UK Flashcards
UK Outlook
While still wine volumes have consistently fallen over the past five years, the regular wine drinker population has increased from 25.7 million in 2019 to 28.5 million in 2022.
Sparkling wine is the only category showing volume growth from 2016 to 2021 (2,4%).
Rose wine also continues to grow, with a strong performance in the on-trade market.
UK Packaging Can
Barry Dick- waitrose - Shift to cans aimed to halve carbon footprint per drink, with canned wine sales increasing x4 in 2020.
UK Packaging BIB
Premium bag-in-box packaging is creating a niche, though it struggles to grow beyond 5-10% of volume. Bottling in the UK has grown, with bulk imports increasing from 340 million litres in 2010 to 516 million litres in 2019. UK bottling plants like The Park and Greencroft offer the advantage of carbon neutrality.
While the UK is losing its share as a target market, Germany consolidates its position as the largest importer by volume. 2023 This data is sourced from a bulletin by the World Bulk Wine Exhibitio the UK (–7.3%)
UK Packaging Alternative
In the UK, the discount retailer Aldi is now filling own-brand wines in “Paperbottles” and flat PET bottles.The flat PET bottles from Packamama
UK Packagking Bottle weight
The Wine Society: Testing recycled plastic bottles to decrease carbon footprint with bottles that can be recycled at home.An empty rPET bottle weighs 63gr vs 460g avg glass bottle. Glass bottles are 31% of WS emissions
UK Packagking Capsules
Waitrose: Dispensing with plastic and metal foil capsules, shift towards cans to halve carbon footprint per drink.
UK People
Consumers show less concern about the origin of wine, with major brands like Yellow Tail, Casillero, and Jacobs Creek having significant brand power. There is a declining knowledge among consumers, especially Generation Treaters, who show less interest in mainstream brands.
UK Place Off trade outlook
80% of wine sales occur off-trade through major retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda, M&S, the Co-op, Aldi, and Lidl.
Online sales have increased post-pandemic, with Aldi and Lidl gaining influence through their EDLP model, but consumers are used to saving 25% or more in supermarkets during cyclical promotional periods- Martin 80% tesco on promotion.
Over 1000 independent wine shops are present, run by 777 businesses, showing over 50% increase in ten years
UK Place Ontrade- Bibendum report
2023
Grower champagne now appears in at least 50% of tracked restaurants.
75% of red wine drinkers are interested in drinking English still wine.
Wine MODE 2022 saw a range of indigenous grape varieties listing increase Greece – Xinomavro (+70%) Assyritko (+45%)
UK 2024
Portuguese wines are still niche, accounting for 0.3% of MAT still wine volumes, but there are already signs of growth (+7.8% vs. last year).
Known for its youthful qualities and vibrant acidity, Vinho Verde is also seeing a growth in popularity. Vinho Verde bottle listings appear in at least one out of two MODE restaurant listings.
UK Place Off trade trends- coop
We are outperforming the market with our sales but at market level
Red wine is in the most decline (value sales of red -9.4%, white -5%, Rose -3.7% - Neilsen 52 week data)
People trading up in classic areas (eg I sell quite a lot of £22 Finca Notables Malbec and £20 Cune Imperial Reserva)
exploring more unusual grapes (Mencia, Mazuelo, Portuguese white field blends, Greco, we have a new Swiss Gamaray in own label, new Pais from Chile etc)
Portugal is seeing significant growth, driven both by the success of the brand Porta Seis and by Portugal being the number one holiday destination for UK tourists.
Sarah Benson coop
UK Price
The UK market is highly price-sensitive, with excise duty at £2.23 per bottle and a VAT of 20%.
Wine prices are rising, with the average on-trade price now £44, reflecting a 9% increase in line with inflation.
The average selling price in the total market is £6.52, driven mostly by increased costs.
Consumers are drinking less but better, with faster growth at price points above £9 and £10.- Sarah
with Aldi and Lidl gaining influence through their EDLP model, but consumers are used to saving 25% or more in supermarkets during cyclical promotional periods- Martin 80% tesco on promotion.
People trading up in classic areas (eg I sell quite a lot of £22 Finca Notables Malbec and £20 Cune Imperial Reserva) Sarah Benson
UK Product Champagne
Market Normalization Post-Covid.
Shipments dropped by 8-9% in 2023.
James Simpson MW expects stabilization at 25-27 million bottles annually.
Return to Traditional Trading: Post-Christmas discounting on Champagne becoming common again in the UK, despite a decrease in high-end sales offset by demand from London’s West End.
Simpson highlights the need for stable pricing.
Brand Resilience and Quality: Despite market fluctuations, strong brand quality contributes to resilience in the industry. Simpson emphasizes the importance of competitive pricing to promote sales.
UK Product Sparkling
Sparkling wine is the only wine type to record volume growth from 2016 to 2021 (2,4%)., driven by Prosecco accounting for 70% of volume.
Prosecco DOC Consorzio, December 2023 Campaign: Spent over £250,000 on UK campaign to distinguish Prosecco from common effervescent wines.
Champagne volume has fallen significantly in sub-£30 price bands.
Alexandra Mawson, Champagne and Sparkling Wine Buyer, Waitrose: Sales of crémant have overtaken Cava, with a 51% increase over the past three months compared to last year.
UK Product Trends
62% of beverages volume is beer vs 19% wine.
“Premium rosé remains a very strong part of the market; it’s very interesting. It feels like it is behaving more like the Champagne category.” Matt Wilkin MS-
Sarah Benson: We are seeing switching into Rose from white and sparkling.
Malbec, Carmenere, and Moscato are trending in red and white categories. The market is also exploring unusual grapes like Mencia and Mazuelo.
“I can see a big opportunity for South African Sauvignon Blanc now that New Zealand’s prices are largely £10-plus in the off-trade.”
UK Product Private labels
Sarah It can’t be hard to compete with big brands with big marketing budgets but for me I’ve found that using Premium own label has been a way to grow Chile beyond the market leader Concha Y Toro.
Our Casablanca Pinot Noir outsold their Cono Sur brand so I took the brand out. Own label is strong for us because Coop members get £0.02 back in every £1 they spend on own label but also we give £0.02 back for every pound they spend to Community causes (that is causes nominated by local communities such as sports groups, art classes, funding park renovations etc) we’ve given £117 million to community causes since 2016.
Members are also keen to be involved and feed back – I had 115,000 members involved with designing the label for my new Pais wine but also 7000 members feedback on my fortified wine range and told me they wanted a white Port – so I brought one in.
