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MYS 2018: De Watère on Offering an Alternative Champagne
There is no shortage of champagne brands on the market, and standing out from the crowd in this busy commercial space can be a major challenge.
Step forward De Watère, a brand whose raison d'être is to offer consumers an alternative kind of champagne. We caught up with Martin Konorza, president of De Watère, at the recent Monaco Yacht Show to learn more about how his brand is doing just that.
“It all started with why I founded the company in 2011,” he told us, “because I was always frustrated and disappointed with all of the other big brands that were out there. I never really saw the value for money, and so I thought that should be done better. That’s why I started Champagne De Watère, out of a frustration that I share with quite a few people out there.
What can you tell us about De Watère’s eco-friendly credentials, were they always part of your thinking?
“Actually the first reason for me to adopt these eco-friendly and sustainable methods was because it improves the quality, because we plough the grounds with horses instead of tractors, and we avoid any emissions what so ever in the entire process and we use as many recycled materials as possible.
“And that gives us a higher quality in the champagne, because the grapes develop freely and they develop for taste and aroma in the bottle themselves. So, the quality aspect came in first and then later we thought, oh wow, it’s good for the environment also, so we must do it that way!”
Mr Konorza brought with him to Monaco one of the brand’s most recently developed products. What can he tell us about that?
“We call them Petites and they’re the cutest bottles ever I think,” he said. “They actually originated from me thinking that I’m not always wanting to open up an entire big bottle of champagne, but sometimes just want to enjoy one or two glasses, and so I thought why not make a small bottle?
“And it actually took one year to develop the glass itself, a clear glass that’s easy to photograph, and to share as well, and to be more approachable to every customer, because this can fit into any purse.
“We wanted to make the entire company more modern, younger, because that’s how I feel. For example, I never wear a suit, we don’t really have a hierarchy in the company. We’re kind of a Silicon Valley champagne.”