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Italian Wine: What are the Growth Prospects. And How to Achieve Them. ( 1nd part )
"The effectiveness of private brand market penetration must be combined with the guarantee and credibility offered by the denominations".
These are the words used by Ernesto Abbona, president of Unione Italiana Vini, at the meeting held on May 9th in Florence on “The creation of value: identity, reputation and growth of Made in Italy".
Abbona's analysis hits the nail on the head on one of Italy's biggest problems: on the one hand, the strong reactivity of private brands -not only large but also medium-small -on the other hand, the slowness, not even latency, of the consortium component which, whether for bureaucratic reasons or for reasons of representation, rarely manages to operate with the same effectiveness, giving way to aggressive foreign denominations.
A study presented a few days ago in Milan, the Altagamma Top Wine Study, investigated global consumption and the growth strategies of high-end producers.
It emerged that out of a total global wine business of 239 billion, the global top wine business is worth 24 billion, or almost 10%.
What is striking is the data reported by Vincenzo Chierchia in Il Sole 24 Ore, which “Italian companies that export more than 60% have an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) margin of 29%, significantly higher than the 9% found on average".
The Altagamma research also revealed that while France remains the most accredited wine region in high-end catering – 400 starred restaurants in eight key markets for the Belpaese were interviewed – Italy comes in second, with a preference of 33% linked to the superior quality of Italian wines.
A fundamental point is that of quality, always underlined by Abbona in the same location:
“In Italy we do not have companies capable of competing, in terms of size and promotional investments, with the world's wine giants, but we boast a 'Denomination of Origin' system that is unique in the world for its strict rules and seriousness of controls”.
A communication lever of primary importance – but often not adequately made known abroad.
It is no coincidence – I was reflecting a few days ago with some foreign journalists visiting the Treviso area – that the food scandals of recent years, from mad cow disease to avian flu, including dioxin-contaminated meat, swine flu and untraceable horse meat, have never left Italy and have only superficially touched the country.
This is thanks to a system of controls along the entire food and wine supply chain that, after the methanol scandal in 1986, has made great strides, becoming a model of end-consumer protection.
Explain then to operators and consumers that Docg and Doc are certainly acronyms that are difficult to understand but they serve to guarantee not only the organoleptic quality of the wine (and its authenticity) but also, first and foremost, its healthiness. "
Healthiness is a hot topic – even if today it is played out more in terms of nutrition than of real food safety, although it goeshe said that quality certifications are increasingly in demand and allow for the opening of otherwise closed markets, –see quality standards e quality standards in detail– with the demand for increasingly detailed labels regarding calories and allergens, the growing popularity of organic products seen not only as more sustainable but above all healthier, restrictions on dosages and chemical substances that can be used, etc.
Among the recent cases of Consortia that have most underlined this concept of control of the supply chain is that of Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, which thanks to a work of immense proportions in three different regions (Friuli, Veneto, Trentino) is carrying forward the requalification of this product, of crucial importance from the winemaking point of view for North-Eastern Italy.
Suffice it to say that almost all Italian Pinot Grigio is produced in this area: 20 thousand hectares of vineyards, a potential of 260 million bottles which amounts to 43% of the entire world production, with a division of consumption centered on the United States (37%), Great Britain (27%), Germany (10%).
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