Zarea targets 5% market share

Karom Drinks, the majority shareholder of sparkling wine maker Zarea Bucharest, has relaunched Zarea sparkling wine after a 15-year absence from the market. The move forms part of a strategy to increase market share. “We want to achieve a 5% (500,000 bottles/year) market share for this sparkling wine, which we have given an image makeover. We have kept a traditionalist-nationalist touch for this brand,” says Emil Popescu, the Karom Drinks general manager. Zarea sparkling wine falls into the medium segment with an off-the-shelf price of approximately 3 euros (120,000 ROL). Karom Drinks, which is owned by sparkling wine maker Schloss Wachenheim, acquired control of Zarea Bucharest last year in a tender worth nearly 1 million euros. “After the takeover we began a process of restructuring, changing the product presentation and reducing costs by transferring production from the three factories to only one,” Popescu said. Karom sold a series of Zarea’s assets after the takeover in order to pay the latter company’s debts to the state. Zarea used to be distributed regionally in seven counties, but after the acquisition by Karom it allocated nearly half a million euros to national expansion. ZF