Sales of sparkling wines at Christmas and New Year’s must have growth of at least 15%, says industry

For the sparkling wine market, the year 2022 should end with plenty of reasons to toast. With social gatherings, Christmas and Réveillon, this year’s sales should grow by at least 15%, compared to 2021. Last year, 21 million liters of the drink were sold.

The data are from the Brazilian Union of Viticulture (Uvibra), disclosed exclusively to CNN Until October, sales have already increased by around 7%.

According to Daniel Panizzi, President of Uvibra, historically, the last four months of the year concentrate 30% to 40% of sales of sparkling wines, a result that is driven mainly by the month of December.

Production is based on the grape harvest, and as sales are concentrated in the last four months, at the beginning of the year the wineries are already preparing to arrive this month with stock to meet demand.

beyond the sparkling

For a long time, beer dominated the preference and space in the glass of Brazilians with a large advantage, but with the restrictive measures, caused by the pandemic, wine and sparkling wine glasses are no longer used only on special dates and started to be, increasingly more, part of everyday life.

After reaching levels never reached before, this year the wine sector was already expecting a drop in numbers, which actually happened. Data from ideal consulting, a consultancy specializing in the wine market, show that from January to October this year, there was a drop of around 10% in the volume of stock of the drink in Brazil. The calculation is made from the sum in millions of liters of the commercialization of national wineries with imports.

“I believe that the economic problem, in Brazil and in the world, is really the main factor for this market slowdown and reduction of retail investment in relation to the volume of existing stock. Today we have a decrease in demand and high interest rates that affect profitability”, says Felipe Galtaroça, president of Ideal Consulting.

Still according to the consultancy, despite the drop, when compared to the pre-pandemic period, the 2022 numbers are even better.

Even with this market movement, after just completing 20 years of existence, Grand Cru, one of the largest wine importers in Latin America, has plenty of reasons to celebrate.

According to CEO Alexandre Bracci, in 2022, when compared to the previous year, the company grew in virtually all channels. 40% on On Trade, which are restaurants, and 20% on Off Trade, which are supermarkets. Also according to the CEO, in stores and franchises growth reaches around 10%.

“This growth is due to several factors, we structured our team very well. We have a very strong portfolio, we opened many stores. Last year there were 35 Grand Cru stores and this year we are opening another 20 stores. It is an effect of taking more wines to more regions, in a structured way”, explains Alexandre Bracci.

According to the CEO, in addition to the increase in consumption in recent years, it was possible to notice a change in behavior in relation to the types of wines chosen. Whites and rosés fell in favor with Brazilians and this expanded the market even more, after all, if before wine was considered by many to be a winter drink, now it is present in all seasons, including summer.

“It is an important change, 10 years ago we had a lot of prejudice with white wines and much more with rosé wines. Now there is a change, where more and more white and rose wines are being consumed”, he says.

The goal of the company, which works with online and physical stores, is to close 2022 with more than 5 million and 500 thousand bottles imported and 11 million and 800 thousand bottles sold. For 2023, the expectation is to continue harvesting the good suffering and open at least 20 new franchises and 6 stores.

“ We foresee a stable market in wine consumption. So, 100% of our growth does not come from new consumers, but from gaining market share. 2022 was a year of great investment in corporate culture, in new systems, in new platforms. Undoubtedly, it will be a challenging year, whether politically or economically, but I believe that we have prepared well, to make 2023 a very beautiful year ahead”.

wine clubs

A service that grows more and more in the country is the wine subscription. Today, one of the biggest subscription clubs in the world is Wine, founded in Brazil in 2008. According to German Garfinkel, director of supply and b2b for the group, the company ended the third quarter of 2022 with 351 thousand active subscriptions, an increase of 70 thousand compared to the same period in 2021.

“At the end of 2018, we had 115,000 active subscriptions to Clube Wine and, today, there are 351,000. In other words, since then, the membership base has tripled. In addition, we had net revenue of BRL 201.2 million in the third quarter of 2022, a growth of 24.9% compared to the same period last year”.

Despite the economic challenges forecast for 2023, the director believes that the trend is for the wine market to consolidate more and more in Brazil.

“People rarely leave our category and that is a very advantageous characteristic. In other words, there is no such thing as an ex-wine drinker. Brazilian consumers are eager for novelties, such as new wineries in different regions, which is why new categories are being successful and well evaluated by Clube Wine members”, said the executive.

With an eye on the heated demand at the end of the year, the company has just inaugurated a temporary kiosk, set up in the Morumbi shopping mall, in the south zone of São Paulo. In addition to wine kits, the space also offers gift certificates with a 3-month subscription to the club.

“We already operate with 17 physical stores located in areas with a high concentration of partners, but we had not yet introduced the brand in malls. The concept of the kiosk in a high-traffic mall comes to position wine as the perfect gift for Christmas”, he concludes.