Yellow Tail and Casillero del Diablo have once again respectively claimed the two top spots in the annual Wine Intelligence Global Wine Brand Power Index.
Both brands showed lower index scores in 2021 versus 2020, principally arising from less recalled purchase incidence and lower brand connection scores, with similar declines affecting all of the top 15 global brands.
Jacob’s Creek regained its top three position, having lost it in 2020 to Gallo. It swaps places largely on the strength of having grown its awareness score in 2021, one of only six brands in the top 15 to record a positive result on any measure.
Notable movers in the 2021 Index include Santa Carolina, which rises three places to take a top 10 spot for the first time; Torres, which has jumped five places to 10, having entered the top 15 for the first time in 2020 and Campo Viejo, which makes its top 15 debut this year.
Moreover, the 2021 Index revealed an industry-wide erosion of brand equity arising from the disruption to shopping and consumption patterns experienced during the Covid era, which Wine Intelligence warned may take "some time" for brand owners to restore.
“In a year characterised by disruption and lockdown, it has been a challenging year for wine brands,” said Lulie Halstead, CEO, Wine Intelligence.
“Whilst mainstream wine brands have benefited from a consumer shift towards tried and trusted brands, overall, wine brands have lost ground in terms of consumer connection, due to the fact that consumers were not browsing wine aisles as often, and have had other things on their minds in the past 12 months – justifiably so,” she said.
As we emerge from lockdowns into a “hopefully” more stable shopping environment, the key challenge for successful wine brand owners would be restoring the fundamental positive connections that has “propelled their brands to such widespread success on the world stage in the first place”, she added.
“This will include being relevant at more traditional wine occasions as well as the new ones of the Covid era; being available in the channels of distribution that are becoming more popular, and looking the part for a global audience that appears to be seeking reassurance and excitement in equal measure,” said Halstead.
Building on feedback from over 25,000 wine consumers in 25 markets – representing over 400 million wine drinkers globally – this year’s Index incorporates consumer feedback on six key brand health measures and the Index is calculated at a global level as well as at a country level across 25 key wine markets.
To include a more diverse range, the mix of markets has expanded for this year’s Index to include Argentina, Italy, New Zealand, Russia and Singapore for the first time.