Alcohol - wine 2025: Wine giants losing out to own label

Wine drinkers are getting hammered by inflation. Rising raw material costs, duty increases and EPR fees have driven “higher shelf prices and reduced promotional depth” across the category, says Alice Chrystal, NIQ senior analytics executive.

Inevitably, this has led to a “shift toward value-seeking and more strategic purchasing”, she adds.

In that context, still wine’s showing doesn’t seem so shoddy. Value’s down just 0.8% on volumes that have slid 3%. Sales are being propped up by own label – which has added £29.2m – and a small number of standout brands.

“Own label is performing well. Every retailer is focused on it,” says Caroline Thompson-Hill, M&S head of BWS. “It’s no longer about trading down from brands. If you look at premium own label, it’s driving a huge amount of growth.”

That’s bad news for mainstream labels like Hardys and McGuigan, which have seen value slide by £29.9m and £15.6m respectively. “Brands that declined in value often struggled to keep pace with changing consumer expectations and market dynamics,” says Chrystal.

Those that have fared better have “embraced premium positioning, offering quality cues that resonate with shoppers looking to upgrade”. They’re also adept at “leveraging social media, influencer partnerships, and lifestyle branding” to win over younger shoppers.

That’s certainly true of La Vieille Ferme, the viral ‘chicken wine’. It’s added £63.3m on volumes that have soared 62.8%. That’s the second-largest absolute value gain across all of BWS. La Vieille Ferme’s UK & Ireland MD, Andrew Bayley, attributes the performance to “increased consumer demand, depth of distribution and ROS” as well as a focus on sustainable formats like bag-in-box and cans.

While conventional wisdom suggests sales of champagne suffer when wallets are squeezed, the opposite has been true. The sector has returned to volume and value growth, driven by a surge in own label. Sales of sparking wine, however, remain decidedly flat.