Wine Intelligence has compiled a list of trends and challenges that will affect the wine industry in the new year.
“Wine, like all alcoholic beverages, has proven over the past two years to be one of the most resilient product categories, thanks to its ability to innovate and rapidly shift sales from one channel to another”.
According to Wine Intelligence‘s analysis, there will be 5 major trends in the wine world in 2022, which will bring major new challenges. It will be crucial for companies in the sector to be aware of these trends so that they can start the new year on the right foot and make the most of every possible opportunity. These trends, however, will affect the entire spirits sector and a little bit all major consumer goods chains.
The first trend for 2022 will be in fine wines: they will have to get closer to the theme of sustainability and be able to give greater emphasis to these attributes. “Luxury will have to demonstrate sustainability to attract younger consumers; these brands will have to align their values and actions with those of the next generation of consumers. So they will have to commit to acting in a sustainable way, both from a human and environmental point of view”.
Second, but still linked to sustainability, is the challenge of packaging, or rather the weight of packaging. Most wine consumers still have a deep and visceral attachment to 75cl bottles and think that the glass bottle is a sustainable form of packaging. Wrong! The 750ml glass bottle, weighing 500g, accounts for around 30% of the carbon footprint of wine. It will therefore be essential to start using lighter or recycled packaging in order to have zero-emission packaging.
The third is a trend that has developed in recent years and is set to continue in 2022: premiumisation. This trend was consolidated with the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed consumer preferences and habits. People have decided, and will continue to do so in the new year, to devote a large part of their budget to quality food and drink to enjoy at home.
In fourth place is the trend of wine in cans. In 2021, this trend was very popular in the USA, the UK and many other European countries. The trend is expected to continue its meteoric rise in 2022. Its innovation lies in portable, single-serve packaging and low alcohol content.
“Wine Intelligence’s fifth prediction is that the wine industry needs to fight for the best talent. There are so many areas of work in which talent could be engaged, and then the race for talent risks taking on a new dimension, but one in which the tech giants can count on a different kind of investment”.
The full Wine News article is available here.