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Published: 09 September, 2022
Inflation is 2022’s pandemic. As we emerge from a health-focused crisis, it’s increasingly becoming clear that the health of the public purse and the damaging cost of living is now society’s most pressing issue. No sector is unaffected. From household items to commercial costs – largely driven by spiralling fuel and shipping increases – all are feeling the additional weight of rising costs, which even the biggest players aren’t able to absorb.
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Published: 07 September, 2022
Australia and Spain are at the forefront of an increasing number of ‘rest of the world’ (RoW) wines that are fuelling growth on the negociant-driven La Place de Bordeaux marketplace.
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Published: 05 September, 2022
By the time this feature is published, a new UK wine labelling scheme should be effective. However, according to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), the government has signalled its intention to defer the introduction of the forthcoming labelling rules until 1 January, 2024.
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Published: 02 September, 2022
With Scotland announcing it will be going ahead with the introduction of its deposit return scheme (DRS) next year, on-trade operators have been voicing their concerns and identifying some potential pitfalls. England, Wales and Northern Ireland are also set to introduce their own schemes in 2024, so operators there will also have an eye on how it goes north of the border.
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Published: 30 August, 2022
Just over 40 miles from London, Farnham’s new watering hole, The Wine Yard, has become part of the regeneration that is taking place in the UK’s satellite towns. During Covid, many places felt the wrath of the virus and its various mitigation measures, with lockdowns leaving shop and restaurant fronts empty along what were once the more bustling parts of the nation’s high streets.
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Published: 25 August, 2022
The theme of today is adaptation. The collapse of Australia’s trading relationship with China has left many casualties in its wake, forcing brands to look to new markets and consumers. According to Wine Australia, “exports to mainland China declined by 97% in value and 93% in volume to 6.4 million litres in 2021, a loss of nearly $1bn (£574m) in value when compared with 2020”. Ironically, China was once touted as Australia’s salvation, when demand in Western Europe and the US started to slump in the mid-2000s. Everyone anticipated that Asia’s biggest country would plug the gap.
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Published: 22 August, 2022
Levi’s and Lego; Marc Jacobs and Snoopy; Gucci and a TikTok trainspotter. These are just some of the unlikely collaborations between brands we’ve seen in recent years. The world of retail is a volatile market, made more uncertain by Covid and near-deserted high streets, but one trend is keeping things alive and has engaged the younger generation in particular – cross-brand products.
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Published: 19 August, 2022
In line with a growing taste for more off-piste wines, Andrew Catchpole invited notable champions and producers of emerging regions and wines to explain their appeal.
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Published: 17 August, 2022
According to a 2021 report from Business Insider, fake wine accounts for 20% of wine sold worldwide. If this is true, and many credible sources seem to agree, then the chances are you have drunk from a bottle containing fraudulent wine. The report referred to numerous cases of wine crime in recent history, including the seizure of 4,000 bottles of the counterfeit ‘super-Tuscan’ Bolgheri Sassicaia, which fetches up to £320 a bottle.
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Published: 15 August, 2022
Having grown exponentially in recent years, it’s no surprise that the low and no category is evolving at rapid speed, with the latest twist in this 21st-century tale being that it is now moderate drinkers, rather than teetotallers, driving the category.
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Published: 12 August, 2022
When a ‘wine person’ opens a bottle of wine, it is safe to say much has been considered beforehand. Where is it from? What is the back story? How was it made?
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Published: 10 August, 2022
Creating a brand that upends the wine-centric view of the trade has been tried many times, but a new collaboration between experienced buyer Andrew Ingham and Cape winery Journey’s End may just have what it takes to bridge the gap with wine-interest-lite consumers. And, if it does gain traction, there may well be salient lessons to learn for the wider trade at a time when interest in wine – especially among younger consumers – has stalled.
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“The heart of the issue is simple – the manufacturing and recycling of glass bottles is by far the largest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint, and if we don’t use alternative formats wherever possible, we won’t make the deep and meaningful cuts required across all sectors.”
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In last month’s edition of Harpers, we unveiled our annual Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers. In 10th place on that list was Lea & Sandeman, the independent wine merchant with a penchant for grower-led, artisanal wines from around the world.
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Harpers’ future leaders symposium at last month’s London Wine Fair had a core question embedded in its lively panel discussion – what does staff progression look like post-Covid, and how can those insights be used to address the industry’s increasingly serious recruitment problems?
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Forget the next day or one-hour delivery slot. Buoyed by the rise of on-demand culture and at-home eating and drinking trends, a surge in the rise of rapid retail platforms is now promising consumers deliveries to their door via an app in 15 or even 10 minutes.
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With the cost of living ever increasing, UK consumers might be reconsidering the way they purchase spirits, but premium brands are likely in the best position to weather the storm. Now is the time to make the most of that brand equity, and perhaps take some lessons from challenging economic times of the recent past.
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Harpers drew together a panel at LWF to discuss Meeting the Challenges of the Net Zero Journey, which delivered compelling insights into the demanding but critical journey ahead.
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Kam MD Katie Moses partnered with Harpers editor Andrew Catchpole at LWF to present Shaping Up the On-trade in a Post-Pandemic World. The analysis, based on extensive research into evolving consumer consumption and purchasing trends, makes compelling reading for any operators looking to sharpen their offer.
With the pandemic having wrought havoc on the hospitality landscape, it has changed, perhaps irrevocably, as existing trends accelerated and new trends have come to the fore. And, despite serious issues, including staffing, inflation and wobbling consumer confidence, there are new opportunities arising.
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As we hover on the edge of a possible recession, with inflation reaching a 40-year year high in June, it’s no surprise that UK consumers are tightening their belts.
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