Sales of wine in cans soaring in the US as millennials embrace alternative format
The demand for wine in cans in the US has rocketed, particularly amongst millennials who like the portability and convenience the format offers.
In the year between June 2017 and June 2018, sales of canned wine jumped by 43%, and the market is now worth $45m.
Graham Veysey, founder of Mancan, the first exclusive wine in a can company in the US told Business Insider South Africa that the future looks very promising.
“Mancan has been experiencing serious year after year growth with placements at major retailers throughout the US,” he said. And buyers who were turned off by the concept only three years ago are now converts, he claimed.
There are now over 100 canned wine brands in the US, and Australian producers are now also scrambling on board, with Innocent Bystander releasing a canned wine this year, despite the Australian company’s failure to get the same product launched to market five years ago.
“In markets like the US, wine in cans has seen significant adoption over the last couple of years, and I think Australian wine lovers are now ready to get on board,” said Mat Janes, head of Innocent Bystander.
“There has been a significant shift in the level of acceptance form the wine trade.” The main resistance that needs to be overcome, similarly to screwcaps back in the day, is established views around wine packaging. In Australia we love our 750ml bottles and wine drinkers, retailers and on-premise outlets have struggled to adopt new formats for wine.”
But it’s a different story in South Africa, where wine drinkers are relatively conservative, according to Phillip Retief, CEO of Van Loveren Vineyards, which sells their Tangled Tree range in PET bottles and Unplugged Pouches - a portable foil pouch with a tap.
“Generally, it’s a difficult sell and the best way to get traction is through aggressive pricing. I think it is about surety, or confidence, in a certain packaging type.
“It also shows that the economy is under pressure and consumers do not want spend money on something new for the risk of making a mistake.” Two years ago, Van Lveren wanted to start producing canned wine, but couldn’t get approval.