Snob image hurts wine industry
GAP IN MARKET HIGHLIGHTED
THE wine industry needs to undergo serious transformation if it wants to grow its share of the local market.
According to a report based on research conducted by The Moss Group and Consumer Insight Agency and presented at the VinPro’s information day in Cape Town yesterday, there is a huge communication gap between wine producers and their customers.
Some of the consumers surveyed said there was a plethora of wine products flooding the market and the process to either understand or purchase wine was confusing and intimidating.
One research participant described wine as “boring and granny-like”.
He said wine producers spent most of their time creating adverts showing off their vineyards instead of focusing on consumers.
“Even the advertising, they show us vineyards and it has nothing to do with us. If you live in Johannesburg, you probably have never seen a vineyard.”
Another respondent said the words used to describe wine on labels made the process of buying and consuming wine seem as if “it was too much work”.
Consumer Insight Agency chief executive Craig Irving said more than 100 people were interviewed for the study and most of them only knew three or four wine brands.
The Moss Group director Nicky van Hille said the wine industry was in a bad space due to the underperforming economy.
Van Hille said taking advantage of the untapped market could turn the industry’s fortunes around.
“There is so much opportunity in this country and you are sitting on an untapped market second to none,” she said.
She advised wine producers not to take consumers for granted, as there were instances in which the lower end of the market would guzzle expensive bottles of whiskey and beer. The whiskey and beer industries are giving the wine sector a run for its money, Van Hille said.
The research suggested that on average consumers of alcohol products drank 22 bottles of beer, eight bottles of spirits and three bottles of wine per week.
Van Hille said winemakers needed to club together to create a consumer education programme that would increase brand loyalty towards the product.
She was also critical of the revenue generated by the industry.
“What scared us was that 32% goes to government for value-added tax and excise duties and 26% goes to retailers. My question is what is retail doing for you? How is that 26% working for you and how is it making the consumer experience better for you?”