The wine industry has gone through several major changes in the last few years, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and consumers’ evolving interests in wine. What does 2022 have in store for the wine industry? And how will these predicted changes affect consumers?
Wine Intelligence, the global leader in wine consumer research and insights, has now released its predictions for the wine industry in 2022. Some of these predictions were not surprising, but a few were not on my radar.
1. Wine Producers Will Move Away from Heavy Glass Bottles
Consumers favor weighty glass wine bottles. Studies show that glass bottles look good, they’re perceived as holding quality wine, and are viewed as more sustainable than, say, wine in a box.
However, heavy bottles account for at least 29 percent of a wine’s carbon footprint. They’re also more expensive than lighter-weight glass bottles, both in terms of raw material costs and transportation expenses. Since winemakers would prefer not to increase the prices consumers pay for wine, a major prediction for the wine industry in 2022 is that we will see a shift from heavy glass bottles to lighter ones and less “unnecessary” packaging.
2. The Premiumization Trend Will Continue
The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a movement of people drinking higher quality wine at home, since they weren’t spending their money on travel or going out. Wine producers capitalized on that, attempting to emphasize their wine’s superiority and exclusivity. Wine Intelligence believes that this “premiumization” trend will continue. For one, some consumers, especially older people, will not venture out so long as the pandemic is a threat, and will continue to spend their money on higher-end wine to drink at home. In addition, Millennials tend to drink less wine compared to older people, but when they do, they often prefer to drink better quality wine.
3. Higher-End Wine Will Need to Join the Sustainability Bandwagon
Wine drinkers are consuming more luxury wine, but are also increasingly interested in the sustainability of their wine. Wine producers will need to embrace sustainable wine practices, particularly if they want to attract younger drinkers.
“When the tide of disposable income starts to ebb, as it surely will when inflation starts eating away at household incomes and travel reopens fully in the next year, consumers are likely to become more discriminatory in how they spend their money. The usual quality-and-heritage pitch will no longer be sufficient,” warns Wine Intelligence.
4. The Ready to Drink (RTD) Market Will Offer More Lower Alcohol Products
We’re about to see more portable, RTD single-serving wine options, such as canned wine and small wine bottles. However, these single-serve drinks will increasingly focus on lower alcohol formulations, so they’ll not necessarily contain wine itself but more of a wine-based drink. Wine Intelligence predicts that this growth will be led by sparkling wine producers.
5. The Industry Won’t be Immune to Labor Pressures
While the wine industry has historically attracted top talent, it will see competition from other industries, notably technology companies that can pay high salaries. A re-evaluation of the labor force is also occurring in the hospitality and restaurant industries, where staff salaries are rising due to labor shortages. This will trickle down into the wine industry.
“As with many other industries, wine is going to need to up its game in 2022, not just in terms of money, but also in its ability to offer more holistic rewards to its workforce,” says Wine Intelligence.
We hope these predictions for the wine industry in 2022 give you a glimpse of what to expect in the wine world this year. Do you agree with these predictions for the wine industry? Do you have any additional ones? Please feel free to contact us and share your thoughts. We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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