Brown Brothers next generation targets younger wine consumers

Published: 11 June, 2012

Australian family winery Brown Brothers is gearing up to better target younger consumers via its own younger members.

Chief executive Ross Brown's three daughters, Katherine, Caroline and Emma Brown are lining up carry on the family business.

But the firm has strict guidelines governing the recruitment of family members - they must spend four years working outside the business before they are considered for a post in the firm - and they must apply and be interviewed.

Katherine Brown, the first of the sisters to get a job at the company as PR manager, said the idea is to "get out and see what else is out there". She added that, as the fourth generation to carry on the family legacy, "making sure we have the right succession planning is key".

"There's no pressure to come back from Dad," she added, which she says means that those who do choose to join the family firm are genuinely interested.

Katherine believes this younger generation can bring a lot to bear when it comes to developing drinks that will be attractive to younger consumers. Caroline added: "It's a lot easier for us to talk to younger consumers - about how to make the journey from RTDs and ciders."

The sisters also belived they can play an important role in developing the company's social media activities. Even if there are not directly employed by Brown Brothers, they are contributing as brand ambassadors and through blogging about their adventures, via notabaddrop.com

Katherine said Brown Brothers, which is disrtibuted by PLB in the UK, is "really pushing to focus on the on-trade" and will bring in more single vineyard and drier styles to suit. "We're really excited about the UK market with regard to our newer still wines and Moscato, we're really seeing a boom in these fruity rosé styles."

Katherine is also studying for a degree in winemaking and plans to return to Europe to "get stuck into a vintage".

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