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 The well-known French champagne producer thinks Indian while designing the bottle. Made only for the Indian market, it uses the national bird Peacock in shades of blue with several motifs of antique jewellery, and ancient Mughal architectural patterns, making it very eye-catching on the shelf and sure to attract the young consumer, especially the females, thanks to the pink base colour on the sleeve and intricate ornamental design. It would also make an ideal gift for them. The limited edition Rose will be available at Rs. 1650 each.
Marrying French savoir-faire with local craft, Chandon was launched in India in 2013 at Four Seasons, Mumbai and it was considered the best Launch of Indian wines at the time. The introduction of Chandon heralded a stiff competition for the existing producer Sula but promised to open up the culture of sparkling wine market in India, even though a perceptible dampener on the champagne market-especially the ubiquitous Moet Chandon. It also forced better quality from Sula which launched the Brut Tropicale in 2015 with a beautiful, chic sleeve that took the pole position in attractively designing the sleeves of sparkling wines-it followed it up later with Blanc de Blanc Brut Chardonnay.
When Chandon introduced the label, there were only 3 other producers- Sula and Grover Zampa. Fratelli had hurriedly released their zero dosage sparkling wine without any fanfare a couple of weeks before the Chandon Launch.
Moët & Chandon, a leading Champagne House since 1743, started thinking global in the 1950’s by setting up sparkling wine producing wineries outside Champagne–starting with Chandon Estate in 1959 in Argentina. This was followed by California (1973), Brazil (1973) Australia (1986) and much later in China (2013) which introduced Chandon shortly after India. The first vintage was curated in collaboration with York winery in Nashik, using grapes grown at the farms of various contracted farmers under their supervision, and later setting up their own facility in Dindori.
Chandon is available in two variants: Chandon Brut from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and Chandon Brut Rosé with Shiraz and pinot Noir. It also introduced a sweeter version called Délice (also from Chenin and traces of chardonnay) which may be drunk sweet as such or diluted to regular sweetness of Brut by pouring ice in the glass.
 Active in packaging innovations Chandon introduced ‘The Party Starter’ brand platform in December 2016 and followed it up with the introduction of its Limited Edition End of Year Brut and Rosé bottles showcasing the spontaneous DNA of the brand.
It is following it up with another market innovation in January 2019 for the Indian millennials (25-28) ‘My Chandon’ as part of the 5th anniversary. A new SKU in 180 mL size bottles has been launched. ‘My Chandon was conceived, developed and will be launched for Indian millennials to call it their own and enjoy it in a very personal way. Indian millennials are financially savvy, outgoing, highly digitally connected, bold and adventurous. They are aspirational and keen to adopt an international lifestyle, whilst taking pride in their Indian-ness. They associate themselves with authentic brands and want to experience these brands in a different way,’ says a Press Release.
‘The brand thus aims to become a part of young consumers’ instant recall for their happy moments with friends when out partying, celebrating and getting together. Since the ‘My Chandon’ bottle is lightweight, small and easy to carry, it will work very well with these experimental consumers, who are keen to try exciting new offerings when out on the town,’ it adds. To start with, ‘My Chandon’ will be available at select on-premise accounts where the target audience frequents. Priced at Rs. 650 a bottle, it is a trifle too expensive but the producer perhaps feels the young millennials are not that price sensitive.
For earlier Articles on Chandon, please visit:
IGH2018: Chandon Winery Opens Gates for Public
Chandon Releases Fashionista Manish Malhotra designer Labels
Chandon: Indian Sparkling Avatar of Champagne
Glitzy Launch for Indian Chandon from Moet in Delhi
Uncorking the Science of Sparkling Wine Bubbles
Swaad and Sparklers may Swoon you in 2014
Chandon Chants in Delhi Too
Chandon from Moet Launched in Mumbai
Subhash Arora |