Italian wine, sales in GDO in US, Germany and Uk grow again, albeit slightly

Just as Italian wine exports certainly do not shine, at least according to Istat data on the first 7 months of 2023 (-1.2% in value and -1.5% in volume compared to the same period in 2022), it is not surprising that sales in the large-scale retail chains of the main markets for Italian wine also continue to be “stingy with satisfaction”, as the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) Observatory defines them on a Nielsen-IQ basis. Although some timid signs of awakening are arriving: in the first 9 months, the overall performance at the shelf in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom is timidly veering into positive territory, at +0.4% in volumes (it was -0.2% in the first half of the year), for a total value of more than 3.3 billion euros, up +1.9%. Overall, in the three countries, the trend demand for sparkling tricolour wines falls in volume (-2%), while still wines rise by 1.2% (2.15 billion euros), for a total of 3.4 million hectoliters or 452 million 0.75-liter bottles.
The stationary performance - notes the Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv) Observatory - is found in all markets, between highs and lows depending on the types. Among the good news is the volumic growth of sparkling wines in the U.S. (+3.7%) and that of the still wine market in Germany and Uk (around +4%), thanks in part to significant improvements in Primitivo, Montepulciano and Nero d'Avola. On the other hand, in the world’s first market, still wines from the Belpaese suffer (-6.6%), while the changes in sparkling wines in Uk and Germany are negative and stand at -5.9% and -1.4%, respectively. The final tally marks Uk stable (+0.1%), Germany in positive ground (+3.9) and the U.S. still down (-3.5%).
And, just in the United States, the influence in the large-scale retail trade of the U.S. brand that markets “low alcohol” products with fruit flavors from Italy and, in particular, Piedmont is still high: out of a total of 906 million euros, related to purchases of tricolor “table wines” (still and sparkling wines, excluding sparkling wines), the American Italian wine company sums up sales of 341 million euros, with an incidence on sales of the type at 38%.
“The phenomenon”, said Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv) secretary general Paolo Castelletti, “should give our supply chain pause for thought, because it is a synthesis of the multi-target potential of wine in a phase of strong transition in consumption trends. The Italian model clearly remains the traditional one of high quality and the appellation system, but this does not exclude opening up to more “secular” forms of production, with “contaminations” that pander to a young demand that is increasingly disengaged and often attentive to alcoholic content. The U.S. player, also exploiting the Italy brand, has increased its business by 500% in the last 7 years, and this is certainly no coincidence”.