Morrisons: suppliers overestimating lower-alcohol category
Wine suppliers are massively overestimating the importance of the lower-alcohol category and investing far too much time in developing new products, according to Morrisons head of wine.
Steve Mosey, category director at Morrisons for BWS, said it is clear the category is being driven by "supplier push rather than consumer pull".
He agreed there was "some interest" from a section of consumers for lower-alcohol drinks, but not to the level that the industry has latched on to.
He said: "I think the commercial benefits sparked the floodgates to open and suddenly everybody has got a 5.5% wine. The market is not anywhere near that big and it does not justify the amount of NPD and focus that every supplier is giving it right now."
He added: "They are simply looking to cash in a commercial opportunity and it is a lot more supplier push than consumer pull right now."
He said the products on the market are also in danger of confusing the public in that it is not clear what they are getting. "The industry is doing its best to confuse consumers," he added.
The flavour and taste profiles of 5.5% abv wine also do not lend themselves to being "sipped", and could be counterproductive in what they are trying to achieve.
You can read an extended interview of Steve Mosey and details of Morrisons' new trading structure along with the thoughts of senior managers and buyers within the team on our dedicated Morrisons page. Click here for more.
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