A sector of the wine trade that gives us an insight into the changing habits of customers is the growth in wine bag-in-box sales. For years, sidelined as the place of last resort for the lowest quality wine imaginable, the only brand that seemed to take the area seriously was Stowell’s of Chelsea. How different things are now with the 3 litre bag-in-box accounting for 10% of off trade sales and branded product selling for over £20 in major multiple retailers. Apparently in Sweden over 80% of sales are in this format.

At ALDI we launched our first bag-in-box product in Spring 2005 and it has been such a success that we now have five different products. Permanently in the range we have a Shiraz and Chardonnay from France priced at £10.99 and for the summer we will have three Badgers Creek Australian wines, a red, white and rosé all at £11.99. We first launched the Badgers Creek red and white last summer and they were such a success that the rosé had to join them this year.

What fascinates me most was the fact that the huge sales we had with the Australian bag-in-box wines had very little impact on the sales of the 75cl bottle of the Badgers Creek wines. We did not transfer sales from one format to the other but achieved a whole new level of sales. As they are identical wines – whether they are in a box or the bottle – this led me to question what were the driving forces behind the customers decision-making.

Let us take it as a given that ALDI customers like the taste of our Australian red and white wines – they are two of our biggest sellers so this is evidently true – so what other factors are driving the choice between the two formats and why is it attracting new customers?

1. Value for money – £11.99 equates to £3 per bottle so it is a 10% saving if you buy a bag-in-box over four bottles of wine (the equivalent volume).
2. Cost of purchase – £11.99 is a lot of money to pay out in one product so it may be that many customers prefer to buy four different wines and pay a little more per litre for the privilege of choice.
3. Repeat use – the bag-in-box is the perfect format for regular tipples and keeps the wine fresh for several weeks. The same can’t be said when you replace a cork in the bottle.
4. Party-format – bag-in-box is great for parties and BBQs. Who wants to run out of wine when throwing a bash?
5. Safe transport – it’s a lot harder to smash a bag-in-box than a bottle. However I don’t recommend trying this!

Clearly then some customers, at certain times, like the bag-in-box format and make it their key feature when choosing a wine. This summer I am trying to help them further by making the Badgers Creek Bag-in-Box ‘fridge friendly’, which will be especially beneficial for the white and rosé. Later this year we will be launching a trial with a 2 litre bag-in-box and next week sees us dip our toes into the 25cl market. Whatever the sales result I am sure they will give an insight into customers needs, now and in the future.

How do you drink your wine? By that I don’t mean do you glug it straight from the bottle in a brown paper bag or sip it daintily through a straw from a cocktail glass. I mean is the majority of your wine consumption accompanied by food or is it simply your preferred alcoholic beverage taken on its own?

For most of the last century that wasn’t really the question. Wine was drunk with food and it came from France. Then in the 80’s something happened. Australian wine appeared and it changed everything. Fruitier, bolder and presented in a way which was more appealing to the general public, Australian wine seized the imagination of consumers and has been growing steadily ever since. Three years ago Australian wine matched France in off-trade sales for the first time. Now Australia has 24% of the UK market with France losing ground at 17.5% and the USA rapidly catching up at 15.5%.

There are many reasons for this change in fortune. One key feature is that both Australia and the USA have powerful brands owned by huge companies that give them access to supermarket listings and large marketing budgets. France has, with a few noticeable exceptions, failed to develop strong consumer brands and this fragmentation does not help in a marketplace where wine sales, like most other fast-moving consumer goods, are being concentrated in the hands of fewer national supermarket groups. But I believe the single most important factor is more fundamental. The new consumer of wine often likes to drink it away from the dinner table and Australian wine is better suited to that job. It is fruiter, high in alcohol, less tannic, lower in acidity and usually has a slight sweetness that makes it very palatable. However the very features that make mass-market Australian wine good for sipping whilst catching Coronation Street or the latest BBC costume drama can make it uninspiring when matched with food. The alcoholic fruitiness can overpower your meal and the sweetness and lack of acidity can be cloying rather than refreshing.

My solution to this dilemma is place a foot in both camps. Don’t get tied in to a pointless New World V’s Old World debate but be a little adventurous and widen your drinking repertoire. For example, if you normally drink our Badgers Creek Australian Red or White as sipping wines, which sell for £3.29, for the same money you can try our Premium Claret or Chateaux’s Selection Bordeaux White when you sit down to Sunday lunch. Experiment by drinking different wines on their own and then trying them with different foods. You will be surprised at the results and have fun at the same time. I rarely miss the opportunity to try a new wine or a new combination of wine with food and have stumbled on some treasures as a result. So go on, have some fun and the next time you go shopping for your wine place something entirely different in your trolley.