Pernod Ricard Bodegas launches start-up Winnovation Lab

By Erin Smith

Published: 17 April, 2015

Pernod Ricard Bodegas, the Spanish branch of the larger French company Pernod Ricard, launched the Winnovation Lab, an innovation incubator and ideas laboratory, this week.

Winnovation Lab is a start-up company working to create new concepts in the world of wine and seeking to become a leader in innovation in the wine sector in our country," according to a released statement by Pernod Ricard Bodegas.

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Pernod Ricard Bodegas Winnovation Lab

The goal of the new venture is to help promote creativity and foster more 'disruptive' ideas within the wine trade.

"Winnovation Lab has been created to become the Pernod Ricard Bodegas ideas laboratory, promoting collective creativity and imagination and transforming them into disruptive ideas, leading new and experimental thinking in the world of wine."

The lab wants to challenge the way in which wine brands currently interact with consumers by breaking down barriers between the company's brands and drive more direct consumer engagement. The company believes that it can build brand loyalty among consumers and add long-term value to their brands by engaging more directly with them.

"Winnovation Lab aims to challenge the rules of the world of wine, devising new concepts that can be appreciated by consumers and generate long-term value. It aims to be close to consumers, testing the products directly with them, to know their tastes, capture trends and identify new needs, to being flexible in the process between the generation of ideas and their testing on the market," the statement said.

Pernod Ricard Bodegas is trying to maximise the digital space and create new channels of communication to help consumers better understand wine.

Several drink conglomerates are trying to help foster more of a 'start-up' feel within their larger organisations in an effort to help drive innovation.

Diageo did something similar last year when it launched the Diageo Technology Ventures. Launched in September, the programme released a number of 'innovation briefs' that outlined a specific challenge and opportunity at Diageo. The company then offered a committed budget of USD$100,000 to help support the projects pitched along with a dedicated Diageo team to assist the winning applicants develop their ideas.

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