Buried Cane: The New Look Looks Older Than The Old Look

We’re into the final stages of vetting and evaluating the new Buried Cane label. There’s a multi-step process as we move now towards bottled wine with a label on it:

1. Final comparison between where we are now (the label that looks “old” but is new to us!), and where we came from;

2. Review any packages and concepts that inspired us, and make sure we haven’t slavishly copied them (which could be an embarassment or legal problem down the road);

3. Finalize label copy, wine names, and any other fanciful and mandatory label information (I actually created the first draft of this a couple of weeks ago, but now we’ll apply it to labels for internal review);

4. Make sure the design “works” within our parameters (can we create an acceptable version of the label for our restaurant partner – Anthony’s, can this label be printed without major heartache or expense, can it be applied to bottles without major heartache or expense);

5. Submission to TTB (U.S.Department of the Treasury: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) for label approval (called a COLA – Certificate Of Label Approval);

6. Schedule printing, labeling and relabeling (if we decide to relabel any already labeled goods);

7. Coordinate release dates to the marketplace – BEFORE we tell anyone what those dates might be;

8. Create introductory promotional materials for the new package;

9. Make sure that any old label products have a home, so they don’t interfere with release of the new;

10. Begin a media-relations campaign to explain and enthuse about the new look;

11. Sell more wine!

DAH is David Anthony Hance