Source: Hun

The wines are vegan and fairtrade

A vegan, fairtrade canned wine brand billed as the UK’s first and backed by fmcg heavyweights is to debut in Tesco this month.

Called Hun, the brand was founded by entrepreneur Mark Woollard, It will launch a duo of full-strength wines in 250ml cans: Pale Rosé 2019 (12.5% abv) and Sauvignon Blanc 2019 (12.5%), as well as a 5.5% abv Sparkling Rose 2019 in 200ml cans exclusively into the retailer from 4 May (rsp: £2.50-£3).

The wines are supplied by South African exporter Origin Wines, and originate from the Stellenbosch region. They are all vegan and Fairtrade.

Its board of directors includes former BrewDog CEO Andy Shaw and Waitrose executive director James Bailey, former EndemolShine global licensing MD Owain Walbyoff, as well as Red Bull Racing CMO Dominik Mitsch and former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard.

Woollard said the team “never expected to be launching in the midst of a global pandemic” but “our brand aims to build a community based around supporting and entertaining, so what better time to put these values into practise?”

There was “still a lot of snobbery around wine in a can and with Hun we hope to shake up the industry and prove that canned wine can be just as good - if not better - than bottled wine”, added Coulthard.

The launch will be backed by a “tongue in cheek” push created by ad firm TBWA, with ads riffing on the coronavirus crisis rolling out across London, with taglines such as “You’ve taken up running? Must be bad. Still, try running an advertising campaign that only you’re going to see”.

The brand will also run a digital campaign offering free wine to people whose weddings, anniversaries and birthdays have been disrupted by the pandemic.