Bright ideas place

Brightlite, the second brand to have been released by independent wine company JMB Beverages (JMB), is revolutionising the Australian wine market with an aluminium bottle that is recyclable, shatterproof, lightweight and chills in 20% of the time of its glass counterpart.

The aluminium bottle is exclusive to JMB which manufactures the bottle offshore using technology that allows a pilfer-proof cap to be placed on the bottle without compromising the food-grade polymer of the product.

“We are the only company in the world that has access to technology allowing the bottle to have a plastic insert at the rim so the aluminium cap can be screwed on without affecting the taste or safety standard of the wine,” JMB director Jarrod Myles said.

Low-alcohol

Using a high-tech membrane filtration system, JMB separates the alcohol from the remainder of the wine to a level of 6.5%, as opposed to an industry standard of around 13%, while retaining the varietal flavours, characters and mouthfeel of the wine.

The reduced alcohol content aims to capitalise on what JMB sees as a consumer trend for alcohol-free and reduced alcohol wines in Australia.

“Brightlite is aimed at a growing number of consumers who want a wine with reduced alcohol content, whether this is for health reasons or because they want something less intoxicating as a beverage,” Myles said.

The Winemakers Federation of Australia (WFA) said there has been growing activity in the reduced alcohol segment, with many companies talking about releasing new products.

A couple of these have entered the market over the last few months.

“There has been a growth in lower-alcohol products across beverage categories as consumers become more health conscious,” WFA spokesperson Simon Birmingham said.

“If you look at categories such as beer, there has been a sudden surge in low-carb beers and I think there has been a similar approach taken in terms of the development of new wine categories that can cater more to those health conscious consumers.”

Simplicity

With over 40 years experience in the Australian and overseas wine industries between them, JMB Directors, Jarrod Myles and Michael Bright have been privy to much consumer trend data and hope to take advantage of what they have identified as key attributes governing wine purchasing.

“From my experience, the purchasing decision hierarchy consumers undertake involves asking three questions: What drink? What price? And what brand?” Myles said.

“We have simplified the decision making process by calling our wine red, white and rose, removing the vagaries of vintage and variety, by positioning the product within the reach of most mainstream consumers, which is sub $10, and by investing a lot of time and research into developing innovative packaging, making the Brightlite brand distinctive and a stand-out on the shelf.”

The WFA largely attribute the growth of Australia’s domestic wine sales and export sales to wine companies that are making their products more accessible to mainstream consumers.

“While in many instances these brands are still well focused on vintage, variety and rationality, they also offer a suite of products that are easily understood and accessible by consumers,” Birmingham said.

JMB’s unique aluminium bottle and reduced alcohol content is not simply trying to compete against existing products on the market.

“We are carving a niche and aim to increase wine consumption in the industry through pushing the positive attributes of a brand like Brightlite such as health benefits, the fact [the bottle] is recyclable and its attractive packaging,” Myles said.

JMB is conducting over 1000 hours of wine tastings at Liquorland and 1st Choice stores around Australia in the coming months to increase brand exposure and acquaint consumers with the taste and packaging of the product.

The company was founded eight months ago and released its first product Edenvale, a dealcoholised wine, in October 2006.