Boxed Wine Brands That Get It Right (and Wrong)

Video Transcript

So, here we are in the boxed wine category. This is King Supers, which is Kroger everywhere else. This is a newer store, so it’s absolutely huge. It’s one of the biggest Kroger’s I’ve ever been in, and they have a very large wine section. This is the boxed wine set, and I’m just going to point out a couple of things to you.

As I look at the shelf, what I really see are a couple of big sections. It’s brand-blocked for sure. You’ve got the big value brands down here, Franzia and Vella, which honestly look extremely similar. Big value plays, definitely.

I know Franzia is one of the brands that kind of started the boxed wine trend and really was a more value-oriented brand. Then you’ve got some bigger players up here as well. This is a brand-blocked set. You’ve got Bota Box here with a big section, and I’m going to talk about that in a minute.

You’ve got Black Box here. They’ve been around for quite a while, award-winning wines in a box. You’ve got Barefoot extending into this, too. I’m going to talk about that because I see a couple of very interesting things there. And then, kind of in the middle, you’ve got a smattering of a couple of other brands, and I’ll speak to them as well.

Backing up and taking a look at this category, what’s interesting is you actually do see several different branding strategies going on here from a design standpoint. You’ve got everything from owning a color, like Black Box, of course literally named “Black Box,” and changing out the color for varietals.

Within Black Box, they’ve got their core line, which is all black premium wines. They’re really an achievement-oriented brand, always highlighting how many awards they’ve gotten. What’s interesting here is they do have a couple of variations. The core line includes regular varietals and origin-specific wines. Then they flip the script on their copy: instead of focusing on the varietal, they emphasize where it’s from.

For instance, these are both Cabernet. One’s from Chile, the other from California. Why didn’t they just do “Cabernet Sauvignon California” with a different descriptor? Instead, they went with “Deep and Dark,” clearly going after a flavor-seeker. They’ve treated the graphics differently, and while I can see why, I wonder whether consumers would understand the distinction. Sometimes as designers, we think differences are obvious, but they might not be.

They also have something new: a low-calorie boxed wine. From what I’ve seen, low-calorie wines tend to target an older demographic, probably Boomers who are looking to cut back a bit. Younger audiences tend to look for “zero sugar” rather than “low calorie.”

Merchandising-wise, I find it interesting that they split up their low-calorie SKUs, one here and one up there, rather than keeping them together. They probably did that to position the low-calorie option next to the main varietal, like Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, for easier comparison.

Black Box and Bota Box are really the two brands that revolutionized the boxed wine category, taking what Franzia started and elevating it. Bota has a very similar strategy. Their core line focuses on varietals, and they also have a low-calorie line, but they’ve gone further and created a sub-brand for it: “Breeze.”

That’s an interesting choice because Black Box didn’t do that. Black Box just added “Lower Calorie” as a product modifier, while Bota created an entirely new sub-brand identity. Personally, I think Breeze does a better job visually. It’s more readable, friendlier, and more inviting. Black Box’s version is harder to read, with very light, thin type and gold-on-cream text that’s almost illegible from a few feet away.

Now, let’s talk about Bota Box Nighthawk. This one stumped me a bit. From four feet away, I wouldn’t immediately know it’s part of the Bota family. You really have to get close to see “by Bota.” So now, Bota is endorsing a separate brand instead of simply extending. Why?

What’s different about Nighthawk? Maybe it’s targeting a different audience, possibly men, because the packaging feels darker and more masculine. It could also be an attempt to draw in new consumers who still see boxed wine as inferior. Visually, the copy here does a better job of describing flavor (“buttery,” “rich red blend,” etc.), something the core line misses.

If I were to critique, I’d say Bota should move its tagline, “award-winning wines that are eco-friendly and portable,” away from the varietal descriptor. It reads like flavor copy, which is confusing. That line should be locked up with the brand, not the varietal.

Now, backing up again, if I ask myself which brand here looks the most premium, my eye goes to Provisions. It’s the most expensive in the set and has an artisanal look, though the dark, ashy tones make it feel uninviting. It lacks cues that communicate taste or quality, which might explain the heavy discount I’m seeing.

Finally, Barefoot. This brand has been a mainstream success for decades, and here’s their boxed wine execution. Unlike others, they’ve gone with full color floods for each varietal, and it pops. Their big logo helps anchor that color strategy.

However, what stands out is the “Barefoot on Tap” branding. I get what they were going for, making boxed wine sound fun and convenient, but the phrase “on tap” threw me off. It’s not language we use in wine; it sounds more like beer. If I saw this on a display, I might actually think it was beer. I’m not sure the cute factor outweighs the confusion.

If I were to change anything, I’d drop the “on tap” and just stick with “Barefoot” or “Barefoot Wines.” It’s clear enough that it’s boxed. My guess is someone trademarked “on tap” years ago and wanted to keep it for consistency.

Anyway, that’s my take on the boxed wine aisle. Clearly, I could talk for a long time about this category because I just did, and this was only one of the many rows here at Kroger. I hope you enjoyed this little teardown and analysis of a hot and growing category.