alcohol calorie labelling, champagne and glasses

Publishing: 15 April

Advertising deadline: 6 April

Submissions deadline: 31 March

Contact: Hannah Stodell (hannahstodell1@gmail.com)

Download the full synopsis here.

The Story

Chin chin! Sparkling wine and Champagne is in strong growth – Brits have splashed out nearly an extra £100m on Prosecco and Champagne in the past year - making it the strongest performing booze sector in grocery. So why are Brits knocking back more fizz? Why are they drinking less still wine? What kinds of wine is on and off trend and what will be the next big thing? Which retailers, brands and wine makers are cashing in? Is anyone being left behind?

Key themes:

Fizzy wine: Sales of Prosecco continue to soar. Champagne is also in strong growth. What’s driving this? To what extent are cheaper prices driving growth? Why is Cava in decline? What about other kinds of fizz such as Asti?

Still wine: Of course, still wine is the biggest part of the market by a long shot, but it’s in decline? Is this because we’re drinking more fizz? Is it being driven by price? Which retailers, brands, grape varieties and types of wine are struggling and who is in growth? What are the emerging trends?

The retail mix: Key to this feature will be a discussion of how different retailers, particularly the discounters, are performing in this market. How do their approaches differ and to what extent are they using the strength of their retailer exclusive and own label wines as a point of difference?

Own label v brands: This feature will explore in detail the factors that have helped own label outgrow brands in wine, a sector in which own label takes up an unusually high proportion of sales (as compared to, say, spirits). How have retailers have changed their branded and own label ranging? Are branded ranges being rationalised?

Innovation: This will be key to this feature. We will be investigating how new product development has shaped the category over the past year and what is in store for shoppers in 2017. We will be profiling four of the most interesting launches in a separate innovation panel.

Promotions: This feature will explore how the promotional strategies of retailers and brands have changed over the past year. Attention will be paid to the promotional strategies of retailers and how this has affected average prices over the past year.

Advertising and marketing: This feature will also investigate how the marketing and advertising strategies of the category’s biggest brands have evolved over the past year and how they will develop in the coming year to sustain growth or return brands to growth.

Key questions the feature is likely to address:

  • What consumer trends have impacted the category over the past year?
  • How have promotional strategies (both in terms of price and marketing) evolved?
  • How have individual retailers’ strategies impacted the market?
  • How has merchandising changed in the market?
  • What’s next for the category?

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