Accolade sees its Mud House New Zealand wine brand go from 10K cases to 250k in a year

By Erin Smith

Published: 28 January, 2015

Mud House, the New Zealand wine brand, grew sales 2,500% in the last 12 months from 10,000 9 litre cases to a quarter of a million cases, according to figures released by brand owner Accolade Wines.

Mud House has only been part of the group since 2013 and is on course "to be the third largest New Zealand brand in the UK," according to Paul Schaafsma, the general manager for Accolade Wines UK & Ireland./

He added: "Consumers like Sauvignon Blanc and both existing and new customers are helping to bring new growth into the category. Mud House has been one of the key players in this sense, increasing sales from 10,000 to 250,000 9l cases over the past 12 months and we anticipate that we will be able to achieve continued significant growth in the year to come."

Accolade Wines announced the acquisition of the Mud House brand in addition to other Mud House Wine Group brands including Dusky Sounds, Haymaker, Skyleaf and Waipara Hills back in 2013. Following the continued growth and high price point that New Zealand wines have seen in recent years made the acquisition attractive for Accolade Wines.

"We were able to have our own asset based in New Zealand and we have been very pleased with that purchase," said Schaafsma.

Mud House, New Zealand

Whilst the average price per bottle of wine in the UK is £5.41, New Zealand wine is commanding an average price per bottle of £7.27, according to recent Nielsen data released by Accolade Wines. It has also revealed the category grew 10.4% in volume and 12.7% in value for the last 52 weeks ending on January 3, 2015.

Over 45.3 million bottles of New Zealand wine were sold in the UK last year.

The demographic of the New Zealand wine consumer in the UK is part of what is driving the success of the category as a whole, added Jane Robertson, category development director at Accolade Wines. "The consumer is a young shopper who is affluent. This is a 'dream' shopper. They are young, engaged, knowledgeable and spending money. This is a great shopper to have - this is priceless."

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