Figtree uncorks wine broker branding brief

On-line premium wine broker Fine & Rare Wines is planning to redevelop its brand and offering, and has appointed Figtree to work on the project.

Figtree managing director Simon Myers (pictured) explains that the £25m turnover premium wine business, aimed at ‘serious wine collectors looking for an investment’, is planning to triple its turnover.

Figtree won the business without a pitch, through Myers’ personal networking efforts.

‘Our job is to define them and give them a more distinct personality. This market [already] has a lot of brokers, but even the biggest warehouse can’t compete with a more nimble on-line and logistics system that can source anything you want. The aim is to create the first transparent modern wine service – not for everyone, [but] for a particularly wealthy and growing audience across the globe,’ says Myers.

He explains that Fine & Rare Wines has a network of individual private clients looking to create collections of wine as investments, rather than for consumption.

‘Its customers are time-poor, cash-rich and impatient. It has got a seamless electronic tracking system, database and logistics system, which marks it out from any of its competitors with a [physical] warehouse. We want to create a brand that will raise the company’s profile and give it a stronger personality,’ says Myers.

Figtree has been tasked with establishing positioning, creating branding and identity, website and on-line consumer-facing functions.

‘The first thing we need to agree on is positioning – the space it wants to own, and the story it would like to tell, that supports growth of the business, taking share off its rivals and reaching new audiences,’ suggests Myers.

‘The design challenge is to make something very premium, but very useable. Everyone knows what premium wine looks like but it’s going to be about how we marry this with good technology,’ he adds.

Because Fine & Rare Wines is predominantly an on-line operation, it has a ‘healthy budget’ for the project, Myers explains.

The revamped look and website is expected to launch in the spring.