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What's Happening?

Consumers have an openness to alternative wine packaging options, post pandemic

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The results of the second annual Great BIG Wine Survey (GBWS) – sponsored by Hollard –have been released. And they are fascinating!

The survey garnered insights from more than 7 000 wine consumers with varying backgrounds, drawn from across the spectrum of demographics, gender, age, household income and home languages in South Africa.

The results were presented during a webinar attended by industry role-players and wine producers. The presentation reflected on the current landscape of the local wine industry and the behaviour patterns of consumers when it comes to wine.

“Not so long ago, the entire business community was severely affected by the global pandemic. This forced many businesses to re-evaluate and reposition themselves, and adjust their product offerings for the changing environment,” said Andries Wiese, National Business Development Manager at Hollard.

“Today, this GBWS has given local wine producers and industry role-players a new perspective on the spending and consumption patterns of consumers in the South African wine industry. The opportunity is now on the industry players to take these insights and turn them into intelligence that can improve their offerings. This can lead to better market penetration, greater service, more personalised interactions with the end consumer and, overall, better business.”

Pieter van Niekerk, Chief Intelligence Officer and Managing Partner of Vintelligence said he is thrilled to have partnered with Hollard in making these valuable insights available to the wine industry.

One of the results he found particularly fascinating from the survey, he said, is the openness to alternative packaging options for wines among South Africans.

“We have found that consumers are more open to bag and box and canned wines in South Africa, and this gives rise to further opportunities for local wine producers. What we see is that the rebound of the wine industry, in a post-COVID-19 world, is being driven by bag and box wines. There are already close to 40 new brands that entered the market post pandemic and consumers are embracing it,” he said.

Commenting on the survey results, Josie Matterson, Senior Consultant: Insights at KLA Market Research, said that wine producers are reaching high volumes of consumers at food and wine festivals and pairing events. Therefore, they should continue to tap into this market and get more involved in these types of lifestyle events.

“We are proud to have been part of this remarkable feat. After conducting a comprehensive survey of the country’s domestic wine consumers, we hope the insights gleaned will go a long way towards helping our local wine producers gear up for more tremendous success. That is how we create and secure better futures in South Africa,” concluded Wiese.