Tesco Introduces the First Socially Created Wine

Organizations are always looking for new and innovative ways to reach out to consumers and drive loyalty. Social media is used for a lot of different things when it comes to business, from receiving customer feedback to advertising new products. Recently, companies have started to involve their customers in a very crucial part of their business, the product development and design of their products. Some companies are using social media platforms for the company’s advantage in order to enhance the development of the next great product, while making customers feel valued by listening to their opinions and ideas. In 2013, Tesco, a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer decided to do something different. This organization had an amazing initiative to get their whole social media following involved in the process of creating a new wine, mainly through Facebook.

Tesco started this process by inviting different bloggers and members of their social media community to a wine tasting, to choose their favourite out of the five choices. The grapes used for these wines came from the Enaleni community in South Africa, which has not been able to afford their own wine production. Until now, they have had to sell the grapes they pick to local wine producers. Once a winner was chosen, Tesco reached out to their social media community and asked them to select the name and the look of their future wine. The agency We Are Social created an app for Tesco’s Facebook page, which allowed the online community to upload designs and come up with names for this uniquely created wine. The best part of this competition is that whoever came up with the winning name or design received a trip to South Africa, paid by Enatoria, the wine importer. 

Product development manager at Tesco, James Griswood said, “This campaign is not just about producing a bottle of wine, it’s about supporting a community.” Feeling like you’re involved in this innovative campaign and also knowing you are helping this underprivileged community flourish is an amazing feeling. Tesco’s idea is brilliant and it is very likely that more organizations will continue to involve consumers this way. Deola Laniyan, account director at We are Social, stated that “We’re incredibly excited about this campaign, it’s a social media first – a wine selected by social communities from grape to bottle.” The public helped the Enaleni community transform and create a sustainable business, giving them hope for a future without inequality.

The campaign received close to 2,000 entries in just three weeks. The Facebook community voted and chose “Enaleni’s Dream” as the name for this socially created wine. Since the wine went on sale in October 2013, Tesco sold over 80,000 bottles in just the first few months. I believe that through this campaign, customers felt more connected and this feeling drives loyalty. When comparing this campaign to just another new bottle of wine on the market, I would surely want to help a community while also enrolling in a chance to win an amazing free trip!

Lessons for Others

Crowdsourcing and developing new products through social media helps organizations create products that consumers want, rather than making something the company thinks consumers want. Social networks are a valuable tool for understanding customers, engaging them in campaigns, and driving sales. Generating data through social media gives organizations a wider pool of ideas from all kinds of consumers. Tesco has also created a new flavour of ice cream through the same process. I will definitely keep a close eye on this organization to see what interesting ideas they will continue to produce in the future and I hope to someday be involved in a campaign like this. 

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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