UK buyers reveal the secrets of how to do business in the UK
By Richard Siddle
The UK is in the news for all the wrong reasons when it comes to international trade. The ongoing saga about whether and when it will ever strike a deal to leave the European Union is now entering into its final phase, but for wine businesses the world over the decision cannot be made sooner enough. Particularly if you are a European wine producer looking to do business in the UK.
The UK’s politicians might not be the envy of the world at the moment, but its wine buyers are. The old adage that if you can make it in the UK wine market, you can make it anywhere in the world still holds true for so many producers looking to expand their international exports.
But what is it that UK trade buyers look for when trying to bring a wine into what is widely regarded as one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive wine markets in the world? What are the key factors you have to get right before your wine is taking seriously?
Ross Sleet, who has worked for major wine businesses both in the UK and South Africa, including Constellation and Distell, and is now looking to exports his range of Rascallion blended wines into the UK, has this simple guide on what the UK is looking for: “Every country,” he says, “looks at your wine in a different way. In the UK they look at price first and then the wine. In Japan it is the story first, then the wine. Scandinavia is all about the wine. The US is a mixture.”
The UK market’s obsession with price might be a bit of a cliche, but only because it is true. This was clear to see at a recent trade panel featuring Portuguese wine producers from the Douro Valley who were asking the advice of key UK buyers and influencers about what steps they needed to take before their wines would be taken seriously in the UK.
A panel with wide ranging experience and buying power. The number one message from Alistair Morrell, former supermarket buyer turned consultant, was not to look at the UK as just one market. As a mature wine consuming country it has developed a number of new routes to market, some separate, some overlapping, so it is nigh on impossible to have an all encompassing approach. The key, he said, is to do your homework.
Harry Hunt who makes wine himself in Andulucia, Spain, was particularly well placed to share his advice and he made it clear how hard it was to get your foot in the door. "The UK is an extremely challenging market. There is enormous amount of competition, and it’s very price driven. You have to be creative and innovative, particularly in terms of packaging, design and NPD.”
He said producers could not just turn up with their wine with a take it or leave it approach. Yes, you have to make the wine as true to your terroir and region as possible, but with such a consumer driven market as the UK you also have to listen to the needs of the buyers, retailers and importers and what wines they need to satisfy the local tastes and preferences of their consumers.
You have got “get into the mind of the buyer,” added Hunt. If you can understand the challenges, the pressures and the issues they are facing then you are more than half way home.
Hunt, for example, has teamed up with two other UK winemakers working in Spain to combine forces so that they can source and supply wine from all over the country covering all price points and volumes. “We are so much strong together,” he said.
Here the challenge is as much about offering effective supply chain and logistics solutions as it is offering yet another bottle of wine from Spain.
“We are trying to be as flexible as we can to help UK buyers with their challenges in this market,” he said. “We are looking to offer solutions as well as just wine. That’s why it is important you understand the dynamics of the market, only then can you come up with options for buyers.”
Horses for courses
Different buyers will also be looking for different things for their sector of the market, said restaurant and wine consultant, Peter McCombie. A buyer looking to source a supermarket £5 wine is going to have very different criteria to a restaurant buyer that can add in multiples of three or four to the trade price for their list.
If you are looking to target the mid to premium restaurant, pub and bar sector then you will need to have your wines priced between £25 to £50, he added.
He also stressed the UK is effectively two markets, particularly in the on-trade. “London is not the UK. It is completely different to what is going on elsewhere in the country.”
It’s why it is vital any producer looking to succeed in the UK market has to have good local support. “You have to be visible,” he said.
Hunt agreed: “Don’t just think getting a listing is the end of it. It’s just the beginning. We spend a lot of time in the UK doing exactly that, training staff and creating ambassadors for your wines here.”
Alistair Morrell could not agree more: “It’s all about relationships, relationships, relationships.”
Those relationships can easily be broken if producers look to sell the same wine in different channels of the market. Supermarket wines, for example, are rarely seen in an independent restaurant. Simply create different labels of the same wine for the various channels, urged Hunt.
Market driven
John Graves, on-trade director at national distributor, Bibendum, said its main focus on deciding what to source comes back to what its “customers are interested in buying”. “Restaurants talk to other restaurants and often it’s word of mouth,” he added. “We are always looking to build that loyalty amongst our customers.”
Finding the right partner, importer or supplier is arguably more important than any listing you get, said the panel.
McCombie urged producers to do their homework about the importers that might be doing business with. “There are a lot of people out there who want to supply and import wine. So there are lots of opportunities, but have you done your channel strategy to work out where your wines should be sold. You must do your homework. You have to take it that seriously.”