The Georgian wine production company “Rtvelisi” has been successfully operating on the market since 2019. Despite the pandemic, the founders of the company keep pushing through, in so doing turning their brand into a successful, top-selling trademark that is appreciated in 20 countries around the world, with more soon to join them.
Rtvelisi produces high quality wine and other alcoholic beverages of grape origin, among them classic Georgian wine, traditional Kvevri wine, sparkling wine, brandy, and chacha.
Giorgi Tsurtsumia, Head of Sales of Rtvelisi Georgia, spoke to us about brand positioning and future plans.
“The founders of the company had owned vineyards in the microzones of Kakheti and engaged in viticulture and winemaking for years,” Tsurtsumia says. “The products of Rtvelisi hit the Georgian wine market in 2019. Our goal from day one was to establish a name on the Georgian and global markets. High quality and unforgettable flavors are what made the brand famous not only on the Georgian market, but also worldwide, too, seeing Rtvelisi today being sold steadily in 20 different countries.”
Tell us about the wide range of wines you have.
Our company produces high-quality wine and other alcoholic beverages of grape origin: classic Georgian wine, traditional Kvevri wine, sparkling wine, brandy, and chacha. Rtvelisi has a big assortment in the Georgian wine market.
In addition to well-known types of wine, which are popular in Georgia and elsewhere, the company also has a premium wine line, through which we try to offer customers new wine blends, such as the wine Svir, Saferavi Merlot, Tsolikouri-kisi, Khikhvi Green, and Ojaleshi Rose. Wine professionals and wine lovers are very interested in such wines.
Also, the direction of Kvevri wine should be mentioned. Rtvelisi has been proud of its Kvevri wine for years, and has won platinum and gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions, Decanter, Mundus Vini, IWSC, Lwc and many others.
How would you rate your market positioning?
Quality and diverse products allow us to cover most customers. We constantly conduct research into the market requirements so as to establish our annual marketing strategy.
We produce and sell about 50 products on the Georgian market, which is quite a large number, and sales are growing by the year. Rtvelis products are available throughout Georgia, which was no small feat. We are constantly negotiating with chains and the Horeca sector to make the purchase of products as affordable as possible for consumers.
Rtvelis products are constantly the most sold in three chain store companies, and are included in about 400 Horeca facilities.
Tell us about the European market.
The European market was the first after Georgia where the Rtvelisi brand appeared. France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Switzerland, these are the countries where our products are actively sold in network stores as well as in the direction of Horeca.
According to the 2023 data, Rtvelisi entered the top 10 companies in volume of exports to Europe.
What are your future plans?
Our future plans are always big, and at this stage we are trying to cover the Georgian wine market as much as possible; to increase sales in chain stores and the Horeca sector.
As for the sales of the brand worldwide, the experienced Rtvelis export team is working, and in the near future, our brand will be represented in 22 countries, adding to the stable sales we already enjoy in the existing export countries.
In the end, the goal is to establish ourselves in the Georgian and world market by selling high quality and diverse Georgian wines.
Translated by Mariam Mtivlishvili
