MIAMI and NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2017 — Friends Beverage Group of Miami, Florida, today announced the arrival of its highly innovative line of wine drinks, branded “FRIENDS FUN WINE,” on five continents. With six delicious and bold flavors, this fast growing flavored wine drink has been a frontrunner leading the Alternative Alcohol Beverage space as a new category in the wine industry — “Fun Wine”, with a casual and delicious offering that allows consumers to enjoy wine in a new and refreshing way. Fun Wine was developed in response to the desire of millennials and female consumers seeking new experiences as their taste for alcohol evolves. With global beer sales dropping, and wine continuing to develop across multiple formats, Friends Fun Wine is an ideal beverage to lead the latest craze in the beverage industry.
“Several years ago, we introduced Friends Fun Wine in an innovative slim can format, ultimately becoming a hot trend,” commented Joe Peleg, Founder and CEO. “But we were not happy to stop there, and quickly realized that there was pent up demand for low-alcohol, low-calorie flavored wine that was not being met, so we created the Fun Wine category to address the desire of millennials and females who are looking for new trends and the latest fashion in alcoholic beverages.”
Building on the success of its current popular wine beverage with innovative formats
Friends Fun Wine first created buzz with people looking for an alternative to beer and the traditional formats of wine with its initial launch of 250 ml slim cans (available now in New York at major retailers). Today, Friends Fun Wine is available on five continents — The Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Friends Fun Wine has about 50% of the alcohol and calorie content of traditional wines, at only 5.5%-6% ABV, and 71-94 calories per serving. Bold, refreshing flavors include: Sangria, Strawberry Moscato, Peach Moscato, Coconut Chardonnay, Cabernet Espresso, and Cappuccino Chardonnay. In December 2017, 330 ml aluminum bottles and 750 ml glass bottles joined the original 250 ml slim can format in response to the demand of business and distribution partners around the world.
New packaging designs become works-of-art
In its quest to continue to evolve into a lifestyle and fashion brand, Mr. Peleg engaged world-famous graffiti artist Miguel Paredes to create one-of-a-kind container designs that will immediately become keep-sake “works-of-art.” Miguel grew up in New York and spent his youth as an art student under the tutelage of Ronnie Cutrone, who was Andy Warhol’s assistant at the Factory. Like Warhol, Miguel has created his own explosive and bold style which is a perfect marriage of graffiti, landscape and pop art. Today, he lives in Miami and creates dynamic pieces of art that have a sophisticated and gritty urban feel.
“My sense of design and art has many parallels with the Friends Fun Wine brand,” said Mr. Paredes, Artist and Chief Design Officer of the company. “This bold product and what it offers to people around the world inspired me to create images that are both strong in their color and palette as well as encompassing evoking images and designs that appeal to people everywhere.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Miguel to the team,” smiled Joe Peleg. “Bringing our unique brand to life through the art world is a way of connecting with our fans and consumers that crosses cultural boundaries and geographies. Miguel’s vision perfectly matches ours, and we are pleased with the reaction to our new bottle designs from our international business partners.”
For more information about Miguel, please visit www.miguelparedes.com.
Creating a revolution in the wine industry that has mass global appeal
As a leader in the global Alternative Alcohol Beverage space, Fun Wine has carved out a unique position in the industry.
“There have been very few changes and developments in the wine industry until we came on the scene,” said Mr. Peleg. “We have been able to identify consumer demand for new formats and new ways of drinking wine. No one else has done this, and as a result we have disrupted the wine industry by introducing a beverage product that has mass global appeal. Our brand is inspired by the ‘casual and fun’ lifestyle of Miami and we view ourselves as a fashionable brand that lives at the intersection of trend and style.”
Creating a global lifestyle brand with operations around the world
Friends Fun Wine has been quick to capture the growing consumer trend and demand of new beverage formats.
“The industry has spoken and we have worked very hard to create global partnerships with distribution companies,” said Mr. Peleg. “We have been able to expand at such an exponential rate due to the incredible relationships that we have created with some of the leading, international beer brands, for example.”
Industry leaders and experts have reinforced the unique position that Friends Fun Wine has carved out in the quickly shifting beverage market place. A 2017 research report by Beverage Marketing Group of New York showcased the evolving trend in the market: Lowering beer sales over the past 20 years, growing purchasing power of female consumers, demand for innovative alternative wine drinks — especially low-alcohol and low-calorie, and increased demand for alcohol beverages that can align with healthy lifestyles. The report highlights the potential growth of this exciting new category and the opportunity for Friends Fun Wine to capture between 2-5% of overall global sales to females and millennials. For more information on the 2017 Study from Beverage Marketing Group, please visit http://funwine.com/friends-sudano-bmc-white-paper/.