The sector and the market

Spain is one of the leading countries in wine production and exports (world’s third largest producer by volume –28.3 mhl in 2023– and third largest exporter by value –2.9 billion euros in 2023–). Within its borders are located some of the most prestigious designations of origin in the world, and Spanish wines enjoy widespread recognition in the most relevant markets.

On the other hand, the British wine market is the world’s second most important importer by value (4.7 billion euros in 2023). In the United Kingdom, it’s possible to find wines of all categories, varieties and origins, making up one of the most complete offers on the planet. The country is also home to important wine fairs and some of the industry’s most prestigious institutions and professionals. For all these reasons, the United Kingdom is a priority destination for producers from all around the world and a market that sets trends in the sector on a global scale.

Spanish wines have always had a strong presence in the United Kingdom. Since the end of the last century, the number of producers and the value of Spanish wine exports to this market have multiplied, reaching 339 million dollars in 2022 (third position in the ranking of wine exporting countries to the United Kingdom). It is foreseeable that this trend will continue in the coming years and that the importance of Spanish wines and producers in this country will continue to increase.

The client

Our client is a medium-sized winery located in one of the most prestigious designations of origin in Spain. The company produces quality wines that combine tradition and modernity. Its wine catalogue includes red wines with different ageings, rosés, and whites, and the winery has been awarded prestigious prizes and numerous recognitions at national and international wine fairs. Its products are positioned as quality wines in the intermediate-high price range. The winery exports a significant part of its production to different countries in Europe, America and Asia.

The challenge

Although export volumes and the number of markets in which our client was present had been growing steadily in recent years, sales figures in the United Kingdom were still anecdotal after several years. The British market has many attractions but is also very competitive and requires ongoing work to promote the product. The winery was not satisfied with the commercial work carried out by its exporter until then and wanted to review its commercial strategy and look for new commercial partners in the United Kingdom that would allow it to increase sales at least to levels consistent with the importance of this market on the international scene.

Our contribution

After discussing the winery’s situation and needs, Bizuking proposed to the client the implementation of a project to update its commercial strategy in the United Kingdom and identify and contact new commercial partners with whom to discuss and negotiate import and distribution agreements in that market. Due to its characteristics, the project could be partially financed with some of the sectorial public aid for export that had been granted to the client.

The project was developed over a period of nine months and was organised in two phases:

• Phase 1 (three months): Market analysis and update of the commercial strategy for the United Kingdom
• Phase 2 (six months): Commercial prospecting (identification and selection of new importers and distributors, presentation of the winery and its wines, organisation of meetings and face-to-face tastings with the client’s team).

Firstly, Bizuking conducted tailored market research, including an in-depth analysis of the situation, structure, regulations and business opportunities for the winery in this market. The study’s conclusions served as a basis for defining a specific commercial strategy to relaunch sales in the United Kingdom, prioritising the sales channels and segments that offered the greatest potential for the winery in accordance with its strengths and capabilities. In addition, we worked with the client to identify the characteristics that defined the profile of the ideal business partner to carry out this strategy.

After performing exhaustive research work, we presented the client with a list of potential business partners whose capabilities, strategy and availability to consider import and distribution agreements with our client were verified by Bizuking by speaking directly with the interlocutors of these companies. After discussing and organising the list of potential importers and distributors with the client, we contacted the shortlisted companies again to present the client’s winery and wines, export prices and other relevant information.

Whenever it was possible, we organised face-to-face meetings and tastings between those potential partners and the winery’s management team and collaborators. In addition, Bizuking accompanied the client’s team to specialised fairs to meet with some of these companies. In all cases, we collected valuable feedback from those companies about the client’s commercial offer, which served to make a series of recommendations about how to continue the commercial conversations with each potential partner, make certain adjustments to the offer and reinforce the commercial action plan.

At the end of the project, we delivered a report with the results of the business prospecting work and a series of recommendations on how to continue developing the business from that point. Bizuking’s relationship and collaboration with this client and its partners have continued after the conclusion of the original project.

The results

In the project’s first phase, Bizuking provided the client with an updated view of the competitive situation and organisation of the British wine market that allowed it to redefine its positioning and commercial strategy in the United Kingdom based on the winery’s strengths and capabilities.

In the project’s second phase, the business prospecting work allowed the client to present its winery and wine offering to more than twenty selected British importers and distributors. We organised various meetings and face-to-face tastings with several of these companies. During those encounters, we were able to gather first-hand information about how the market perceived the client’s winery and wines. Among other things, the feedback received allowed the client to know precisely the price range expected by the market for each type of wine and the precise requirements (price, sales volumes, certifications, etc.) for being included in the wine catalogue of some of these importers and distributors. All this translated into a series of recommendations the client could implement to establish import and distribution agreements with several of these companies. In addition, the rich information provided about the business and the key people in each of these companies has made it possible for the client to continue deepening on their own the commercial relationship with those importers and distributors once our project concluded.

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