One out of 10 wine bottles in Italy sold on mass distribution is a “private label”

The mass retailers channel is becoming more and important for the wine market. During the lockdown months, due to the fact that restaurants were shut down, and as IRI data revealed, or as WineNews reported leading companies such as COOP’s testimony, the pandemic has accelerated processes that were already underway. There has been an increase in the channel’s wine sales and, most of all the offer is moving more and more towards higher quality products: PDO and PGI. This channel will become even more essential in the future, especially in the winter months, which in all probability will see restaurants in Italy reduce the number of seats, because during the cold season it will be almost impossible to use open spaces and terraces (which really helped out in the last few very challenging months). It is not a coincidence that the many wineries that so far have not put their reference wines on the mass retailers channel, are instead trying hard to enter an already very crowded and competitive structure. In addition, Italian producers have to deal with an increasingly strong competitor; that is, private label wine, which is worth 10% of the market. Marca, the fair dedicated to the BolognaFiere private label, (scheduled for January 13-14, with a new “Wine” space dedicated to the sector) analyzed data from IRI, which revealed that in the first half of 2020, modern distribution sold more or less 1 billion euros, equal to 10.4% of turnover developed thanks to brand wines. Many companies such as COOP, DESPAR or CONAD, to name a few, have been investing assiduously for years, focusing more and more not only on table, but also on denomination wines. The analysis further revealed that during the lockdown, in March and April 2020, the market share of private label wines, for the first time, exceeded the share of 11%, to then fall just a few decimal points less. Value increased in the first 6 months to +19% in the PDO wines segment, +7.5% for TGI wines, +7.5% dry sparkling wines (while dessert wines instead fell to-18.9%), as well as in the carton format (+ 5.4%) and the one-liter and half-liter formats (+ 23.2%). Plus, the classic method sparkling wines sector also showed growth, at + 2.7%. The general situation in the first 6 months of 2020, according to IRI data, revealed the sales of still wines and sparkling wine on the shelves grew + 7.4% in value, and in detail, + 8.2% for still wines and 4% for sparkling wines. The “private label” wine phenomenon needs to be watched carefully, also in Italy, considering the data regarding growth. And the fact that many distributors' brands in various European countries account for 30% of the market, according to data from PLMA, an association founded in 1979 in Amsterdam to promote private labels, and their data has revealed even 40% on strategic markets such as Germany and the United Kingdom.