Wine industry not engaging well with millennials
The wine industry is not succesfully engaging with millennials, and needs to rethink its approach to this demographic, according to Silicon Valley Bank wine division executive vice president Rob McMillan.
He pointed out that the wine industry now has two large cohorts with very different values, namely the millennials and generation X. “While the language of wine suits the experienced consumers, who may want to geek out when buying and discussing wine, it needs to be evolved in order to communicate better with the younger set,” he said.
Something that is of particular importance to younger wine drinkers is nutritional and calorific information, and McMillan said that as a producer you can't talk about the health benefits of alcohol but can list a product’s calorie count, as well as that is it gluten free and has all-natural flavours if that is the case.
While average purchasesa are up at wine tasting rooms, visits had consistently been dropping in Napa since 2017, said McMillan. However, this could be because the younger generation do not want to spend so much on a bottle of wine.
Tammy Boatright, president of Ving Direct, a company that helps wineries growth their DtC sales suggested that wineries might invest in smaller samples, or even introduce an entry level brand for such a demographic.
Lisa Kislak, chief marketing officer at Crimson Wine Group said that wineries should approach younger buyers individually and personalize their shopping experience, which could include sending them smaller samples of wine at home, which would represent a smaller financial commitment.
Boatright pointed out that food delivery companies have had great success in regularly selling $40 weekly food kits to a younger demographic so perhaps the wine sector could learn something from their example and follow suit with smaller sizes and entry level pricing.