While I wrote the preceding bit, trying to unravel the puzzle of one company’s bankruptcy and another’s purchase of their assets (including a “brand” or two) and just what that means for the people who make the wine, the cyber-vintners of Stormhoek were sharing info online at least two different ways:
- On twitter this morning we see a note from Stormhoek that refers to a couple of bottles any oenophile would want to try, a bottle Jack & Knox Chardonnay and a bottle of J&K Outsider shiraz.
- At the Stormhoek blog, they report success recovering sums lost when the UK wine agency company Orbital Wines FAILed. Jobs remain at risk and the “Own a Vine” fund raiser is still underway, but some of the damage done by the mismanagement of the distribution firm has been mitigated.
At Stormhoek, they say that “In just 2 months since inception, seven of the South African suppliers to the failed UK wine agency company, Orbital Wines, have received relief.” So here’s my aha moment: of course wine is both a commodity and a product. The marketing people who built the Stormhoek brand in 2005, were buying bulk and bottling a commodity. The South African wine farmers were pleased to have a wider distribution for their product, and building a Stormhoek brand opened that door to wider distribution.
I hope I can be forgiven for my Little Orphan Annie wide-eyed “gee whiz” exposition, but none of this is transparent to the outsider. The marketeers have an intangible they are interested in capturing, the “Stormhoek brand.” The growers, I assume, also want to protect the brand. and benefit from the identity and visibility they’ve developed over the last three years working with the marketeers.
[tags]Stormhoek, Orbital, origin, sharp practices, J&K Outsider shiraz, Jack and Knox Chardonnay[/tags]
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