Details from the Field: What’s Trending in the Wine Industry

In our latest interview series, we discussed with John Doré-  Founder & CEO of Cannd Limited– many exciting facts about the emerging changes in the wine market. Cannd wine is a no-nonsense wine brand that comes in sustainable and infinitely recyclable aluminum cans, with a mission to democratize the wine experience with no compromise on taste.

Global Wine Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.10% during the forecast period 2019-2027 according to our Market Report. Wine is a fermented drink made from one or more varieties of fruits (grapes, berries, or peaches). The addition of yeast initiates the fermentation process after which the product is preserved for aging to enrich its quality and eventually packaged for commercialization. In general, darker the color of wine, the longer is the aging process. It contains approximately 9-14% alcohol, and the ones with higher alcohol content are known as fortified wines. Such wines are blended alcohol or brandy with alcohol content ranging around 20%. Wine is considered to be one of the elitist products within the Alcoholic Beverage Market.

Vendors operating within the wine market are focused on promoting their products based on variety, flavor, calorie content and packaging to lure target consumers into purchasing their beverages. For instance, demand for canned wine is splurging due to its on-the-go consumption; it is light and convenient to carry and easy to transport. Besides, it is single-serve and convenient for outdoor consumption. The millennial population dominates this market and is chiefly responsible for changing the perception of wine consumption, preferring to drink it chilled or with ice. The metal can packaged wine provides them the options of purchasing chilled, smaller, and on-the-go pack sizes.

Wine Industry

Our interview with John was intended to obtain first-hand information and knowledge about a relatively new concept of the market. Even though wine is a mature market, the transformation towards canned wine has kindled curiosity on parameters like demand & experience of the product’s new packaging.

The concerns for environmental threats has impelled the use of recyclable packaging. This is majorly attributed to elevating the acceptance of canned wine over its conventional counterparts. Another critical factor for positive growth is the demanding benefits, along with the exponential recognition amid the generation Y, pioneering a shift towards traditional wine consumption.

Our analyst, Prashant Khedekar, had a conversation with John Doré of Cannd to understand more about the company and know about their innovative product line in the wine market.

 

  1. At present, the sales of canned wine are still at the nascent stage, (According to Nielsen, less than 1% of total wine sales). How do you expect the sales of canned wines to grow over the next 5-6 years? What factors would be responsible for its growth?

We see significant growth in canned wine over the next 5-6 years driven predominately by the millennial drinkers looking for innovations in drinking as well as products that fit their lifestyle, convenience, sustainability and more responsible drinking (i.e., smaller formats).

Sustainability is a key global driver; aluminum cans are infinitely recyclable and reduce transport costs & carbon footprints due to their weight advantage over traditional glass bottles.

We have also seen significant growth in the US where canned wines have seen a 45% increase in sales year on year, parallel with the beer category – craft beer in particular.  Cans now account for 30% of total beer volume in the UK.

 

  1. Canned wine has several advantages such as, eco-friendly, low carbon footprint, easily recyclable. Can you shed some light on some more prominent advantages that canned wine boasts over other packaging types?

Portability is a key area that canned wines have been focusing on as an advantage over traditional packaging types. Cans are unbreakable so much safer and lighter than glass to carry in your bag, to a picnic or festival and even on your bicycle panniers. 

Aluminum cans also offer a powerful barrier against light and oxygen that can affect a wine’s flavor and freshness. Besides, they chill faster than other materials. So, consumers can enjoy their chilled wine much sooner!

 

  1. A number of customers relate to cheaper prices of canned bottles to lower quality wine. What steps should a winemaker take in order to tackle such consumer expectations and perceptions?

I think building a strong brand will be crucial in overcoming any perception as well as encouraging and driving trial. 

At Cannd we are positioning our canned wine as quality no-nonsense wine, which we believe solves the problem in this category where there are too many choices and difficulty in navigating to a wine that you will enjoy drinking. 

Prioritizing marketing is also important to change perceptions. For Cannd, context is vital, and working with relevant partners and influencers where we can share common brand values and consistent messaging to contribute the positioning of canned wine as a quality product.

  1. It is widely known that “the older the wine gets, the better it tastes.” Do canned wines neglect this old saying, eliminating the aging factor as several wine producers mostly agree that canned wine is designed to be consumed soon after buying? Also, if one opens a can of wine, then probably will have to end up drinking the whole thing?

Cannd wine is all about no-nonsense and disrupting traditional wine experiences. 

Our wine is designed to be consumed now, and we will be focusing our distribution and marketing around those occasions and opportunities where our customers want a good quality wine to drink there and then. 

The fact that all our wine also comes in 250ml formats (which equates to either large glass or two small ones) with 12-month expiry date stamps also reinforces this behavior.  I don’t see our wine ending up on wine racks or cellars for years to come! 

 

  1. How does the popularity of Bag-in-Box wine is affecting canned wines?

The growth in Bag-In-Box another innovation in wine is only helping to grow the overall category. Any product or packaging innovation that disrupts the traditional marketplace is a good thing for canned wine.

Our proposition is slightly different from B-in-B in that we have smaller volume formats and have a stronger sustainability story with aluminum vs. plastic.

  1. BPA, or the epoxy that contains bisphenol A is used for maximum preservation of canned contents. Does this mean that canned wine has the potential risk attributed to BPA?

There is still much ongoing research into the effects of BPA and the epoxy bisphenol A on canned products. It is currently very hard to know definitively how a can of wine (or its liner) could cause harm and to what extent. We are working closely with our canning partners to ensure we are using safer non-BPA liners for all our canned wine products going forward.