Accolade Wines has launched a comprehensive wine report which looks at category development and insight across all trading channels using a wide range of data and industry intelligence.
The report shows that 2017 was a year of change for the £10.8bn UK Total Wine market with volume falling but value rising overall, influenced in part by rising prices and taxes but also by a discernible shift among consumers towards choosing quality over quantity.
The report demonstrates the opportunities and challenges for the wine category and examines the consumer shift in attitudes to alcohol. The content features insights from Wine Nation, an Accolade Wines’ research project, which has charted the habits of 8,000 regular wine drinkers to create a comprehensive picture of their wine consumption since 2006.
Key findings from the 2018 UK Wine Report include:
- While volumes are down, Total BWS market saw value growth of 1.8% in 2017 and still wine value was up 0.8%
- Wines above £6 a bottle have seen value increase, most notably in the £7 to £9.99 price band
- Sparkling Wine is the only alcoholic drink category to have seen increased purchase in 2017 with 8.7% value growth in the off-trade and a massive 22.7% in the on-trade
- Prosecco has driven a 23.3% growth in on-trade volumes of sparkling wine with Total Champagne down a bubble-bursting 17.6%
- In terms of origin, New Zealand is the only country to see double digit volume growth with off-trade up 11.1% and the on-trade 6.7%
- Around 20% of the adult population is teetotal and there is a general trend towards moderation
Andrew Nunney, Accolade’s Category, Shopper and Insights Director, said: “Our long-term investment in the Wine Nation research has enabled Accolade Wines to segment the market and pinpoint the needs and motivations that drive each consumer group to buy wine. The opportunity to capture new wine drinkers and help them develop into more confident, regular wine buyers will be realised by tapping into four key opportunities delivering the right product, with the right message, in the right location.”
These four opportunities are:
- Food for Tonight: positioning wine as the perfect accompaniment for the evening meal
- Perfect For: development of pack formats to play a part in convenience options for in-home and outdoor occasions
- No and Low: catering for the increasing demand for greater variety
- Blurring of brand categories: where established drink brands move into unfamiliar categories such as Echo Falls Summer Berries Vodka
