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The European board game "BOUQUET-THE WINE GAME"
is conquering the States.
The Wine Game is invented, written and produced by a Swedish, female, certified Sommelier, Britt Bäcke.
It is not only true; It is even on its way to conquer the largest wine market in the world.
The first shipment, to San Francisco in December 2004, was sold out almost before the ship had docked and tied up. Now, the second shipment arrived to San Francisco in January, large enough to supply most retailers through their busiest season. And the game has already proven a massive success;
"Congratulations for a very nice product!" says Francis Fabricant, New York Times
"The games are flying out the doors.." says Crush Wine & Spririt, NY and also Oregon Wine Tasting Room
"They are selling like hotcakes here!" is the message from Erath Vineyard, Oregon.
When studying to be a certified sommelier in Sweden only a few years ago, Ms Britt Bäcke invented the game, partly for fun, partly to find a better way to learn everything she had to command in order to get her certificate.
It turned out so well, that she decided to commercialize it, as she had noticed how more and more people in Scandinavia became rapidly more interested in wine. It didn’t take her a long time to produce and sell more than 10,000 games of her own design and with her own questions (and answers).
It is not a game for those who MUST win. It is a game for pleasure and for learning quite a lot about wine (and spirits, too!) A stroke of genius, too: The game lets amateurs and connoisseurs play together or against each other on equal terms – you will be amazed when you see how that is achieved!
Last summer, Britt went on tour in Oregon, California and New York with her partner for the U.S. and Canadian markets; Ms. Elisabeth Matsgård, with a background in advertising accounting and TV media brokering in Sweden.
Considering that the best-known game of all time sold only 1,000 copies in its first three(!) years in USA – and that the Wine Game has sold more than 2.000 in only three months – rest assured that these ladies are convinced of their success!
To develop the business, the owners, Britt and Elisabeth will make new tours in USA and Canada, this summer.
Being a very professional sommelier, also thoroughly experienced in lecturing and mastering wine tasting events with amateurs and pros alike, Britt will be seen in various events and will be introduced at the Conference in Eugene, Oregon this summer.
Now to the big story:
The background
The idea of my wine game Bouquet®, came to me while studying to become a sommelier at the Restaurant Academy in Stockholm, Sweden in 1994.
It was a fair amount of knowledge to bang into your head and the literature we had consisted of massive books about vine, beer and cigars.
My techniques of studying have never been very brilliant, and this led to that I had to construct small tests on every subject for myself. I am sure I made up more than 100 questions on every single district we covered.
An idea pops up
It was during this period; the idea of a wine game came to me. There must be a way to learn all these facts in an easier and a more fun way, instead of having to read all these indigestible books.
I kept the idea to myself for a couple of years while checking out various possible scenarios for the construction of the game.
In 1996, I finally took the decision to pursue my idea. I resigned from my position as director of marketing at the Grythyttans Gästgivaregård, - a beautiful inn in the south-central part of Sweden, and started working actively with the game.
Learning should be fun for children and adults alike
The format was quite easy to conceive while having in mind that it should be of game learning. The essence of the game was that you should have a great time with your friends when playing it, and that it at the same time should provide you with a substantial knowledge.
In addition to that, I also wanted the game to be suitable for as many as possible, hence the handicap system. And finally, a stench of pachisi, in order to create some tension.
The game pieces should obviously be wine corks, which would take the players around the game board.
Why are there no companies in the cork painting industry?
The first 18,000 wine corks, I painted myself with a tiny brush, and in two layers. Whew!
Eventually, I succeeded in inventing a simplified method to enhance and speed up this work. Up to this very date, I have painted 62,000 corks!
While the first corks were drying, I designed the first proto-type for the game, and with this in hand I tried to promote the game to book-stores, gift-shops and importers of wine, just to mention some of them I called on.
When I had reached 500 games on my ordering list, I approached the bank for some financial assistance.
Everything isn’t as smooth as it might look
When seeing and hearing the banks’ ads, everything sounds so easy. Reality, however, proved different. It took time – a long time, but in the end I had my money
Meanwhile, I had a major delivery of corks. Corks, which I kept on painting like a madman. I have never ever been watching so much TV and having seen so many videos as I did then.
When constructing games, one might think ordering of game boards, dice, playing cards and boxes is as simple as booking a round-tour, purchasing a car with all options, or arranging any other matter that consists of different parts. Everything should be promptly and neatly delivered. However, that was not the case for me. It all came from different places and loaded on pallets and in a complete mess. An experience I could have lived without.
Coming out…
Now it was time to approach the market, but when looking over my budget I realized it wouldn’t be feasible to advertise with any sort of impact. Then I had the, as I am pompous to say, brilliant idea of having a party for the press instead.
Well, next problem to face. They would of course expect something to eat and drink. I took the bull by the horns and called wine agencies that had their labels on the game board. They all sent me a case. Then I contacted an old friend of mine who composed a delicious buffet for me.
Finally I needed someone with strong attraction in the business, and who could be better than my former boss Carl-Jan Granqvist, founder and owner of that lovely inn I earlier mentioned. He accepted gladly to act as emcee but only if the press showing was held at his premises, the wine cellar Grappe. Two flies with one blow, room free of charge and a celebrity as a drawing card.
The games should arrive on February 5, a Thursday. The press party was to take place on February 9, a Monday. I sent out 110 invitations to different newspapers, magazines and storeowners. All but five accepted!
Thursday 5 turned out to be a nightmare.
In the morning the boxes and the game boards arrived. When opening the packages I saw that the game boards were far thinner than I had expected, and I couldn’t hold my tears back. After this first shock, I realized that all boxes were flat, i.e. I was supposed to fold all these 1,100 games myself. Yes, they were 1.100 and not the ordered 1,000, and I was supposed to pay for those extra hundred as well. Swedish standards, thank you? However, for this very event, I only had to fold 100. Thank Goodness for that! But that wasn’t all. Later the same day, the question cards came, unsorted and on pallets, 22 in all and 49 different stacks of cards on every pallet, and the cards were piled separately, so when only touching the piles slightly, the cards were completely mixed up.
Despite all of this, the press showing went very well, and I had major coverage in many newspapers.
The remaining 1.000 games, in a mess as they were, were transported to me and my finance’s apartment. Here started my career in cardboard folding and sorting out.
During this illustrious career I have been folding and sorting out over 4,500 games. After having shopped around for some time, I found a printer works in the neighboring country of Estonia. They print, assort, fold and pack and deliver the final product at half the cost. However, I do still paint my corks.
Am I completely sane doing this?
When receiving the Swedish version of the game, I have had them delivered to the main entrance of the tenant building where I have lived. Then I have struggled to get them into the elevator and take them up to my apartment, where one room is assigned for storage.
One game weighs just over five pounds, and my normal deliveries are on 1,000 or 2,000 units
So you can imagine the physical workload.
At this stage, my boyfriend got more and more annoyed with these games. After a year and a half of handling these products in our home, he confronted me: Him or the game? I chose the game.
Are things going too fast?
When I finally had delivered all the 500 pre-ordered games, something struck me. Who did I think I was – Who could possibly want to buy my wine game, and so on. This lead to an embarrassment, I turned shy and sort of fossilized. So I hid in my apartment spending my time folding games.
After a while I regained my strength and my confidence returned, and I felt like promoting my game more actively.
For instance, after having performed a wine-tasting session, I asked the participants if they possibly could accept me promoting another product of mine. After a certain intake of tasty wines and in a joyful atmosphere, it normally led to that I sold some 20 games on each occasion. I also traveled across my country, the size of California and Oregon put together, promoting the game to appropriate stores and attended some fairs as well.
Moving upwards…
Eventually, my reputation reached all the way up to the Swedish society of inventors. They made contact and invited me to their annual technological fair. It was a very nice and rewarding experience and it finally led to a membership in this fine chapter for me. This was my first contact with networking, and it really worked. Many of the members had good contacts with the media, and soon I was regularly invited to give speeches on how this game came about, or invented as these fine people say.
…And into the minister’s office
The week after, I had the great opportunity to give a lecture on female enterprising and entrepreneur ship at Rosenbad, the Swedish equivalent to the White House.
The major Swedish daily business newspaper, Dagens Industri, had covered this event and due to this the Minister at the OBE, Ms. Mona Sahlin made contact. My lecture there had some very prominent guests, among them the CEOs and the Chairmen of the boards of all major banks in Sweden. It was a truly marvelous feeling to be able to tell your own story to such a distinguished group. Channel four, the major private TV-station filmed it all, and it was broadcast several times during a month, and consequently more games were sold.
The break-through
When two years had past, a journalist from the major tabloid in Sweden, Aftonbladet, called me up. It all dealt with a story in their section Aftonbladet Kvinna, i.e. the female section. The bias of the article should be about women resigning and instead, opening up their own businesses. During the interview, which was performed at my residence, she asked me if it was fine with me if she would enlighten Dagens Industri about the background of the game. Naturally, said I. The story, covered all the central spread and also included a comment from the Wine journalist Anders Röttorp, who had already checked the game out with his wife, appeared in a early December issue, 4th 1999. The timing was perfect, just before Christmas and this led to another 960 games sold.
The telephone kept on ringing, and I even heard that the switchboard at this prominent Business paper broke down.
Thanks to the launching and success of the game, all my other business ideas had a real swing. Enquiries about testing of wine, liqueur, beer and cigars increased day by day.
Going abroad…
In 2001, a Finnish company contacted me. They said they learnt about me on television and they were interested in acquiring the full rights for the product for their country.
A series of friendly discussions, which ended in me selling all the rights to them, took place across my dinner table.
I did the negotiating on my own, and asked for a 20 per cent commission. Later I learnt that the normal commission is merely 4 per cent. They must have liked my game…
…And over seas
In the beginning of 2004, I went on an American trip together with Swedish female politicians and entrepreneurs. Our common destination was the Women & Democracy event in Seattle.
I had only one thing in mind for this trip, and that was to establish contacts for future sales of my game in the United States. My brand, Bouquet, was already a registered trademark in USA and the first translation was already done.
The journey was absolutely fantastic and I met several very nice and interesting people. During our stay, Mrs. Katarina Bonde who is resident of both Seattle and Stockholm, approached me to discuss the future plans for the game on a non-Nordic market. We settled for a meeting, and everything went very well. The chemistry was there and we decided on seeing each other when she would be in Stockholm the next time. During the same trip, I had also met the entrepreneur, Mrs. Elisabeth Matsgård. A person who I instinctively felt I would like to have on the team.
Now, Elisabeth and I have set up this American Business with our own money, with no investors or banks involved. We have adjusted and amended the game for the American market. The game board is much more sophisticated. The design has been improved, and the questions are adapted after the American customer.
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