MARKETING BRAND BUILDER: Mass Market Luxury

In just 30 years, Nicolas Feuillatte has become one of the UK’s top five Champagne brands. Fionnuala Synnott finds out how a young upstart managed to get its foot in the door of this traditional world

For a 30-year-old, Nicolas Feuillatte has a lot under its belt. According to research by ACNielsen (MAT to w/e 31.12.06), the Champagne house is the fourth top brand (by value and volume) in the UK off-trade. Although far from being the only young Champagne brand on the market, Nicolas Feuillatte’s modern approach to building its brand makes it stand out from other young houses.

Dominic Lahure, area manager UK and Belgium, says, “In the early 1990s, a new team came on board with the aim of establishing Nicolas Feuillatte in the major international Champagne markets. We had a simple marketing strategy: to position Nicolas Feuillatte as an excellent quality Champagne that is accessible and affordable.”

 With annual sales of around eight million bottles in 40 different markets, Nicolas Feuillatte looks set to achieve this goal. (Despite seeing a 4% dip in volume and value sales in 2006). The house has invested heavily in advertising and is currently running the “Epernay – New York – Beyond” campaign (a tongue-in-cheek dig at the marketing campaigns of luxury goods companies). This marketing strategy has allowed Nicolas Feuillatte to build a brand in a category that is dominated by houses that have been around for over a century. Lahure says, “Most of our competitors base their marketing on their history. We are writing our history now so we can play around with it.” Nicolas Feuillatte is also active in promotions. “Promotions are a key success factor in getting retailers and consumers’ attention. They are also a means of controlling sales figures,” says Lahure. In fact, even off-promotion, with a MAT average price of £15.07 per 75cl, Nicolas Feuillatte is substantially undercutting the top three brands in the UK.

Nicolas Feuillatte’s number one market is France, which accounts for 55% of shipments. With sales of 1m bottles a year, the UK is the top export market, followed by the US. “Our objective is to reach a 50/50 balance between our domestic and international markets in the next two to three years,” adds Lahure. As well as increasing exports, the house is also trying to attract younger consumers to its offer. In 2005, Nicolas Feuillatte launched its quarter bottles in bright blue and pink packaging aimed at “a young, urban population” that want to be able to consume Champagne “anytime, anywhere”. When asked if ready availability might dilute the image of the brand, Lahure says, “[We are happy to] move from a purely luxury to a more convenient product.” But, the house has also been working on its prestige portfolio: “We have developed our higher-end cuvées to counterbalance this mass-market approach,” says Lahure. “These products reassure consumers that Nicolas Feuillatte can produce niche products as well as volume,” adds Lahure. Meanwhile, the brand’s prestige cuvée, Palmes d’Or, is being marketed as a separate brand much like Moët Chandon and Dom Pérignon are marketed separately.

Something for sommeliers
Until now, Nicolas Feuillatte has concentrated on building its UK business in the off-trade; currently, 90% of its UK sales come from multiple grocers and multiple specialists. However, this is set to change. Lahure explains: “On-trade volumes are still relatively low but the frequency and size of the orders have increased since we recruited Bibendum to distribute our wines in the UK on-trade.” The house has a dedicated on-trade range that includes Cuvée 225 and the Grands Crus series. “These products give sommeliers a story to sell,” adds Lahure.

Since 1986, when Nicolas Feuillatte made over his name and the brand to the Centre Vinicole, the Champagne house has had the backing of the largest union of Champagne growers. Today, the Centre Vinicole – Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte includes 82 cooperatives with over 5,000 grape growers with 2,100 hectares under vine. Lahure says, “Our mid-term objective is to grow [our production] by 5m. This will give us more stable sales while adding value.” Nicolas Feuillatte has the potential to produce between 15 and 20m bottles but “it is not a bottomless pit. We have to make sure that the quality of the brand doesn’t suffer as volume rises,” says Lahure. 

© db March 2007