. In events like these, hearing a wine producer talk is also an experience,” he said.

“Occasions such as these make you want to connect to the opinion leaders of the country where you wish to market your product,” he added. Joseph also explained that events like these are important as it offers an opportunity for him to meet influencers of a country and they get to meet him, being at the same place.

Marketing Strategies for Le Grand Noir

Highlighting the marketing strategies of the label, Joseph said that putting the brand in front of the people as much as possible becomes crucial. Also, being what the brand stands for and coherence are equally important. 

“My brand is supposed to be little off-beat and non-formal, so complying with its standards and being consistent about it, holds most prominence for me,” said Joseph.

Challenges and Opportunities

While looking at the hurdles, Joseph pointed out millennials’ purchasing pattern today. He said that before there was loyalty towards a brand but now the things have changed. “At present, youngsters are more open to change their brand for a minute of reasons and go for something absolutely different,” he said.

On the other hand, he spoke about millennials being open to change as an opportunity for a brand to experiment and enhance itself. “In future, we are going to witness wine in cans, so previous generations would not have liked it, but today’s youth will, this offers us with an opportunity to experiment,” Joseph said.

Putting an end to our little conversation, he talked about how India has come so far in terms of fashion, food, restaurants and well, wine!