16 November 2011
Bestway's Cellar Estates goes for simplicity following review
Bestway wholesale group has conducted a review of its Cellar Estate own label wine brand and concluded that simplicity has become the future direction for the portfolio.
The Cellar Estate range of wines, launched in March 2006 has gone from strength to strength winning a range of awards every year. The upgraded portfolio now lists 65 wines. This is the first step forward towards offering both the independent and catering sector a new variety of wines, which have appeal for a wider public taste.
The Bestway wine buying team, headed by negotiator Umar Sheikh, is now offering a variety of exclusive labels in addition to the Cellar Estate range. Umar Sheikh said, "This strategy opens more doors with both retailers and caterers. With eleven single varietals, carefully selected from all over the globe, we can now offer a versatile and simpler choice from Germany, Australia, California, Chile and South Africa. The new portfolio also includes a variety of five Spanish blends and seven single varietal Italians. All the wines have been selected for their quality and to appeal to the UK consumer's pallet whilst retaining their distinctive regional characteristics."
The entire range has been bench marked against market leaders and competitors, and in every tasting the Bestway selection has either compared better than, or come very close, to other own label offerings. All wines are available in all Bestway and Batleys depots starting at £16.99 per case of 6 x 75cl and some lines in 12 x 25cl packs as well. These prices give a POR return to retailers of at least 24% and as high as 28.5%.
The group has also launched a Wine of The Month programme available in all branches. This delivers a special select red and white wine for the month. Wines of the month are chosen while keeping in mind the weather, season and any special holidays which may occur during the period, including Christmas, a good buying time for independents.
This makes the process of selecting wine for special occasions easier for customers.
Umar Sheikh added, "In today's market, we find that our customers are becoming more and more discerning. We need to ensure that we maintain a high standard of quality in our range while offering a competitive edge on pricing for our sector. We haven't dealt all our cards yet, there is much more to come in the New Year."
Bestway pride themselves in selecting internationally sought out premium varietals, which offer quality and style. "The Cellar Estate range is regularly tested for its quality against its competitors and our buying team carry out monthly price checks to make sure we continue to lead in our offers." said Umar Sheikh.