Cava DO rolls out new UK consumer and trade campaign

Cava regulatory body, DO Cava, is rolling out a new marketing push across the UK to raise the perception of the Spanish sparkling wine among UK consumers.

The nine-month campaign, which will be launched in April, will focus on trade and consumer focussed marketing and education to raise the perception of Cava as “a nuanced, high-quality sparkling wine, with the ability to pair with a vast array of global cuisines”.

The Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida “Cava” (D.O. Cava) are planning a series of strategic partnerships, curated events and initiatives to boost the visibility to the Spanish fizz under the new ‘360 Degrees of Cava’ push. This will highlight its indiginous grape varieties, the traditional sparkling method, bottle ageing, and the distinctive terroir and culture of its Spanish-Mediterranean origins, as well as its versatility with food. 

Planned activities include a series of educational trade seminars, consumer tastings, food and wine pairing events, retail and media partnerships, and advertising campaigns. The PR and events will be handled by R&R Teamwork along with social media strategists, FirstPour in charge of influencer partnerships, which will include wine communicators who will be tasked with educating their audiences on the unique qualities of D.O. Cava i”n their own voice and style”.

Patrícia Correia, director of communications for D.O. Cava said the UK market had always been a “strategic market of great importance for Cava”. 

The UK is among the top five markets for D.O. Cava, which  exports around two thirds of its production and is one of the leaders of Spain’s volume exports.

“Despite the pandemic, exports have been positive, up +6.55% from the previous year, which is a clear sign that Cava is enjoyed by Brits and that the opportunity to continue to grow Cava’s market share exists,” she said. “The rich gastronomic culture of Spain and the Mediterranean is rightly popular in the UK and Cava is a central part of that vibrant scene.”

In 2019, the Regulatory Board launched a strategic plan based on the segmentation and zoning of Cava in order to protect the uniqueness and authenticity of the product by drawing attention to origin. In addition to the guarantee of quality afforded by the use of the traditional method, a more demanding classification has been added with the introduction of the Cava de Guarda and Guarda Superior categories, which will help consumers identify more easily the category of Cava according to their preference. New rules proposed by the DO also suggested that Reserva wines would have to be organic.

Rosamund Barton, director at R&R Teamwork, said the team were “looking forward to bringing Cava to the forefront of the minds and glasses of trade, media, and consumers across the UK, to build recognition and appreciation for these distinctive and individual sparkling wines.”