Home  /  Analysis

Human resilience as well as lessons from the past will help the wine industry face into climate change, according to a group of experts speaking at the Act for Change Symposium in Bordeaux this week.

As social media becomes increasingly competitive for drinks brands, platforms are changing their business models to propel paid content to the top of consumers’ feeds. However, what happens to brands relying on organic engagement? 

Earlier this month, Drinks Retailing caught up with Sogevinus CEO Sergio Marly Caminal and international business manager João Tamagnini Belo at Prowein. The company’s flagship Kopke port is the main focus for the producer, with a 50-year-old Tawny and 50-year-old White Port being unveiled at the show. But elsewhere, Sogevinus has big plans for tourism and still wine

Last July, Treasury Wine Estates’ Tony Watson switched from commercial director for UK & Ireland to be the EMEA general manager at the new Premium Brands division. Almost a year into the job, Watson tells Lucy Britner about taking 19 Crimes beyond wine, a non-alcoholic Wolf Blass and TWE’s financial commitments to sustainability.

Drinks specialist Belle Lawrence from social media consultant Immediate Future uses Brandwatch analytics to deliver insights into at-home drinking habits

Waitrose has released its Drinks Report 2022, highlighting some of the key trends in beer, wine and spirits. From the rise in retro cocktails to eco-conscious bag-in-box wines, Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, trading director for BWS, said consumers are becoming “increasingly keen to expand their horizons when it comes to their drinks cabinet”. 

NielsenIQ 2021 data shows its boom time for big beer brands, with the category taking six of the top 10 spots in the list of biggest alcohol brands. Diageo does well in the spirits list, with Smirnoff , Gordon’s, Baileys, Captain Morgan and Bell’s Original all featuring. With the recent delisting of Russian products by major retailers, Russian Standard is unlikely to make the cut for 2022.

From rebounding Champagne exports to the growing popularity of relatively new kid rosé Prosecco, it turns out there’s a sparkling wine for pretty much every occasion – and every price point. According to trade organisation Comité Champagne, total shipments of Champagne in 2021 rose to 322 million bottles, an increase of 32% over 2020. Early indications from the Comité suggest the UK received an estimated 29 million of those bottles – up from 21.3 million in 2020 and 27.2 million in 2019.

NielsenIQ’s Total Till sales report for April has revealed a steep decline in beer, wine and spirits sales across UK supermarkets. Alongside confectionery, the alcoholic drinks category saw the greatest decline in sales (-17.6%) compared to last year’s data. Overall, grocery sales dropped 4.1% over the last four weeks ending March 26, continuing the monthly downward trend seen in 2022.

Covid has accelerated the use of technology in store by probably three to four years,” says Duncan Potter, chief marketing officer at Pricer, a company that makes electronic shelf labels. The system allows retailers to change prices in real time, in line with promotions, and labels can also feature flashing LED lights and corresponding barcodes, allowing staff to find stock more easily.

To celebrate International Women's Day - and Women's History Month - Drinks Retailing has spoken to women across the trade about how they got started in their career and what advice they would give to others hoping to follow a similar path. 

In 2020, Accolade Wines renamed its Accolade Park production site to The Park, as it looked beyond its own business to package bulk wine for third parties.

Last year, Charlie Turner (pictured right), co-founder of Penrhos Gin, won a supply contract with Aldi, as part of ‘Grow with Aldi’.

The latest trends predictions from online retailer Master of Malt suggest consumers are still willing to discover new spirits, while the move towards “less but better” remains apparent.

The new wave of flavoured spirits are helping holiday-hungry consumers take a virtual trip, finds Jaq Bayles

It was the drinks category that the phrase “distress purchase” was invented for. When brands like Kaliber, Barbican and Swan Light first laid the foundations for low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer in the late 1970s, the audience was almost exclusively those avoiding drinking and driving – with the beers routinely lacking flavour and body there was little other reason to buy them.

In th­e first of a new technology-focused series, Drinks Retailing takes a closer look at ecommerce. Four-strong London operator The Good Wine Shop is ramping up online sales, while newcomer Mother Vine in Chelsea has recently launched its ecommerce service. Here, the operators share their experiences and expertise.

Dan Hooper, co-founder of YesMore drinks marketing agency asks what the pandemic boom in direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales means for drinks retailers in 2022 and beyond.

Alex Beckett, associate director of Mintel Food & Drink, answers the big questions facing the category

“Social occasions are becoming increasingly diverse,” says Hannah Dawson, head of off -trade category development at Diageo GB. “There has never been a better time for retailers to revamp their low and no drinks offering to deliver on high quality taste and experience.”

Whether they are made by accident or by design, there has never been a better time for vegan drinks, finds Laura Foster. 

Whether a drink is vegan by accident or design could arguably be a moot point if it hasn’t been given official accreditation.

As social media platforms go, Instagram might be one of the trickiest, says Tom Harvey, co-founder of YesMore drinks marketing agency. It seems so easy - pics, followers, likes, shares - but this low barrier to entry hides a complex platform and some cunning algorithms that can require a more strategic approach. 

The UK’s love affair with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is well documented - as is the news that the 2021 vintage was hit by bad weather. The question is, what do suppliers and retailers have lined up for SB-loving consumers?

Luxury and sustainability both feature in the world of gifting this year, as consumers look to treat each other while being kind to the planet, finds Lucy Britner

Nigel Huddleston takes a bird’s eye view of the category

As we approach the festive season, Drinks Retailing explores the key trends in wine, spirits and RTDs shaping this year’s peak sales period

As we approach the festive season, Drinks Retailing explores the key trends in wine, spirits and RTDs shaping this year’s peak sales period

With climate change conference the COP26 Summit just around the corner, drinks companies are working hard to show off their sustainability credentials. Here’s a selection of the latest initiatives across beer, wine, spirits and hard seltzers.

As we approach the run-up to the festive season, Drinks Retailing explores the key trends in wine, spirits and RTDs shaping this year’s peak sales period