Entrepreneur sees year-round market for personalized wines

CEBU, Philippines - The growing interest of Filipinos to include wine in every important celebration has encouraged a Cebuana entrepreneur to pioneer “personalized” wine products for corporate and individual gift giving.

Aida “Angging” Patana, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Cebu Maps Marketing has ventured into the unique “personalized” wine distribution, to take advantage of the demand for wine products especially this holiday season.

Apart from her other businesses, Patana said entering into the wine distribution business is one of the potential ventures that need to be maximized, especially if the product is of quality and priced in affordable level.

Patana’s supply of wines is sourced from the well known wine connoisseur Michel Lhuillier, with wide variety of choices from red, white wines, including champagne.

“I observed that most companies, and even individuals would like to pick a bottle or more wine products for gifts, and give-aways. A good choice of wine product with personalized label on it would make a gift every special,” said Patana in an interview yesterday.

Few days after she officially started this business, Patana was able to dispose over a thousand bottles of personalized wine products in Cebu alone.

Because of the noted strong demand, she is planning to immediately invest at least a million pesos to set up distribution outlets in other parts of Visayas and Mindanao, and targets to dispose at least 10 thousand bottles for the holiday season.

In the next few years, Patana will be setting up her own distribution channels in Ozamis and Cagayan de Oro cities, while in the first quarter of 2012, a Luzon branch will be opened.

In Luzon, Patana said she is still looking for a business partner, to man the distribution center, as she projects that this will hit not only the huge corporate clients, but also to the mainstream market as wine has become a symbol not only for special celebrations, but even for ordinary get-togethers.

One of the wine products being highlighted in this holiday season, that is up for personalized label, is the Cabernet Sauvignon (2009), an award winning wine—a Robert Parker collection.

According to Patana, if in the past, wine drinking was only highly identified to discrimanating market segment. Today, demand for wine products has widened even to the mainstream consumer based, while prices of different good wine choices have also become much more affordable.

She said this kind of venture, is not only good during holiday season like Christmas, but it will sustain year-around as Filipinos are known for its happy spirits that love to celebrate life everyday, even without special occasion. (FREEMAN)