Nielsen Wire » wine sales

Premium Liquors Boost Aussies’ Spirits

Nielsen Wire — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:06:11 +0000

Australians, like many consumers around the world, are cutting back personal spending by shopping less often and switching to less expensive and private label brands. But one area where they refuse to compromise is their drink: sales of premium brands of beer, spirits and bottled wine all showed strong volume sales performance in the first quarter of 2009.

Imported and domestic premium beers posted growth of 15.3 and 18.6 percent, respectively, over the same period last year, while sales of premium spirits rose 21.3 percent. Cheaper beer and spirit segments also showed growth, but not at the strong levels posted by their more expensive counterparts.

Overall, wine continued to experience volume losses, although increased demand for bottles costing $10-$20 was up 5.6 percent while bottles costing more than $20 showed growth of 4.1 percent.

“Instead of trading down when it comes to buying liquor, Australian consumers are becoming more sophisticated and are choosing high quality spirits, premium wines and a growing variety of premium or artisan-style beers,” said Michael Walton, executive director of Nielsen Australia’s Liquor Services Group.

Read the full press release here.

Easter Trumps Valentine’s Day For Chocolate Sales

Nielsen Wire — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:14:33 +0000

While giving loved ones chocolate is synonymous with Valentine’s Day, far more chocolate is actually sold in the week leading up to Easter, according to Nielsen. Consumers will buy almost a half billion dollars of candy during that time, with approximately 70 percent of that spent on chocolate. Nearly 71 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold in the week leading up to Easter, compared to approximately 48 million pounds sold during Valentine’s week. By comparison, nearly 90 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold during Halloween week. Other key holiday-related consumer facts:

Easter week is the top egg selling week of the year, with 61 million dozen eggs sold. Sales increase 45 percent above average weekly sales.
More than $3.5 million will be spent on matzo, the traditional unleavened bread, during the week leading up to Passover – the highest sales week for the category.
Nearly 1.5 million bottles of kosher table wine will be sold, accounting for $6.5 million and representing approximately 15 percent of the total year’s sales of kosher wines.

View the full press release here.

Sales Of Premium Wine Casks Take Off

Nielsen Wire — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:28:57 +0000

Despite the fact that many Americans have cut back discretionary spending, sales of 3 liter (3L) premium wine casks – better known to some as “boxed wine” – showed double digit growth in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a new Nielsen study.

With a growth rate of 32 percent in the last 13 weeks of 2008, premium wine casks outpaced all other wine categories, and there remains room for significant growth going forward.

On a full year basis, premium wine casks grew 31 percent, compared to 4.4 growth for table wine, the dominant wine sector. Total table wine sales for the year were $9.6 billion, while premium wine cask sales racked up $110 million.

Among the factors leading to this explosive growth is the value offered by premium wine casks: one cask holds the equivalent of four bottles, and on an equivalized basis, are approximately 40 percent less expensive than the average table wine.

“In today’s economy, consumers are seeking value with necessarily compromising quality, and this has contributed to premium wine cask success,” said Danny Brager, vice president, Beverage Alcohol at Nielsen.

Read the full press release here.

Despite Economic Trouble, Wine Sales Pouring In

Admin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:48:03 +0000

A troubled economy doesn’t necessarily mean declining wine sales, Danny Brager, vice president, beverage alcohol, Nielsen, writes in a recent Progressive Grocer column.

Brager cites Nielsen research showing that, while almost 50% of consumers have reduced their overall spending, wine sales remain healthy.

Growth of premium wines has declined slightly, but the category remains strong overall — perhaps because consumers tend to view wine as an affordable luxury, Brager notes.

If the current trend continues, he concludes, wine may emerge as a ”recession-resistant” category.