Own label a ‘dynamo’ as wine brands flop

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Own label has been “the dynamo of the growth” in wine this year, says Zeynep Pehlivanoglu, BWS consulting lead at NIQ. That’s putting it mildly. In absolute value terms, still wine is the biggest success in own label across the whole of Top Products 2024. It’s added £260.8m. Volumes are up 6.9%.

Similarly in sparkling wine and champagne, own label has outperformed brands in both value and volumes.

One strength of private-label wine is the “different quality level offerings, with premium products as well as standard ones”, Pehlivanoglu says. This has bolstered sales alongside deals such as ‘buy three, save 25%’.

Affordability has also been key. In still wine, the category’s largest sector, own label is 19.6% cheaper per litre than branded.

That’s a major advantage when budgets are squeezed. It means shoppers are “quite comfortable picking up a Tesco Finest”, says Paul Schaafsma, former Accolade Wines CEO. “They know own-label products are delivering quality and value for money.”

In contrast, branded growth was “limited to value sales again this year”, Pehlivanoglu notes. Volumes have fallen across all three sectors by as much as 7.1%, seven of the top 10 still wine brands are in volume decline, and the £41m loss for powerhouse Hardys is the second-biggest across the whole of food and drink this year.

Nice co-founder Jeremy May paints a gloomy picture for branded players. They are simply “not making enough effort to encourage the next generation of consumers”, he says.

Those that have seen success “make the consumer feel connected in a way they can talk about comfortably”, Schaafsma says. This means less focus on vineyards, barrels and appellations, and a greater emphasis on “delivering an experience”.

It’s an approach that has paid dividends for Kylie Minogue Wines’ sparkling range. It’s grown value 18.2% while volumes are up 19.5%. Similarly, social media sensation La Vieille Ferme – with its distinctive chicken logo – has added £28.9m on volumes that jumped 32.3%.

Top Launch 2024

Nice wine bottles | Nice Drinks

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Best known for wine in alternative formats like cans and bag-in-box, challenger brand Nice surprised the category in January by debuting a duo of low-abv wines in a 750ml bottle. It then doubled down in June, launching its first full-strength bottled wines via DTC and Amazon. All carry an rsp of £10. The move will help Nice to break down the “wall of wine that exists in supermarkets” and make the category easier to navigate, promises co-founder Jeremy May.