Hardys pushing Australian regions following revamp

By Arabella Mileham

Published: 02 April, 2015

Hardy's has rolled out new packaging for its William Hardy sub-brand, which flags up the regions in South Australia the wine blends come from.

The new look packaging has removed the South Australia appellation from the front-of-pack in favour of Limestone Coast for the Chardonnay and Langhorne Creek for the Shiraz.

It is the second time the packaging has been refreshed on the William Hardy sub-range since it was first introduced to sit above the brand's core range in 2012.

The move is part of brand owner Accolade's ongoing move to push the brand's premium cues. In September 2013 Accolade announced it was rolling out new packaging across its entire Hardys range - including the William Hardys sub-brand - to demonstrate a clearer progression up the brand's tiers. It followed with refreshes to other brands in its portfolio including Kumala and Echo Falls.

Accolade's marketing director, Amy White said the new William Hardy bottles would create a "clear and credible step up" for consumers from its more entry level wines Nottage Hill and Stamp of Australia.

In September 2013 Accolade announced it was refreshing the Hardy's range to reflect more premium cues

"Through collaboration with our packaging suppliers, we've developed a new delivery for these wines that is truly market leading," she said. "We're very pleased to be able to offer our consumers the opportunity to try wines from new, premium regions whilst giving them the reassurance of the Hardys name".

White said the UK's largest wine brand was enjoying "phenomenal" success, with strong value growth of 7% compared to a decline in the overall wine category. She said market share 30% larger than its nearest competitor, at 5.7%.

Earlier this week the brand was voted a 'superbrand' by consumers for the second year in a row.

Hardys parent company Accolade Wines saw profits rise more than £5m in the 12 months to 30 June 2014, according to accounts filed at Companies House last month. Turnover grew by £3.967m to £625.6m, with operating profit up more than £5m to £21.7m - a 30% rise on the previous year.