Saville pours over branding for Krug

Peter Saville, the celebrated graphic designer, is advising champagne house Krug on a new image for its brand, Design Week can exclusively reveal, with the LVMH-owned business poised to appoint groups early next month.

Champagne Krug chief executive Mark Cornell says he wants a ‘new graphic charter for the brand’ as he seeks to broaden its appeal from ‘exclusive to inclusive’ and attract affluent younger consumers.

It is not yet clear whether Cornell will hand a single brief to one group or make a number of appointments. The remit is likely to involve the logo, labelling and packaging for the 160-year-old prestige brand.

According to Cornell, Saville is offering ‘directional steers’ on the future of the brand to ‘generate a bit of emotion’ as well as contemporary resonance.

‘Krug is one of the great cult brands that exists today,’ maintains Cornell. ‘But there’s a paradox in growing a business and maintaining a cult. [We plan to] open the cult to a broader audience, but we don’t want to alienate the current franchise.

‘The new positioning for Krug [will project] the values of creativity and individuality.’

Traditionally, Krug has been drunk by wine enthusiasts and champagne aficionados, who are typically well-off, older men. The strategy going forward is to win over aspirational men and women, who consider a £75 non-vintage bottle of Krug an affordable luxury.

According to Cornell, the brand’s authenticity – ‘derived from quality heritage and expert enforcement’ – is a key strength. However, the current vogue for premium champagne among celebrities and clubbers has tended to pass Krug by.

While Krug will not chase the same audience as a brand like Cristal, Cornell acknowledges it could benefit from a Burberry-style revamp.

‘A frustrating thing for me as a businessman is that the Krug brand awareness is higher than the business I’m doing suggests,’ he explains.