5 Wine marketing trends led by Millennials
The foundations of winemaking have always been the same – great grapes, proper clean equipment, and a whole lot of skill. On the other hand, the wine marketing industry seems to be changing faster than ever, and most wine brands struggle to come up with successful wine marketing strategies that match the new ways of getting to consumers.
Worry not! A killer wine marketing strategy starts with a bit of research, and this article will point you in the right direction.
When it comes to modern consumption, customer awareness has been shifting towards innovative and sustainable solutions for quite some time. Needless to say, Covid has enhanced and accelerated these trends. Nowadays, those brands with no digital presence, simply do not exist to the eye of the modern consumer.
Most of the modern wine marketing trends have to do with brand values. Consummers appreciate brands being honest, natural, healthy, inclusive, and approachable.
Based on that, here are five innovative trends for you to explore and align with your values:
Label transparency
Green approach with a positive impact
Alternative packaging
Social Media and Influencers
Natural wine
Sounds too much like marketing? Stick with me to learn how to align your own brand values to those Millennial wine consumers appreciate.
1. Label transparency
The next big topic in the wine industry! It entails summing up information on nutritional values, ingredients and their translations, allergens, etc. onto e-labels. So what does a clean label have to do with the success of a brand?
Millennial wine consumers are more aware of what they eat and drink. Wine is just another product in their basket, and they want to know what exactly is it about. While wineries like Ridge in California are leading the way in wine label transparency. Still, there are many other ways of using that back label space to convey your message.
Ridge Wines opts for ingredients labeling, you can learn more here with this video
Did you know that millennials are the ones shaping the demand in the general market? And that “Generations Y and Z accounted for 47% of luxury consumers in 2018”? Since the millennials and gen Z-ers are setting the trends, it would be wise to listen to their needs, which are currently directed at clearer labels. Also, modern consumers are more conscious about their health: no wonder low alcohol, low sulfur, vegan, and organic wines are growing so quickly.
Younger generations explore the products before purchasing, and if you have a transparent label, you can act in advance.
By writing precisely what is in the bottle, you can show customers they can trust you about the ingredients, and process and differentiate you from other wineries. Be creative, and think out of the box. If you really do care about the aesthetics of the back label, use technology in your favour! There are many ways of telling a story: infographics, QR codes and specific apps are the go-to solutions for welcoming the customers to your brand.
2. Green approach with a positive impact
Sustainable ingredients, practices, and packaging – the green approach summed up. These are exactly the values Millennials care about. Generations raised in a world where sustainability awareness was on the rise naturally continue to be mindful about the products they consume. When it comes to wine, they appreciate more and more local producers, organic, vegan, or sustainable wines. Directing your wine storytelling towards the green approach can get you to connect with new and loyal customers. Let your customers know you care about the environment.
🚩The major red flag here: ONLY take this road if your brand values are genuinely in line with sustainable practices. Do not underestimate your consumer. Millennials are pretty tech-savvy and informed; with a vast array of information, they can spot greenwashing. Your consumers know the drill, and they will penalize those brands that are not honest.
Sustainable wine consumers are knowledgable. And they will eventually penalize those brands who understimate that are focusing on merely superficial marketing startegies.
3. Alternative packaging
In line with the green trend, alternative packaging with a sustainable approach is the next big thing. Despite the general misconception that consumers LOVE heavy bottles, low-weight bottles and recyclable alternative packaging are highly valued these days.
Since the creation of the conventional 750 bottles in the 17th century, that has been the only widely accepted packaging format for wine. In the past decade, there has been some innovation going on. Given the characteristics of the wine consumer, the innovative packaging has been more accepted in more mature markets such as the UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the US (East and West Coasts).
Fun fact: the only reason why it is 750 ml (and not any other volume) is that it is the max air capacity of the human lung, and bottles used to be made by blowing the glass, remember? 🤯
While consumers are taking the lead about alternative packaging and, bag-in-box, light bottles, PET bottles, and canned wine are growing big, I ask myself: is the wine industry is ready for innovation?.
Led by Millennials, canned wine usage rates are growing. From a small base, millennials are 50% more likely to buy wine in a can once they are aware the format exists. For members of Gen-Z who are of legal drinking age, they are twice as likely to buy canned wine once they know it exists.
Check out this link for more info on the carbon footprint of alternative wine packaging.
4. Social media and influencers
Social media is here to stay, and if you want your wine brand to be relevant for younger consumers, strengthening your wine marketing with a rock-solid wine social media strategy is the way to go. The sooner your brand builds an organic social media presence, the better. Remember, posting once in a blue moon is far from enough, so consider thinking on a bigger and wider communication strategy for your wine brand, aligned with your overall communication. Mixing pictures with videos, reels,carousels and stories will also help you to increase your engagement.
Are you a bit skeptical of digital marketing and influencers?
Young Americans trust influencers more than celebrities.
And remember when we talked about the importance of transparency and honesty? In the same vein, for young social media users, the most important trait of an influencer is their authenticity. There are tons of different wine influencers, from accredited MWs and sommeliers, experienced wine educators, to fun lifestyle wine lovers that make wine simple and approachable to different crowds. If you know an influencer with a genuine interest in wine, propose a collaboration to introduce your brand to a new set of potential buyers.
There are tons of different types of influencers that target a unique set of consumers, not sure about what an influencer is? Click here
5. Natural wine (low intervention, minimal intervention, zero zero, you call it)
If you think the trend of slow and sustainable food production is slowing down, just remember the great 2020 lockdown sourdough craze. In a world of mass production, customers value production practices that require more time and care, resulting in a superior product. In wine, such principles are found in natural wine, low intervention wine, biodynamic, and zero-zero wine. All of these approaches refer to the purity of the final product, achieved by treating grapes as little as possible, without additives or filtering, and consumers love that! If your wine is made following such principles, make sure to highlight that.
Don’t miss out on the latest natural wine label trends!
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Not sure where to start? To promote your wine, you should begin with learning about your audience and their values. This article presents a way to incorporate the ideals younger generations care about into wine marketing, so there is already a direction to follow. Find a way to communicate that type of honesty, likeableness, and realness into your wine marketing strategy. Keep it real. Don’t undersell your brand or underestimate your consumers. It’s 2021, and it's time to get familiar with digital wine marketing!
