Blue wine and the impact of law on innovation: how to reconcile them?

Blue wine is conquering wineries around the world with its exotic color. But can anyone create a new product and it is ready for the market? What is the impact of law on innovation?

Blue wine is an increasingly famous product. We anticipate the trend last year at Eat Innovation in this post here (run there to read!). Since then, other wines of the same color have appeared. This is the case of Aluxor, similar to Gik, of our last article, Blumond, the blue sparkling wine and Vascorino. The production process is simple, they use grape skin to remove the anthocyanin, the pigment that gives the color to the product.

Impact of law on innovation

Everything went very well on this blue wave. Until the headache came and it is not from the hangover I’m talking about. I am talking about the law.

What is the impact of law on innovation? How to reconcile them?

The Spanish startup producer of Gik wine, had to remove the name “blue wine” from its labels and slightly alter the composition of the drink after receiving a fine from the country’s agriculture ministry. In the eyes of the law they were infringing on wine regulations since blue is not an approved color.

Impact of law on innovation

They then had 99% wine and 1% grape must, so they no longer belong to the category of “pure wine”. Despite this, the startup has sold more than 120,000 bottles since they started activity at the end of 2015.

This industry has been practically unchanged for centuries, but it has to be rethought, especially with an eye on young audiences, who are not attracted the same way as traditional consumers are.

Blue wine + netflix. Any questions on the millennial appeal?

What to do when the law takes too long to keep up with progress?

It is important to consider that the law is not a “monster that hates innovation”, it serves to protect us, to avoid fraud or products that put our safety at risk. Think about drones, if there were no regulations, we would see them near airports and other critical areas, anyone would drive their drones wherever they wanted. If an accident happens, who is the one to blame for?

Returning to the food area, Switzerland legalized the consumption of insects in food. That does not mean that citizens will start eating insects, no one is obliged to. Anyone who wants to do it now has the peace of mind of buying a safe product. The irregularity also fuels the growth of the black market – this is the case of edible weed, which have always existed but are finally emerging from illegality.

Insects in Switzerland: you can now eat them.

Innovation “pulls” the advancement of law. You do not make a law for something that does not exist yet. So as new things come up, new regulations come up as well. It will not always be easy, the fight between UBER and taxi drivers is an example of this, but it will certainly open up new markets, new jobs and new products. It’s the beginning of a new cycle!