Preparing my notes for new lectures in September on the future of wine at a time of likely broader economic slowdown with high inflation, I thought it would be interesting to share with you three of the seven key points I will address. The future of luxury wine is off-line, online and on-chain. Seeing this new space (on-chain considers all transactions made on the blockchain) as a place that doesn’t exist or another channel that can be integrated into current omnichannel strategies is a unique opportunity for the wine industry. In fact, the coming years will offer plenty of new opportunities to wineries which are ready to consider new ways to do business.
New business models
Wineries are aware of the need to connect with the young customers who represent their future, who have historically been more detached from high-end wines and the overall value proposition of brands in the category. For this reason, wineries will have to rethink their business models. Entry-price wines are often the starting point in a client’s journey into the world of luxury wines. At a time of likely broader economic slowdown with high inflation, it is premium brands with entry-level wines that may be best placed to thrive.
Web 3.0 and Metaverse
Luxury wine brands have largely embraced globalization. But with globalization itself under pressure and recent geopolitical tensions creating ongoing challenges, it’s now more important than ever that wine estates prepare their supply chains, distribution networks and market strategies to withstand the turmoil. Digital property rights (NFTs) represent a society-defining generational shift that impacts everyone online and will set the stage for the emergence of the Open Metaverse. At VitaBella, we have clients who have already purchased real estate in the metaverse, who are transacting in the metaverse, who are expecting us to help them transact with in the metaverse. Here is the best advice we give today to wine producers considering NFTs: Move and stay clear on the long-term goal, which is clearly about building a revenue stream whilst maintaining premium positioning. The metaverse offers wineries untapped opportunities to reach an ever-growing community, filled with different demographics, allowing creatives to customize their brands to engage with, reach, and inspire those that they may not have previously accessed offline.
Sustainability
The pressure to practice sustainability is as pressing in the wine industry as in most consumer-facing sectors. As a result, wineries of every size are promulgating “planet positivity” and “carbon credibility” often with warm words. But a big part of sustainability is not just sustainable wine : it’s really keeping your wine longer on pristine condition. For that reason, in the future, fine wine producers will really have to embrace their firsthand, their secondhand and thirdhand customers. And blockchain will be key to make resale profitable and convenient.
(Guillaume Jourdan wrote this post. You can reach him via LinkedIn)
