What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
Smart phones talk to Bordeaux wine labels
The Bordeaux Wines Council (CIVB) in France, has awarded Kasual Business, a Bordeaux company that makes mobile apps for the wine sector, a 3-year tender by for its mobile lead application: Smart Bordeaux, which went into production at the beginning of September 2012.
As the official Bordeaux Wines mobile app, it allows users to take a photo of a Bordeaux wine label on a smart phone and get instant information about the producer, the vineyard and what 'other people' think.
The app now has 16,000 wine records available, uploaded directly by Bordeaux wine producers, is available in 13 languages and used in 82 countries by more than 200 000 users on iPhone and Android. Currently, 10 000 bottles of Bordeaux wine labels are identified each week all over the world.
Innovative business model, seeks US market
Three experienced and complementary entrepreneurs founded Kasual Business in February 2010:
- David Ducourneau (CEO), 32: Entrepreneur and computer engineer
- Emmanuel Etcheparre (Business Development), 43: IT and wine entrepreneur for 15 years
- Philippe Foix (VP Finance & Administration), 51: IT and media entrepreneur for 25 years
The company currently has four employees and its projected turnover for 2012/13, is estimated at more than US$ 1 million. Since its inception, it has relied in its policy of innovation and investment in R&D, which is how it convinced the CIVB to implement the new version, with commercial success.
Building on this success and looking to strengthen its technological and commercial development, the founders have decided to present their skills and knowhow to Californian investors next October on a trip organized by the Bordeaux International Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Californian Irish Innovation Center.
