WINEUP FAIR IN TRANSYLVANIA: ARCHITECTING A CITY-WIDE ECONOMIC & CULTURAL PLATFORM

CASE STUDY: Annual premium wine event featuring ever-evolving themes and sensory experiences.

OVERVIEW

We've built WineUp not just as a premium wine event, but as an economic and cultural platform that we architected from the ground up. Over the past decade, we have developed a self-sustaining ecosystem that unites the entire Romanian wine industry, activates the Cluj-Napoca hospitality and restaurant community, and establishes the city as a credible destination on the international wine map.

THE CHALLENGE

In 2015, the challenge was not simply "to organize a fair." It was a complex, multifaceted market gap:

• Market: Romania lacked a premium, international-caliber platform to connect its wine industry with global markets and high-value consumers.

• Brand: Cluj-Napoca and Transylvania needed a signature, premium-positioned event to establish its brand as a serious gastronomic destination.

• Community: The regional ecosystem of producers, HoReCa businesses, industry professionals, and consumers was highly fragmented.

Our challenge was to solve all three issues, creating a sustainable, long-term, and economically viable solution.

THE ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION

Our solution was a multi-year ecosystem development strategy. We acted as the lead architects, building the platform on four key pillars:

1. Premium brand & identity architecture: We built the entire brand from scratch, encompassing its visual language and core concept. This included designing a modular, elegant, and reusable exhibition system (made of wood and copper) that ensured a premium aesthetic and differentiated the event from all competitors.

   
   

2. City-Wide ecosystem activation: We activated the entire Cluj-Napoca HoReCa community as strategic partners, not just vendors. By designing a network of complementary gastronomic dinners, we drove revenue directly to local businesses, making them active stakeholders in the platform's success.

   
   

3. Complex stakeholder management: We unified a diverse set of communities (producers, sommeliers, art lovers, foodies) under one banner. This involved integrating all exhibitor branding into a cohesive annual narrative, ensuring a unified and premium experience for all attendees.

   
   

4. Securing global credibility: We implemented a long-term strategy to validate the platform on the world stage. This involved securing and hosting top-tier Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and international legends, using their authority to build the event's global prestige.

Annual Themes: A Showcase of Sensory Marketing and Innovation

KEY STRATEGIC PILLARS IN ACTION

Instead of just repeating, we designed evolving annual themes as a strategic tool to keep the platform dynamic, attract new audiences, and drive innovation.

PILLAR 1: Building international credibility & brand equity. We have proven that we can attract and manage the biggest names in the world, building instant prestige.

• Hosted the legendary STEVEN SPURRIER ('Judgment of Paris'), who brought his 'I will let the wines judge me' philosophy to evaluate Romanian wines.

• Curated exclusive masterclasses with premier global houses and ambassadors, including Essi Avellan (MW) for Moët Hennessy (Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart) and Nicole Snozzi for Laurent-Perrier.

• Executed high-profile brand activations for LVMH, including the "Only one quality, the finest" masterclass and the launch of the Veuve Clicquot Rich Collection.

  
  

PILLAR 2: Driving Innovation and Social Responsibility (ESG) We utilized the platform to pioneer new concepts and champion social good, demonstrating our role as forward-thinking consultants.

• Pioneered the "Totally Blind Tasting" concept as a powerful advocacy platform for visual inclusivity, launching the tactile color-code labels. This immersive gastronomic experience was meticulously crafted to build empathy and drive social change.

• Evolved the platform to address sustainability and climate change, challenging partners and consumers to engage with new, responsible trends.

  
  

PILLAR 3: Multi-Sensory & gastronomic experience design. We used our sensory expertise to design unique, unrepeatable experiences that united diverse communities.

• Designed complex, multi-sensory themes like "Art & Wine" (fusing a fine art exhibition with tastings), "The Art of Storytelling" (crafting narratives for each bottle), and "A Journey Through Time" (a multimedia installation on wine history).

Architected a city-wide gastronomic network by challenging Romania's most celebrated chefs to create thematic dinners (e.g., "Symphony of Senses," "Reinterpreted Old Romanian Recipes"), transforming the fair into a city-wide celebration.

PILLAR 4: Education & Professional Market Development We strategically designed the fair's educational programming as a high-value tool to build the market from both the top-down and bottom-up.

• For the B2C market (cultivating demand): We created a series of multi-sensory masterclasses and experiences (like the "Sensory Exploration Kit") not just to entertain, but to cultivate an educated, high-value consumer base. This strategy built a community that understands, appreciates, and is willing to pay for premium wine.

• For the B2B industry (setting the standard): We created the "WineUp Official Selection" as a new, credible quality benchmark for the entire Romanian wine industry. By bringing in global authorities like Steven Spurrier and Essi Avellan (MW) to judge, we provided an objective, international validation platform. This gave producers a powerful tool to build their own brand equity and established WineUp as a central authority on quality.

THE STRATEGIC IMPACT

• Established Cluj-Napoca as a key destination on the international wine map, generating significant positive brand equity for the city.

• Created a self-sustaining economic platform that drives annual revenue for hundreds of producers and local HoReCa businesses.

• Forged a unified, city-wide community of public, private, and international stakeholders invested in a shared vision.

• Provided a scalable, multi-year model for developing a premium, international-caliber industry platform from scratch.