As part of my Forbes coverage, I attended ChefDance--the culinary offshoot of Sundance that hosts industry food events during the festival. This was a big year for ChefDance as the once invite-only event hosted its first ever open invite talks, featuring incredible food industry titans. Needless to say, I loved it.
I was also fortunate enough to get a press credential to the dinner honoring Martha Stewart, the ultimate food celebrity. Being a press-heavy event, I anticipated that products would be pushed onto us throughout the dinner--and it was certainly the case.
However one product stood out to me--the wine! We were served Invivo X by Sarah Jessica Parker--the same wine we were later served in class. Since celebrity-sponsorship is one of the best ways to get a brand off of the ground, I am always a bit skeptical to try them. But I actually really enjoyed this wine and the subsequent explanation of its success in class.
Maybe I should be less skeptical of a celebrity wines. Only time will tell if I hop onto Martha Stewart's wine club ;)
Thanks for sharing -- sounds like a very interesting and fun event! I agree with you that I am skeptical to try celebrity-sponsored wine. I also enjoyed the SJP wine we tasted in class!
ReplyDeleteYour post prompted me to do some research about which celebrity wines are successful and which are not. I found this article: https://www.thewrap.com/celebrity-wine-ranked-worst-best-sting-angelina-jolie-brad-pitt/
Some of the wines at the top of the list were quite surprising, including an icewine by Wayne Gretzy -- on brand, I guess.
Top of the list is Boz Scaggs' Scaggs Vineyard 2008 Montage G-S-M (Mount Veeder, Napa Valley), with a rating on Wine Enthusiast of 95 points. The R&B singer is praised for his "extraordinarily decadent Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah blend, currently among the best in California."
Thanks for sharing, Christina! I've been thinking about why there have been so few examples of celebrity/influencer-sponsored wines, and I wonder if the problem is on the supply side (i.e. celebrities) or demand side (i.e. winemakers).
ReplyDeleteOn the supply side, perhaps celebrities find being a face of a particular wine to be a gimmicky move, one somewhat unrelated to their brand. But while I am confused as to why SJP would have her own wine, I could see someone like LeBron James or Serena Williams representing a wine label.
On the demand side, I can imagine that many winemakers don't want to "dilute" their brand by using a celebrity -- both as a one-off (i.e. "How does this one wine now fit in my portfolio?") and as risk of consumer expectations going forward ("Will my consumers now expect more celebrities going forward?").
My hunch is that it's a bigger problem for the demand side, though I think that shifting consumer preferences (especially from the younger generations) will start changing this trend. Personally, I hope to see some Drake champagne soon... He will then fully embody his online handle, @champagnepapi.
Thanks for the fun comment, David! One quick reaction to the Drake idea--his whiskey: https://www.thestreet.com/opinion/drake-virginia-black-whiskey-ipo-14446583
DeleteI've been tracking it but haven't heard much updates. To your point--would rather see him make a bubbly!