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Marina JULIEN
B&G Brand Manager / Duty Free Travel Retail Manager

Upon your arrival in 2008, what was your first impression of the B&G brand image?

I have been really impressed by the rich and long Barton & Guestier history. This is a key point for the consumer to better understand the brand, especially in the wine business. Barton & Guestier represents one the strongest French worldwide signatures. So when you decide to launch a new wine, you must respect this great heritage and keep it in the center of your development.

How is that brand-image of B&G today?

Thanks to the knowledge of our winemaker's team, we can propose a great selection of the best French wines under a unique signature. For many years, we also try to bring a clear offer to the consumers with fresh, clear and elegant packaging. There is a huge competition in the wine business and the French offer is most of the time too complicated so our task is to help the consumer in the choice of his French wine, everyday, everywhere.

Where do you see the most possibilities of development?

Of course the Asian markets present a strong potential of business and the French offer remains unique.
South America shows a great potential even if most of these countries are also wine producers.
We also have to keep in mind Africa where the population is growing and where in the future 10 of the biggest cities around the world will be in this continent.
The Duty Free business is also growing a lot and represents the best window for our brand all around the world.

What has been your biggest satisfaction so far?

The launch of the new packaging of our largest French AOCs range: B&G Passeport.
We worked on this project during 2 years and the consumer was really in the center of our research. The main goal was to bring both education and travel under one strong signature. All the elements of the packaging have been studied in order to simplify the access to the French AOCs.
The launching started in April has been a great success so far. The feed-back is really positive as all our customers really like this new design. We feel confident that the consumers will follow!

What is your best travel souvenir? And the worst?

I remember my 1st participation to the TFWA in Cannes. This big fair is dedicated to the Travel Retail business.
And even if there are a lot of spirit, champagne and wine companies, there are also the big names of perfume and confectionary! Chanel, Guerlain, Hermes for the pleasure of my eyes and Leonidas, Valrhona for a sweetness break during the fair! At the end of the week, everybody tries to deal for a bottle of perfume (which is very difficult even with a great Margaux!) or some chocolates!
I keep my fingers crossed, but for the moment I didn't experience any really difficult customer or embarrassing moment!

A favorite market?

Well, Italy could be one of my favorite markets because I am a big fan of Italian food!
Anyway, I really would like to do market visits in the United States and cross this amazing country from New York to LA.
Each state is a mini country where landscape, culture and wine knowledge is different: it is an exciting challenge to establish a brand in such a big country.
We have all the ingredients for a great success and I really hope to see B&G wines back in the heart of American consumers.

What is your favourite B&G wine?

Original B&G Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is coming from Loire Valley and I am a big fan of the varietal Sauvignon Blanc.
I really like the freshness and the minerality of this wine.
It is the perfect wine for an aperitif with my friends and I often pair it with shrimps to begin a nice evening.

Marina joined Barton & Guestier in 2008 after 8 years in the Castel Group where she obtained a solid experience in the wine business. She holds a master degree of marketing in Toulouse Management School. Marina is 38 years old with 2 children and she loves cooking French cuisine.