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In the Beginning

In the early 80s, when big department stores were built across Spain, I had a feeling that there were going to be changes in the distribution channels and in consumption habits. The most frequently bought package for table wine was the 1L returnable bottle, which required having several filling lines available throughout Spain in order to attend to domestic distribution.

My goal for years was to sell wine in a non-returnable, practical, cheap and light package which could be produced in a single factory in order to reduce the unit cost, taking advantage of the economies of scale. This is how DON SIMON was born.

Innovation

After analysing several alternatives, such as glass or PET, I chose Tetra Brik technology. My father, who was a very conservative person, had reservations about the launch of DON SIMON wine in this format, although the real resistance was outside the company. Those were very tough moments for us, because we were alone against all kinds of pressure. The fact of packing wine in a carton package meant defying tradition. Despite all the difficulties, we believed in the Project and were convinced that, if we offered a higher quality than what was being offered at that momento in terms of table wine, the consumer would accept it.

Subsequently, we created many advertising campaigns on TV. Our idea was to convey to the consumer that DON SIMON was the best wine they could drink on a daily basis with their meals, and that’s how we came up with the sentence “Voy a comer con DON SIMON” (I’m going to eat with DON SIMON).

The carton package disrupted the table wine market, making the returnable bottle disappear. The true success of DON SIMON wine was its quality, not its packaging.

Brand Diversification

In 1986, the company sold more than 70 million litres of wine. GARCÍA-CARRIÓN transitioned from a regional to a national company. Changes were made to the company’s structure. We basically increased the sales network, but we saw a big risk in the future, as we were handling only one product and were worried about the decline of wine consumption; nowadays it has half compared to 30 years ago.

We analysed the international market and noticed that Spain’s juice consumption was very low, only 4 litres per capita, and sensed that it would increase in the upcoming years; today, it is 30 litres per capita.

Juice was chosen to enter the non-alcoholic drinks sector. Our first strategic thinking was related to the name we should use for juice. We knew that using the brand DON SIMON had advantages and disadvantages. Once again, we did not pay attention to certain view who advised that we should use another brand. It is true that DON SIMON was closely linked to table wine, but we were convinced that if we did things right, and if we offered the right quality, we could use DON SIMON for juice, apart from other drinks. Our company strategy was to use an umbrella Brand and betting for it: DON SIMON.

In 1987, apart from NFC juices, we launched nectars, grape juice and sangria, all of it under the Brand DON SIMON. Diversification has been one of the pillars upon which we have based our company’s growth.

Diversificación de la marca

En 1986 GARCIA CARRION vendía más de 70 millones de litros de vino. La empresa familiar había pasado de ser una empresa regional a nacional, se habían hecho cambios en la estructura de la empresa, fundamentalmente dimensionando la red comercial, pero era muy arriesgado seguir en el futuro sólo con un producto bajo la marca DON SIMON. Además, había iniciado el descenso del consumo de vino (hoy es la mitad que hace 30 años).

Analizando el mercado exterior, y viendo que el consumo de zumo en España era muy bajo (4 litros per cápita, todo apuntaba a que este consumo iba a aumentar en los próximos años. Hoy es de 30 litros per cápita.

Por ello, se eligió el zumo para entrar en un sector de bebidas no alcohólicas. El primer planteamiento estratégico que se nos presentó fue cómo llamar al zumo. Llamarle DON SIMON tenía sus ventajas y sus inconvenientes. Nuevamente, no se hizo caso de las opiniones en contra que nos aconsejaban poner otra marca en zumo y utilizamos la marca DON SIMON. “Efectivamente, en aquel momento la marca DON SIMÓN estaba muy ligada al vino de mesa, pero nosotros estábamos convencidos de que haciendo las cosas bien, y dando calidad, no solamente se le podía llamar DON SIMÓN al zumo, sino a otra serie de bebidas”.

Así, la estrategia de GARCIA CARRION fue hacer una marca paraguas con DON SIMON y apostar por ella. En 1987, además de zumos 100%, se lanzaron néctares, mosto y sangría. Todo bajo la marca DON SIMÓN. “La diversificación ha sido uno de los pilares en los que se ha basado el crecimiento de nuestra empresa”.

Today

Currently, DON SIMON is a brand that can be found in more than half of the homes in Spain and is the best-known Spanish beverage brand in our country. In addition, it is present in over 150 countries.

DON SIMON is no longer just wine, but is a brand of juices, nectar drinks, gazpacho, sangria, tinto de verano, broths, vegetable drinks, soups or veggies and smoothies. In many of these categories, in fact, it is the best-selling brand: DON SIMON sangria is number one, occupying more than 80% of the market.

The quality of DON SIMON products has been the key to it becoming what it is today, a quality that is fundamentally based on the monitoring and control of raw materials in the field. For many years, GARCIA CARRION has had long-term agreements with producers, who are guaranteed the purchase of their produce, and with whom our commitment to the raw material of our land lays.

In addition, all production centres have implemented a Quality Management System that meets the requirements of the International Standard ISO 9001:2000. All the facilities also have a certificate of compliance with the BRC – Global Standard Food regulations and, in addition, the Almería plant has the European Certification that authorises the packaging of organic products.

Actualidad

Actualmente, DON SIMON es una marca que está en más de la mitad de los hogares en España y es la marca española de bebidas más conocida en nuestro país. Además, está presente en más de 150 países.

DON SIMON ya no sólo es vino, sino que es marca de zumos, néctares, gazpacho, sangría, tinto de verano, caldos, bebidas vegetales, cremas o veggies y smoothies. En gran parte de estas categorías, de hecho, es la marca más vendida: la sangría DON SIMON es la número uno ocupando más de un 80% del mercado.

La calidad de los productos DON SIMON ha sido la clave para convertirse en lo que hoy es, una calidad que se basa fundamentalmente en el seguimiento y control de la materia prima en el campo. Desde hace muchos años, GARCIA CARRION tiene acuerdos a largo plazo con agricultores, a los que se les garantiza la compra de su producción y con los que se apuesta por la materia prima de nuestra tierra.

Además, en todos los centros de producción hay implantado un Sistema de Gestión de la Calidad que cumple con las exigencias de la Norma Internacional ISO 9001:2000. Todas las instalaciones disponen también de certificado de conformidad con la normativa alimentaria BRC – Global Standard Food y además, la planta de Almería cuenta con la Certificación Europea que autoriza a envasar productos ecológicos.