Champagne’s future markets: #10 Africa

One can’t help but feel sometimes that a little too much attention and excitement is falling on those new kids on the block, the oft-referenced markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Like someone fallen head over heels with a new lover, the trade seems to have focused the majority of its energies and attention on these new and exciting places and, like many a newly love-struck fool, is quite blind to their (sometimes considerable) faults.

Rising they may be, but is it possible that other – perhaps more suitable – markets are being overlooked?

This is a point of view put forward by the director of communication at the Comité Champagne, Thibaut le Mailloux, who says: “I think that in 2013 it is definitely going to be interesting to look at a number of markets beyond the BRICs.”

Rabobank recently published a report which, in its way, warned the trade not to forget what it termed “gem markets”, such as Poland, Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico in the rush to court China. They may not be as immediately glamorous as China, but to neglect them now will leave producers struggling to play catch-up in the future.

Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness research analyst, Stephen Rannekleiv, states: “Wine companies are now facing the question of what to do with these four hidden gems. Although they present opportunities, each has a very different market with much uncertainty for traditional branded wine companies.

“The flip side is that early exposure to nascent markets gives a company hard-won experience and expertise as well as a head start on the competition that will likely emerge as the markets develop. Wine companies that manage these opportunities correctly have a chance at securing long-term profitable growth.”

Of course, Champagne must work on developing the BRICs for exactly the reasons stated above. As Hugues le Marié, Americas and Western Europe regional director of Champagnes for Pernod Ricard, says: “Our view is that we should consolidate our position in the key BRIC markets first before looking to the other developing markets – more could be less if we expand too fast without initially investing enough there. We should not forget that a lot of ground work is still to be done to consolidate the position of our Champagne brands.”

But the real question still remains, are the BRICs really are as integral to Champagne’s future as everyone keeps insisting or should some of them be considered as more important when taken as part of their wider respective regions?

Listed here, in ascending order, are 10 markets and market blocs that are destined to have the greatest impact on Champagne’s future.

This article was first published in the drinks business Trends Report 2012. N.B. At the time of going to press, all figures were the latest from the CIVC and cover the year 2011 in full.

10. South Africa and Nigeria

Africa is not usually mentioned in the wine world when new markets are discussed. Some articles on South Africa report that producers there are finding a growing market on the continent in Nigeria, Mozambique or Namibia, but little more than that. The beer market is perhaps growing faster in Africa and the brewing powerhouses have poured millions into the continent over the past few years, no small amount of which was invested this year (2012).

If this list were considering up-and-coming beer markets then Africa would be very much to the fore.

But to count Africa out of the wine world would be a mistake. Economies are growing and as le Mailloux points out, the link between Africa and former European colonial masters has left cultural links that value wine.

“Nigeria,” he adds, ”remains very close to Britain and is also a successful gin and Cognac market.”

A recent report for the drinks business Hong Kong by Euromonitor pointed out that Nigeria is projected to be the world’s second fastest growing Champagne market by volume between 2011 and 2016, according to the CIVC.

Nigerian oil production

Charles Armand de Belenet, global marketing and communications director for Perrier-Jouët and Mumm, said in the same article that, as Champagne consumption was getting bigger in Nigeria, “we are building our network there and it is one of the most attractive places for us at the moment”.

Both Nigeria and South Africa show strong growth potential, having risen 16% and 15% over 2011 respectively to 688,355 and 443,016 bottles (CIVC figures to end of Dec 2011).

What is driving the growth in both countries is starkly different. In Nigeria, it is oil and the vast, sudden, accumulation of wealth – good for boosting volume figures but not appreciation of course. Meanwhile, in South Africa the fact that it is a wine-producing country in its own right has doubtless spurred on wine consumption and with it the desire to import and drink other wines.

They may be markets driven in very different ways but they are driven nonetheless and will only grow in stature over time.