Winemaker Hentley Farm and wine tech company Cellr have developed a label that allows customers to experience the winery’s The Creation project.
Each year, Hentley and the Adelaide Central School of Art collaborate, with graduates of the school invited to tender their concepts for the label design of its limited release label, The Creation.
Using a near field communication (NFC) label powered by Cellr, consumers can tap the label on the bottle with their smartphone and be digitally immersed in The Creation experience, which includes an in-depth exploration of the artist’s expression of the wine, an immersive tasting experience, and original video content created by Hentley.
Hentley Farm head of operations Daryl Spencer said Cellr helped tell the story in a new way. “Cellr helps tell the story in a personalised way, delivering the memorable experience expected of a luxury wine,” he said.
The companies met through Cellr’s work with the Barossa Grape and Wine Association for its 2021 Barossa Wine Auction. It developed a Seal of Provenance, allowing buyers to tap their phone on the label to verify the wine’s origin.
Cellr founder and CEO Chris Baine said: “Building and maintaining brand integrity goes beyond authentication, it is also about creating a direct line of communication that connects wineries with their consumers.”
One of Cellr’s first innovations was a wine bottle lid to help combat counterfeit wine. Baine told Food & Drink Business’ stablemate PKN Packaging News that it was developing its own bespoke NFC tag at the same time.
“The customers that get their hands on this wine will simply unlock their phone and tap their NFC reader on the tag of the bottle. This then triggers a digital experience that extends the traditional label well and truly beyond the basic printed tasting notes.
“Hentley Farm then has the ability to update the digital experience that the customers receive in real-time inside the Cellr platform as and whenever they wish, therefore giving the customer a new experience with the very next scan if they wish,” Baine said.
Hentley Farm is among several wine producers utilising this technology to create an always-on experience and better connect to customers beyond the cellar door.
The Cellr tags are passive and are applied to bottles automatically on a bottling line. It then will “lie in wait” for a customer to scan them to activate the custom brand experience.
