Asda range shake-up on show at London tasting

By Angela Mount

Published: 18 May, 2023

As part of a major range and merchandising review, Asda has relaunched and expanded its premium ‘Extra Special’ range, doubling the numbers in the last two years, while increasing sales by over £1.25m year-on-year.

Clive Donaldson, head of Asda’s private label sourcing, has had a busy time since joining Asda in 2020, having made significant changes to the range at every price and style level, a taste of which was presented at the Spring/Summer press tasting in London yesterday (17 May).

Following a radical cull of SKU numbers, as part of a range rebuild, Donaldson and his team of 16 have spent the last two years redeveloping and reshaping the range, backed by a radical re-ordering on shelf by grape variety.

• Read more: The only way is grape for Asda

Having stripped back and removed all duplication, Donaldson’s brief was to “put true choice back in; bring in more wines that customers can only get in Asda stores”.

As a result, the own brand range is now back up to just over 120, with the Extra Special range now totalling over 60. Donaldson’s team has also taken on more suppliers, broadening their reach, and put in place an improved production structure by working more closely with those suppliers to increase diversity. Moreover, around 50% of the range by volume is now bottled in UK.

“Wine has underperformed at Asda,” stated Donaldson. “We did lose customers; we needed to find a way to get those customers back and re-awaken their interest in our wines. Our online participation for wine is good, we now need to translate this in store.”

Donaldson cites the Asda Extra Special Cotes de Provence rosé as a prime example of bringing in new styles, with clear provenance, that were missing from the range.

He added: “We questioned everything – is the product right, does it fulfil its function in the range, is it good enough?

“I wanted to get hold of wines that I see on the shelves when I go on buying trips to Australia or France. I wanted to find the wines that are true to type and to be able to transport them back to the UK for our customers to enjoy.”

Asda began the own label rebuild with its entry level brand ‘A Nice Drop', a range of 10 varietal wines, plus Prosecco, which Donaldson believes deliver a good example of each given grape, at a value for money price point. All the still wines are priced between £3.99 and £4.50; 10 of them have won awards in various wine competitions over the last year.

Move up one step, and the customer will find a range of exclusive brands, such as Filippo, an Italian lifestyle brand, which sits above entry level, but below Extra Special. The range comprises a select number of wines, including Prosecco, with the still wines priced at around £6.

Continuing the journey, the team have undergone a radical review of the Extra Special range, increasing the range from below 40 to over 60. The average price point has been increased to £8 and real innovation brought into the category.

To support the new strategy, the team looked at every aspect of the product; packaging and visual presentation on shelf was key, as well as the intrinsic wine quality. And Asda is now working with a top international design agency to lift the professionalism of the range presentation.

The new range covers some unique and lesser-known regions, as well as pushing the boundaries with a selection of premium wines under the Extra Special label, including an impressive Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2021 at £22, and a delicate Sancerre Rose 2022 at £15.

Other bold moves into more specific regional wines via the Extra Special label include a rich yet elegant Great Western Shiraz (just £9), plus a newly-launched launching Awatere Marlborough Sauvignon (£11), a stunning value North Canterbury Pinot Noir (£9.50), an Uco Valley Malbec (£10) and a Rueda (£6), which won platinum at the Decanter Awards last year.

The step up in quality is clear. With the results of International Wine Challenge 2023 hot off the press, Asda has just picked up 26 silvers in testament to their recent work.

“Our key message to our customers is to trust us to deliver on quality, linked to incredible value,” summarised BWS category director Steve Mosey. “We’re pushing that value level, and stretching the price points to build our deserved share of the wine market, in line with our food offer.”

The new range is launching this week throughout the Asda estate.

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