If knowledge is power, then our partners at E. & J. Gallo Winery are empowering consumer-facing businesses with actionable, and surprising, data on consumer behavior and preferences.
The company is engaged in a wide-ranging, deep dive into consumers, called KUBE™ (Knowledge Unearthed for Business Expansion). This project explored nearly 100,000 usage and purchase occasions--including on-premise, off-premise and e-commerce, according to the company, with data gathered from over 23,000 survey respondents.
And they’ve just made the findings public.
According to Gallo, this is the largest study of its kind ever completed, and unlike previous Gallo surveys, KUBE™ went beyond wine categories and examined the total alcohol beverage space. In fact, Gallo's Consumer and Product Insights team looked at all alcohol beverage categories to see how values and beliefs factor into how consumers buy, how they choose what to buy, and how they ultimately consume alcohol beverages, including categories outside the world of wine.
"Going beyond wine was important for Gallo to develop a relevant framework to understand consumer trends within all alcohol beverage categories," said Jennifer Jo Wiseman, Gallo’s Vice President of Consumer and Product Insights. "As a leader in the industry, we are committed to learning, experimenting, and innovating in order to continue providing brands and products that consumers seek and enjoy."
Anyone interested in the total alcohol beverage industry should read through the report, available at
http://www.gallotrends.com/survey.php, and we’ve pulled some of the more surprising stats from the results.
●
Consumers are twice as likely to try a new product at a bar or restaurant than they are in a store
●
38% of wine drinkers admit to putting ice in their wine if it is not cold enough
●
43% of wine shoppers say that in-store tastings have a strong influence on what they buy
●
60% of spirits drinkers say
classic cocktails are stylish again
●
17% of spirits drinkers are drinking more expensive or premium spirits than they used to
●
60% of wine drinkers prefer wine with a little sweetness
●
1 in 5 wine consumers have enjoyed a glass of rosé in the last month
The survey also revealed that 66% of consumers decide what to drink based on where they are, and changes in packaging, like tetra paks and cans, are helping to drive sales by making wine more accessible. In addition, the research revealed that premium wine drinkers are more exploratory, more knowledgeable, and more social in their consumption than drinkers of lower price points, and that they are more willing to experiment with wines at lower price points.
"This means listening to our consumers and providing offerings that fit the needs of their occasions,” said Stephanie Gallo, Vice President of Marketing. “Our teams at Gallo are continuing our company's effort to grow the alcohol beverage category which wouldn't be achievable without innovation. Taking what we've learned from KUBE™ is helping us to partner with our internal teams, as well as our customers to innovate for the future."