Changing habits with the relaunch of Blue Nun

It was once the world’s top selling wine but became the butt of jokes.

Yesterday, Blue Nun, which is 90 years old, was relaunched for a new generation of wine drinkers with new packaging and taste to tempt more people to buy into the iconic brand.

Leeds-based wine importer Bottle Green worked with Blue Nun’s German owner Langguth to update the original wine, which still features a blue bottle with a nun on the label, but is now re-labelled as a Rivaner Riesling rather than a generic blended wine.

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In addition, Blue Nun has also launched a range of other varieties to sit alongside the original, including Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir.

Nick Butler, wine director at Bottle Green, said: “We’ve gone from a more traditional German wine style to a much more global, modern wine style.”

He added: “We’ve worked hard to reduce the amount of residual sugar to give a fresher aspect to it.”

The new taste aims to target British contemporary women aged 25-45, although it will be relaunched worldwide.

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Armin Wagner, export director at Langguth, said: “We do not want to lose those people who have enjoyed Blue Nun so far, but of course we want to extend the target group.”

Mr Butler added: “The intrigued group is a good way to think about it because it’s young people who have maybe heard older generations talk about Blue Nun but would never have tried it.”

Bottle Green spent over 12 months working on the rebranding, including two rounds of research.

Richard Hitchcock, marketing and operations director, said: “The UK market is moving very much towards brands. There are some very clear cues when buying wine. Obviously, price is one of them but the packaging has to be striking and contemporary and it has to be clear. The varietal has to be there so people feel they know what they’re drinking. And with Blue Nun we had to make sure we retained that classic-ness without overdoing the modern.”

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As part of the relaunch, Bottle Green is also embarking on a full PR and marketing campaign to dispel the negative perceptions of Blue Nun, which is often associated with tackiness, including a new website and the use of social media.

Mr Hitchcock said: “It’s going to take a long time to overcome some of those perceptions but we have mechanisms in place that we think can change that.”

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