In the first half of 2024, the return of Australia wine will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the entire imported wine market. As the share of Australia's wine increased, the volume of imported wine rose overall, with an overall increase of 20.7% year-on-year and a year-on-year increase of 1.84%. At the same time, the share of major importing countries such as France (35.8%), Chile (15.09%), Italy (7.48%) and Spain (3.63%) has further shrunk and concentrated in Australia (24.55%).
However, New Zealand wines have shown remarkable resilience and potential in the process. New Zealand ranked seventh in the import value of original bottled wine from January to June 2024, and maintained a slight increase in value despite the trend of market share erosion, with an increase of 0.7% year-on-year.
For this data, many New Zealand importers said that it is consistent with the actual market situation. The importer of Misty Cove Wines in New Zealand said: "From the agency of the Fog Bay brand in 2022 to the present, the import volume has increased every year, even if the overall consumption desire is lower this year, but as a table wine brand, we have been less affected, with an increase of 30%-40% in July this year compared to the same period last year." ”
There is no doubt that the rapid growth of New Zealand wine in the Chinese market is inseparable from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is not only fresh and rich, crisp in taste, but also has unparalleled purity and aroma richness, and its highly recognizable characteristics have not only become the brand power of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but also broadened the consumer group and consumption scene.
Delving into the reasons behind the gratifying growth of Fog Bay Winery, the importer believes that as a new company, it will have more room for growth than natural, in addition, accurate brand positioning, solid wine quality and scientific and reasonable distributor system are also the key factors to promote the steady growth of Fog Bay. "Although we don't have a particularly large dealer, but the investment effect of each exhibition is very good, of course, there will be the loss of dealers, but the overall sales and sales are growing." The importer added.
Another New Zealand winery, Jebsen, an agent of Astrolabe, also said that sales in the first half of this year did continue to grow. "On the whole, dealers' business is not doing well this year, but relatively speaking, some brands or some production areas have performed better. From the beginning of the agency of the astrolabe winery to the present more than two years, there has been growth every year, this year we are doing a promotion for terminal stores, to a certain extent, also to promote the growth of sales. ”
Promotion does not refer to the direct sale of products at a discount, but to promote terminal sales, and the brand side gives more support. In the case of relatively stable dealers, brand agents help dealers develop more catering terminals through supportive policies for store promotion, such as encouraging stores to open bottles and cup sales, providing corresponding subsidies for losses, and giving support to materials such as Taiwan cards, so as to help dealers promote terminal sales.
Depending on the brand, the product positioning and sales channels will change accordingly. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc because of its easy-to-drink nature, the F&B channel has become the main sales position for most brands. For traditional veteran agents, compared with blindly developing regional dealers to fight prices, they are also more willing to maintain existing dealers, help dealers develop more terminals, and promote the dynamic sales of terminal catering stores through marketing activities, so as to form a benign sales closed loop.
In terms of product segments, the market situation has also undergone some changes this year. In previous years, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was mostly fruity, fresh and easy to drink, but in this year's market, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is more diverse. Most brands offer Sauvignon Blanc that has been aged in oak barrels, and the wine has a more complex and full-bodied taste.
The agent of Astrolabe Winery said that the appearance of the barrel Sauvignon Blanc also reflects the market demand to a certain extent. "In fact, we have just introduced the new product of Sauvignon Blanc this year, because we saw that there was an upward trend in this production area, so we thought that we could expand the product line upwards and try to push some more. The actual feedback effect is still good, and everyone can generally feel that the taste of the barrel of Sauvignon Blanc will be richer. ”
With the Sauvignon Blanc trend in New Zealand, this category has also become attractive to high-end private group buying customers. The price of the classic style New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the catering terminal is about two or three hundred yuan, which has a certain gap with the consumption level of private group buying customers, so the market has also given birth to higher quality barrel New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to match the private group buying customer groups with higher spending power.
Although it seems that the demand for higher-quality New Zealand barrel Sauvignon Blanc is still small, the expansion of the category has undoubtedly broadened the consumer base of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand.
Unlike boutique wine brands such as Fog Bay Winery and Astrolabe Winery, which focus on catering channels, New Zealand's century-old brand Baiqi Winery has a large output, a wide range of channels, and a more comprehensive perception of market changes. "Judging from the market feedback, last year was the best year for sales, but it was also the most competitive year," said the importer of Baiqi Winery, "The import data is increasing year by year, and the number of importers is also increasing year by year, and the increase in importers is greater than the increase in import volume, so the competition is more severe." ”
In recent years, with the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, there are more and more low-priced alcohols online, resulting in a continuous decline in the average price of Sauvignon Blanc. "The average price used to be 150 yuan, but now the average price has fallen below 100 yuan, because in recent years, most of the importers who do Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand are making low-priced wine." The importer of Baiqi Winery said, "On the other hand, the direct procurement model of large supermarkets such as Sam's and Hema has a low markup rate and large volume, which not only squeezes the market share of channel providers, but also quickly pulls down the average price of entry-level Sauvignon Blanc." ”
According to China's food and livestock import and export data, the average import price of bottled wine in New Zealand in 2022 is US$12.15 / liter, the highest average price among the main import sources, and by January to June in the first half of this year, the average import price of bottled wine in New Zealand has dropped to US$9.36 / liter, behind Australia (US$22.07 / liter), United States (US$11.16 / liter), and France (US$10.71 / liter).
"At a time when the overall market environment is weak, customers will inevitably need a lower price of wine, so small label wine is in line with such demand." In recent years, with the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc small label wines with lower prices have also quietly appeared in the market. The importer said: "In fact, many customers are making small label wine for the first time, and they feel that New Zealand is on fire all of a sudden, and it should be very good, but after really doing it, they find that it is not so easy, so they order once or twice, and then they don't do it again." ”
Small label wine, that is, wine that is only labeled with basic parameters in the country of origin, and is sold in the bonded area according to customer requirements after entering the Chinese market. This model has a low threshold and flexible order volume, which on the one hand can provide small businesses with the opportunity to enter the market, on the other hand, it may also cause quality problems, which not only affects the consumer experience, but also may affect the healthy development of the entire imported wine market. Although the price of Sauvignon Blanc is slightly lower at present, the sustainability is still weak due to the lack of brand support.
With the continuous evolution of the wine market, New Zealand wines have undoubtedly occupied a place in the market with their unique quality and taste, and with the gradual expansion of the brand effect and market share of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the early regional dividends are gradually disappearing, and the market is returning to normal.
In this context, fierce market competition and changing consumer demand are unavoidable topics at this stage, whether it is product upgrades, optimization of the distributor system, strengthening marketing activities, or improving consumer experience, New Zealand wine importers and agents are constantly innovating and adjusting to respond to the changing market demand, showing strong vitality and development potential.
Text, ed Lan Xi
图 | New Zealand Winegrowers Inc