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UK wine trade slow to react to Millennials' sweet tooth, says Mintel

Published:  20 November, 2014

The 18 to 34 year-old age group is partial to sweeter wines, with 44% of wine buyers believing they're better quality than drier ones, but few UK brands have "attacked this space", says Mintel.

The 18 to 34 year-old age group is partial to sweeter wines, with 44% of wine buying consumers believing they're better quality than drier ones, but few UK brands have "attacked this space", says Mintel.

Speaking at Wine Vision in London yesterday, Mintel's global drinks analyst Jonny Forsyth told delegates that while France has led the way with its grapefruit rosé and the US has targeted younger consumers with sweeter wines, the UK has lagged behind.

France has seen 30 million litres of fruit-infused sales go through since 2009 - with younger drinkers being the major consumers.

With 36% of UK consumers interested, the wine trade, with the exception of Echo Falls, has failed to latch on to the opportunity, Forsyth said. But "wine's competitors have spotted this space, according to Forsyth, who highlighted Jack Daniel's new honey variant, Foster's Radler and Kopparberg as examples. France has even gone so far, controversially, as to launch a cola-flavoured wine-based drink Rouge Sucette.

He said: "All took the step towards what the Millennial consumer wanted rather than what they felt the Millennial consumer should be given," which appears to be how wine tackles the issue.

The US is actively targeting younger consumers with its fruity Moscatos and Gallo's sweet Apothic red wine, for example. Mintel's data shows 21-34 year-old Americans are the most frequent wine drinkers in the US market.

Germany is also ahead of the trend - even going so far as to introduce spice flavoured Pink Pepper wines.

The picture is different in China, where producers are targeting a broad spectrum of the Chinese market, from 20 to 50 year-olds, as opposed to just younger drinkers. But Mintel identified the lack of occasion as a major barrier to entry for wine. But outside of red wine, consumers are not really interested. "Wine effectively is red wine in China," said Forsyth, with 94% of Chinese wine drinkers opting for red.

See Jonny Forsyth's column on Evolving tastes among global consumers here. 

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