The Norwegian Wine Consumer w/ Trond Erling Pettersen, Vinmonopolet
While traditionally a beer and spirits market, wine has now risen to equal footing in Norway. As a category manager for Vinmonopolet, the retail wine monopoly of Norway, Trond Erling Pettersen describes the wine culture in Norway, the four categories of wine consumers, and the major trends for wine consumption. Detailed Show Notes: Wine in NorwayWine is now equal to beer and spirits, traditionally was more beer & spiritsNorwegians into food and wine pairing, don’t have the traditions of Continental EuropeHigher taxes on alcohol reduce consumption, but it doesn’t impact wine; taxes are set by abv, so spirits are taxed higher than wine which is higher than beer - pushing consumers to lower alcohol drinksAlcohol advertising is bannedConsumption is lower than in other Scandinavian countries - Denmark (which does not have a monopoly) - 10L alcohol/person/year, Finland ~9L, Sweden ~7L, Norway ~6LBig seasonal impacts - more spirits and big reds in winter, whites and rose in summer, but changing with more sparkling and rose year roundNorwegians don’t have a strong restaurant culture, so most wine is bought from monopoly and consumed at homeThe monopoly sells 96M liters of wine (10.6M 9L cases) - 53M liters red, 27M liters white, 8M liters sparkling, 5M liters roseNo other retailers of wine, not allowed to buy wine at a restaurant and take it homeFour main customer groups“Open Minded” - the largest group has a price limit but is willing to spend (KR150-200, ~$15-20), likes to try something new - often recommended by monopoly staff or a journalist“Assured Customer” - know what they want, educated in wine, clear preferences“Price Focused” - ~20% of customers; lower priced wines, convenience is essential“Collectors” - ~10% of customers, very educated in wine and food, willing to pay for qualityHigher end segment is growingPandemic got more people into wineThe average price is rising for all segmentsOrganic, biodynamic, and fair trade are important to some customersLightweight bottles, bag-in-box preferred by customers for environmental impact and practical use for bringing to summer cabins and on boatsBag-in-box popular last 15-20 years, now top categories supply it (e.g. - Chablis, Sancerre, Piedmont Nebbiolo); up to KR500-600/ 3L box ($50-60) Journalists have a large impact on salesBodega Weinert (Argentina) said 30% of sales are to Norway, and wine reviews drive salesJournalists are important because of no advertisingCollectors may follow international wine journalists, but the majority follow national or local newspaper wine writersLocal journalists use dice as a rating scale (1-6) vs. 100 point systemMonopoly has >32k products to select from, so journalists help with recommendationsMonopoly’s podcast educates on drinks and food, regions and grapes, and answers consumers’ questions (e.g., glassware), but doesn’t mention specific producers or productsNorwegian wine trends - 7 main ones1) Known and Dear - the classics on the rise2) Expanding Wine World - emerging wine regions (e.g., UK, Canada, Scandinavia, cool climate regions, etc.)3) Alternative Packaging - bag-in-box (can be 50-60% of sales for some categories)4-6) Green and sustainable, authentic/handcrafted, organic/natural, vegan/no sugar/lower alcohol (the no-low alcohol wine trend is also in Norway)7) Young, Urban Consumer - into natural wines, skin contact whites, juicy red wines, more social eating and drinking, want genuine, handcrafted products (e.g., pet nats) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.