Coop focuses strongly on wine. Moving beyond private labels and betting on co-branding

Coop, the Italian large-scale retail giant, is betting strongly on wine. With a project that goes beyond the traditional “private label”, becoming co-branding, clearly and declared on the label, in collaboration with some of the most prestigious Italian (and not only) wineries, from Tommasi to Schiopetto, from Cantina Kurtatsch to Le Vigne di Zamò, from Volpe Pasini to Feudi di San Gregorio, from Planeta to Drei Donà-Tenuta La Palazza, from Cleto Chiarli to Rocca delle Macìe, from Sartori to Còlpetrone, from Fattoria del Cerro to Val delle Rose, from Marchesi di Barolo a Bolla, from Triacca to La Poderina, from Poggio al Tesoro to Cantine Florio), for the FiorFiore line, which has 38 references from all of the most important territories in Italy, for as many partner wineries, plus 6 from all the top territories of France, from Bordeaux to Burgundy, passing through Provence, and from the Moselle, in Germany, to which will then be added, shortly, in order to cover the end-of-year holiday period, 6 sparkling wines including Franciacorta (with Monogram Castel Faglia), Trentodoc (Monfort), Prosecco Docg (Bellussi), Prosecco Doc Rosè (Masottina, which thus marks its entry into large-scale distribution, ed.), Alta Langa (Gancia) and Champagne (Maison De Venoge), and 28 labels for the line “Assieme”, dedicated to “everyday” wine, in partnership with large cooperative companies such as Torrevilla, Cantina Prospetti di Cormòns, Terre Cevico, Fontana Candida, Moncaro, Tollo, Cantina Santa Maria La Palma, Colomba Bianca, Cantine Riunite and Civ & Civ and Le Chiantigiane, among others).
A project with the collaboration of Ais (Italian Sommelier Association), and in line with the concept launched by Coop a few years ago, which sees the group wanting to reach 50% of branded products overall across all categories (starting from 30% already consolidated and significantly increased). And that for wine, which for the brand represents a total turnover of 350 million (out of a total of 16.1 billion for Coop Italia in 2022, at +12.4% on 2021, of which 14 linked specifically to large-scale retail trade, +6.4%), starting from a share of 7-8% on the offer of over 900 references, it aims to reach a share of 15-18%, when fully operational. Not by purchasing “masses of wine” from producers to bottle them under their own brand, but with a path that starts from a partnership in which Coop and the companies involved, are selecting the vineyards from which those wines, produced only for Coop, will be born, following a path of vinification and marketing different from that of the other wines of that companies. An important project, perhaps the most complex ever seen, on the subject of wine, by an Italian large-scale retail brand, as Francesco Scarcelli, Head of Beverages Coop Italia, and Tiziana Sistelli, Innovation & Marketing in Store Manager Coop Italia explained to WineNews.
“We began with wine in 2011, with the “Assieme” line, for everyday wine and more linked to the cooperative world, with 20 references, and then the FiorFiore line, with higher positioned wines, with 20 references as well. With the project’s evolution, we now have over 80 references”, Scarcelli and Sistelli explain. Then in addition to the 68 references of still wines that are already partially in rotation on the shelf, and others that will arrive soon, another 12 sparkling wine labels will be added, 6 from the FiorFiore line, the others between “Assieme” and wines under the Coop brand only, including a Prosecco Doc (which will be signed by Fratelli Martini) and an “alcohol-free” sparkling wine (also accompanied by a still wine without alcohol, ed.), thanks to a German partner (since, in Italy, there is still no law that allows the production of alcohol-free wines, ed.). “It is a co-branding project because the producer, whose name is prominently displayed on the label as well as the denomination, appears alongside us. And which protects the consumer from price increases while avoiding shelf duplication: we discussed dedicated products with the wineries, identifying vineyards, refinements, blends, and new wines made specifically for us that do not compete with their existing offerings. They are ad hoc products: we do not begin with a large quantity of wine, but rather with a selection that begins with the vineyard and has a different refinement than the other wines of individual producers, as well as different release dates for the wines”, underline again Scarcelli and Sistelli.
<B>Coop’s wine project will move 5 million bottles when everything is fully operational, with significant volume differences between the different lines. Because, on average, the most everyday wines in the “Assieme” line will be around 100,000 bottles per reference, whereas the most valuable wines in the FiorFiore line will be between 15,000 and 20,000 bottles per label. “We considered the FiorFiore line as an allocation wine, when it ends we will wait for the next vintage”. In terms of price, the offer is well clustered: starting from 6 euros per bottle, for example, for Lambrusco, reaching prices of around 26 euros for Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone della Valpolicella and Sforzato, up to 35 euros for Champagne, which will be the most expensive reference, while everything else will be in the range between 10 and 20 euros per bottle. “At prices that are still advantageous compared to the same products on the shelf”, underlines the top management of Coop Italia.</B>
But, in Coop Italia’s business diversification activities, and in the partnership program with wineries, there is also wine tourism, given that with the “Wine & Coop” program (registrations are already open on the portal www.coop.it), for members and customers, included in the “Piacere Coop” program for other types of production, it will also be possible to participate in guided tours with tastings in the wineries, where in addition to the wines produced for Coop, each company will also offer to taste their other reference wines, “to help people understand even better both the quality of the wines produced for us and the differences, characteristics and potential that each partner winery can express”. We start from Piedmont, for example, on 6 October with Gancia, to continue on 13 October with Marchesi di Barolo, while on 14 October it will be the turn of Còlpetrone, in Montefalco, Rocca delle Macìe, in Chianti Classico, and Sartori, in Valpolicella, and again on 20 October at Cantina di Bolzano, in Alto Adige, and Val delle Rose, in Scansano, while on 29 October Cleto Chiarli will open its doors, in the land of Lambrusco.

Focus - The FiorFiore Coop line: the 38 references already on the market
Vallée D’Aoste Doc Pinot Gris - Cave des Onze Communes
Gewürtztraminer Südtirol Alto Adige Doc - Cantina Produttori Bolzano
Alto Adige Doc Pinot Bianco - Kurtatsch Kellerei - Cantina Cortaccia
Lugana Doc - Tommasi
Friuli Colli Orientali Doc Sauvignon - Le Vigne di Zamò
Friuli Colli Orientali Doc Ribolla Gialla - Volpe Pasini
Collio Doc Friulano - Schiopetto
Verdicchio di Matelica Docg Riserva - Belisario
Greco di Tufo Docg - Feudi di San Gregorio
Vermentino di Gallura Docg - Piero Mancini
Sicilia Menfi Bianco Doc Biologico - Planeta
Nizza Docg - Garesio
Alto Adige Doc Pinot Nero - Castelfeder Weingut - Tenuta
Romagna Doc Sangiovese Superiore Biologico - Drei Donà - Tenuta La Palazza
“Casalguerro” Lambrusco di Modena Dop Vino Frizzante - Cleto Chiarli
Vapolicella Ripasso Doc Classico Superiore - Sartori di Verona
Chianti Classico Docg - Rocca Delle Macìe
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg Toscana - Fattoria del Cerro
Morellino di Scansano Docg Riserva - Val delle Rose
Montefalco Doc Rosso - Còlpetrone
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Doc Riserva - Illuminati
Primitivo di Manduria Dop - San Marzano
Etna Rosso Doc - Firriato
Barolo Docg Biologico - Agricola Brandini - La Morra
Barbaresco Docg - Marchesi di Barolo
Sforzato di Valtellina Docg - Triacca
Amarone Della Vapolicella Docg Classico - Bolla
Brunello di Montalcino Docg - La Poderina
Bolgheri Rosso Doc - Poggio Al Tesoro
Salice Salentino Dop - Negroamaro Rosato - Castello Monaci
Marsala Superiore Riserva Doc Dolce - Cantine Florio1833
Malvasia Delle Lipari Doc Passito - Cantine Colosi
Mosel Riesling Trocken - Julius Treis
Chablis - Jean Lefort
Alsace Gewurztraminer - Famille Cattin
Côtes De Provence - Domaine Petit Candumy
Saint Émilion Bordeaux - Château Jacques Noir
Sauternes - Château Haut – Bergeron

Focus - The Coop “Assieme” line: the 28 references already on the market
Oltrepò Pavese Doc Pinot Nero vinificato in bianco - Torrevilla
Chardonnay Trevenezie Igt - Folonari
Friuli Doc Pinot Grigio - Cormòns Cantina produttori
Pignoletto Doc vino frizzante - Terre Cevico
Vermentino Maremma Toscana Doc - Le Chiantigiane
Grechetto Umbria Igp - Spoleto Ducale
Lazio Est Est Est!!! di Montefiascone Doc - Gotto d’Oro
Frascati Doc - Fontana Candida
Trebbiano-Passerina Marche Igt - Moncaro
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Doc classico - Moncaro
Terre di Chieti Cococciola-Pecorino Igp - Cantina Tollo
Fiano Puglia Igt - Masseria Borgo dei Trulli
Vermentino di Sardegna Doc - Cantina Santa Maria la Palma
Sicilia Doc Grillo - Colomba Bianca Biocantine di Sicilia
Piemonte Doc Barbera - Cantine Tre Secoli
Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese vino frizzante - Torrevilla
Merlot Trevenezie Igt - Folonari
Chianti Docg - Le Chiantigiane
Lambrusco di Sorbara Doc Secco vino frizzante - CIV&CIV
Reggiano Lambrusco Doc Amabile vino frizzante - Riunite
Sangiovese-Merlot Rubicone Igp - Terre Cevico
Rosso Umbria Igp - Spoleto Ducale
Sangiovese Cabernet-Sauvignon Marche Igt - Moncaro
Terre di Chieti Igp Rosso - Cantina Tollo
Cannonau di Sardegna Doc - Cantina Santa Maria la Palma
Sicilia Doc Nero d’Avola - Colomba Bianca
Terre di Chieti Rosato Igp - Cantina Tollo
Moscato d’Asti Docg Dolce – Vallebelbo