Harvey Nichols Wine Collection

Design: Smith &+ Village
Location: United Kingdom
Project Type: Produced
Client: Harvey Nichols
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: Wine
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass bottle, paper
Printing Process: Flexography, gold stamping

Smith &+ Village push the boundaries of wine design for Harvey Nichols with unorthodox visual and verbal language

Creative agency Smith &+ Village have rewritten the rules of wine design for Harvey Nichols own brand range. Taking cues from the fashion world, the HN monogram becomes an iconic label shape, with real punch and presence online and on shelf. Unorthodox copy brims with Harvey Nichols characteristic attitude. With no illustrated château in sight, the work channels the fun, feisty, fabulous side of wine.

An irreverent break from tradition
Harvey Nichols wine collection is a blockbusting tour of the globe, working small producers who display the same irreverent spirit as the store itself. In line with the rest of the reinvention happening on the Fifth Floor, the wine collection needed a fearlessly stylish design solution that went further than any wine labels had gone before.

Richard Village, Strategy Director, Smith &+ Village says: “With this project, we’ve moved beyond the mysticism of traditional terroir-based marketing and found a voice that works for the consumers, the winemakers and the retailers. While we approached the work with consumer desires out in front, interestingly, the individual vineyards who produce Harvey Nichols own wine have really gone with it and are thrilled with the results.”

The verbal language used is accessibly delightful. The South African Chenin Blanc summons ‘Atlantic breezes and vines hit by the first morning sun of the Cape’, while the Argentinian Malbec is a ‘sensual tango on your taste buds’. Style and attitude come to the fore, connecting with consumers focused on enjoyment and fashion. The wines are able to shine with individual character, while hanging together as a collection.

Catherine Bewick, Head of Client Services at Smith &+ Village, who has wide experience in the wine industry, says: “The wine industry tends to rely heavily on the personal sell, with the consumer guided in their choice, particularly in the on-trade but also in independent retail. As sales move more towards online, brands don’t have that personal touch to rely on, buying decisions are made very quickly and so you need to get so much out of what is a very short interaction. Smith &+ Village created a compelling brand story for Harvey Nichols wines that powerfully engages customers across the full range of touch points.”

Food and drink meet fashion
The range is part of Smith &+ Village’s ongoing reimagination of food and drink for the iconic department store. The agency’s repositioning means the range behaves much more like a fashion and lifestyle brand, summed up as a ‘fearlessly stylish collection of gifts you can eat’ The ground-breaking work has delighted a new generation of tastemakers and fashion mavens, restoring confidence in the Harvey Nichols food brand internally and driving sales, particularly online.

Robert Graves, Head of Buying, Food & Beverage at Harvey Nichols said. “Falling within the overarching sense of ‘food and drink meets fashion’, Smith &+ Village’s strategy for our wine plays to the fearlessly stylish quality of the Harvey Nichols brand. And because of this, we could treat wine in a totally new way. The work allows us to absolutely represent the quality of the wine, but present it in a way that nobody’s ever seen before, giving it a new lease of life.”

As food and drinks specialists, Smith &+ Village know what matters to today’s connoisseurs. Channelling the sensory and convivial aspects of consumption, the agency helps clients find their own aesthetic language and impactful graphic solutions that deliver the joyful anticipation of good taste.

The Harvey Nichols wine collection includes Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis, Reisling, Sancerre, Shiraz, Chianti, Champagne Brut, Champagne Brut Rosé, Prosecco and English Sparkling Brut Rosé.