Analysis & Insights - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Enjoying the great outdoors

Published: 26 May, 2021

With some restrictions easing but others still in place, drinks companies are capitalising on practical solutions to outdoor drinking, as Lisa Riley reports.

Innovation Report: Building strength in numbers

Published: 25 May, 2021

Our Collaboration as a Force for Change webinar looked at how the rapid channel innovation of the past year has broken down barriers for trade. Jo Gilbert reports from the session.

Sizing up Spain

Published: 24 May, 2021

Despite the twin pressures of Covid and Brexit, Spain’s wines have managed to stay in relatively good shape thanks to an uplift in off-trade sales. Andrew Catchpole reports.

Survey: A year of innovation acceleration

Published: 20 May, 2021

The soaring growth of canned wine, channel distribution changes and the rise of digital infrastructures all came up time and again in our recent Innovations in the Drinks Trade 2021 survey, showing that evolution continues to pull a silver thread through what has been an extraordinarily disruptive year. Jo Gilbert picks out the key findings.

Adelante: A Renewed Focus for Spain

Published: 19 May, 2021

This joint Harpers and Wines from Spain webinar considered the challenges and opportunities for Spanish wines in the UK. Andrew Catchpole rounds up the key takeaways

Numbers 2020: A black swan year

Published: 18 May, 2021

Fresh insights from Euromonitor’s annual data release shows that 2020 was a year of “unprecedented collapse” for BWS globally without the counterbalancing regional effect that buoyed markets during the 2008/9 financial crash. Jo Gilbert looks at the year’s volume figures to break down how global sectors were impacted.

Brexit: Counting the cost

Published: 17 May, 2021

Far from fading away, the ‘B’ word still greatly troubles indie merchants, as Andrew Catchpole reports.

Glass half empty

Published: 12 May, 2021

Restrictions may be lifting but there’s still a long way to go to return the on-trade to health, as Andrew Catchpole reports.

Think Gin debate: What's next for gin?

Published: 11 May, 2021

Our Think Gin opening debate assessed which gins are flash in the pan and which are here for the long haul. James Lawrence tuned in.

Changing face of global wine supply

Published: 11 May, 2021

The OIV’s recent annual report painted a picture of shifting global supply, with consumption falling to its lowest ebb since 2002 and vineyard surface area nudging back towards Europe as China’s plantings slow.

Grape changes at Asda

Published: 10 May, 2021

Asda’s decision to re-organise its wine aisle by variety rather than region is based on widely established research which shows consumers consider grape first when choosing a bottle of wine. But will it lead to more adventurous buying? Jo Gilbert shops around for the answers.

Gin: Identity politics

Published: 06 May, 2021

A roster of ‘gin’ liqueurs, low-quality variants and no and low copycats have drawn the ire of some this year with calls to better ring fence the category. Are these outliers artificially accelerating gin fatigue or is this all part of the category’s natural evolution? Jo Gilbert weighs in.

Bulk wine navigates rough waters

Published: 04 May, 2021

How have Covid-19 and Brexit affected the bulk wine business? Lucy Britner talks to producers around the world about the benefits of bulk and the challenges the past 12 months have brought

A female force for change

Published: 29 April, 2021

International Women’s Day on 8 March shone a bright light on the women blazing a trail across the wine industry into leadership and decision-making roles. But how much have things actually shifted? Jo Gilbert reports.

Indies: Shaken, not stirred

Published: 26 April, 2021

The pandemic has been a “wake-up call” for the industry, a panel of leading merchants told audience members told Jo Gilbert at our Think Insights retailing sector briefing, as businesses face stock and other challenges to meet soaring spirits sales.

Staffing For Success

Published: 22 April, 2021

For the second of our Building Back webinars in collaboration with Trade Hospitality App, Andrew Catchpole invited on-trade leaders to examine the growing issue of attracting and retaining talent.

Italy’s big hitters up their game

Published: 21 April, 2021

David Kermode charts the rise of Italy’s collectable high end, as investment eclipses its Burgundy and Bordeaux cousins.

California: Challenging French supremacy

Published: 15 April, 2021

The smartly boxed and sleekly designed sample bottles distributed ahead of the recent California Wine Institute’s Essential California at Home series of tastings were eye-catching in other ways too.

Tech & innovation: Seismic shifts

Published: 14 April, 2021

We’re on the cusp of a new and advanced tech-fuelled era for hospitality as the on-trade begins to reopen, says Jo Gilbert.

Spirits vs Wine: Rolling with the times

Published: 12 April, 2021

Definitive figures from Kantar show just how much shopping habits changed in 2020, with spirits overtaking wine in baskets for the first time and online reaching hitherto unmatched heights, as Jo Gilbert discovers.