wine industry ripe for innovation, hears global industry ... - BlackSquare

 

London, UK - 20 November 2013

WINE INDUSTRY RIPE FOR INNOVATION, HEARS GLOBAL INDUSTRY LEADERS’ CONFERENCE •

Tesco’s Dan Jago believes wine industry has been slow to innovate in packaging

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Online and multi-channel retailing set to change way wine is sold says Andrew Bird of M&S

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Wine lags behind other industries when it comes to digital communications and consumer engagement

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Direct-to-consumer selling strategies can help build brands in a challenging trading environment

Delegates at a senior-level wine industry conference have heard how the wine world could learn lessons from other sectors to help it develop. Wine Vision ran from Nov 1820 in London, with the objective of setting an agenda for change in the wine sector. The conference heard from experts in many fields including branding, packaging, multichannel retailing, digital communications and emerging markets, starting the debate about how the industry can innovate and prepare better for the future. Innovation in packaging – what does the future hold? Dan Jago, UK and Group Wine Director at Tesco said: “The wine industry has been slow to innovate in packaging. It still seems to revolve around 75cl bottles. Whilst there is nothing wrong with that, would consumer be more interested in other formats such as bag-in-box. “In Scandinavia 60% of wine sales are in bag-in-box. It’s environmentally friendly, it lasts a long time, supports portion control and responsible drinking and tastes absolutely great from the first to the last glass. Could we put higher quality wines in bag-in-box format?” he asked. Speakers referred to ‘wall of wine’ consumers are faced with when shopping for wine which they often find confusing and intimidating. Tesco’s research revealed that consumers spend on average one minute 20 seconds in the wine aisle of the supermarket, but the industry feels that it doesn’t do enough to engage consumers and build brands. The Wine Vision pre-event survey revealed that 53% believe the wine industry is not doing a good enough job when it comes to engaging the consumer, while 33% feel that the wine industry is not really in tune with the consumer. / more…

  -2What next for retail? The Wine Vision survey found that 43% believe that online sales will deliver the most growth over the next five years, while 36% see the direct-to-consumer route as contributing the most growth to sales. Andrew Bird, Head of Trading, Grocery and Drinks at Marks and Spencer, sees developments in technology and ecommerce revolutionizing consumer shopping habits in the future: “There is no doubt that retailers that will thrive in years to come will be those with a clear proposition that differentiates them from the herd”. “Multi-channel retail is the number one game-changing phenomenon in today’s wine retailing world. Multi-channel and ecommerce platforms allow a particularly immersive experience for customers and allow wine brand owners to share their story in a more compelling way than they can at the shelf edge”, explains Bird. Challenging trading conditions in the UK have meant that some wine companies have had to create different routes to market. Selling direct to the consumer from overseas vineyards is just one way to address this. Gavin Quinney, the British owner of Chateau Bauduc in Bordeaux, presented his unique approach to selling his wine in the UK direct to restaurants like Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein. “Having established my wine as the house wine with Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein’s restaurants, I had to be able to deliver to them”, he explained. “Once I had this process in place, I then found that consumers wanted to buy directly as well. Through my email newsletter, blog, twitter and an easy to use website I have built a good following and I can communicate our story effectively and personalise my message” explains Quinney. Matthew Protti is CEO of Canada-based BlackSquare Inc., which provides a directto-consumer wine ecommerce platform for innovative wineries in Australia, Canada and Western Europe. Speaking on digital communications at the event, Protti said: “Our global experience is completely aligned with this survey’s findings: direct-to-consumer wine growth is surging globally, with strikingly similar patterns everywhere.” Protti added, “The key to success is offering consumers a brilliant user experience that’s truly responsive to how they want to shop for, and buy, wine. Wineries typically don’t employ the right technology or business practices to reach consumers. Done right, direct-to-consumer wine ecommerce is delightfully attractive to consumers, while building excellent brand value and profits for the wineries.” - end http://winevision.com/ Further information: Madeleine Waters, Coco PR [email protected] + 07778 702221