Why Kylie Minogue’s wines have been a huge hit

For those who are sceptical about the combination of wine and celebrities, pop princess Kylie Minogue’s move into the sector proves that it’s possible to not only make it work, but create a booming business, and db finds out how.

Firstly, just how successful are Kylie Minogue Wines? Launched in May 2020 in partnership with Paul Schaafsma of Benchmark Drinks, the pair have together ensured that the celebrated-backed and branded wines have sold more than 15 million bottles since their union began, meaning that today Kylie’s pink wine is the best-selling rosé priced over £7 in the UK, as well as the number one branded Prosecco rosé and leading 0% premium wine.

It’s remarkable for such a young brand, particularly in a market that’s stagnant, although Kylie Minogue Wines are expanding internationally, with her label now in 32 countries, according to Schaafsma, who says that the demand for her bottles is “booming” and helping to make Benchmark Drinks one of the largest and fastest-growing wine businesses in the UK.

For Schaafsma, one key element to the power of Kylie’s vinous proposition is her active participation in the building of the brand. “She is heavily involved,” he told db during a meeting at Benchmark’s London-based HQ on Wednesday this week. “And everything she does now involves the wines – for example, her wines were everywhere at her concert in Hyde Park,” he adds referring to her live performance in London last weekend.

She’s also visits and approves all the suppliers, be they Zonin for the Prosecco, or Castel for the Provençal rosé, as well as Howard Park in Western Australia for her Chardonnay. She’s even popped up at trade fairs, making an appearance at ProWein last year, and it’s hoped, next year at Wine Paris.

Kylie and Schaafsma also seem good at tapping into the zeitgeist, be it affordable pale dry French rosé, pink Prosecco, or 0% sparkling, with more recent launches also proving extremely popular, such as an additional Prosecco DOC – this time white – that was Tesco’s most successful wine launch of this spring, according to Schaafsma.

And he has high hopes for this particular range extension, noting that Prosecco rosé is 25% of the total Prosecco market in the UK, “so we hope that in time the white will be three times the size of the rosé [which represents around 3.5m bottles annually] – but we don’t want to be greedy,” he said.

Then there’s the look of the wines, which again, Kylie is involved in, using her own hand for the typography and heart-shaped logo, while taking an active role in the overall appearance of everything that carries her name.

Importantly, the bottles have a distinctive look, and, Schaafsma assured db, it won’t be long before every bottle of wine carrying the Kylie Minogue name will be bespoke, with much of them already unique to the musician’s brand, with debossed hearts being the most prominent motif, in reference to the fact Kylie fans are called ‘lovers’.

Of course, it’s Kylie’s huge and loyal dedicated band of global followers as well as her overall fame that has been the key for creating awareness for the wines so quickly, but such recognition doesn’t always translate into business success.

Indeed, another reason for her wine’s chart-topping positions – in the UK at least – concern not just their look, or their on-trend liquid contents, but price positioning: Kylie’s wines are affordable and represent relative value to the competition.

For example, the new Kylie ‘Vin de Provence’ comes in a pretty clear glass bespoke and debossed bottle with pale, dry Provençal rosé inside, and yet it is price in UK retailers at £12, while sold on promotion at £10, significantly undercutting the second best-selling ‘premium’ rosé in the UK, which is Whispering Angel, with an average price of just over £18 (Nielsen).

“Kylie wants to make Provençal rosé accessible,” said Schaafsma, “And Vin de Provence is a bit more affordable than Côtes de Provence,” he added, referring to the grape and wine sourcing, which is done through Castel, who has a broad network of producers in the southern French region.

“But,” he stresses, “She wants to keep the packaging super premium,” and it’s this combination of looking smart while remaining accessible that has helped make the wines successful (you can see new look below). “The Vin de Provence is now in Tesco, where the rate of sale is six times what the [former Kylie-branded] Côtes de Provence was selling,” said Schaafsma.

Finally, there’s the aspect of consistency and reliability that Benchmark Drinks offers the retailers, which Schaafsma knows is key to retaining listings with the major UK retailers.

With much of Kylie’s wines shipped in bulk and bottled in the UK, using glass made by Encirc near Manchester, Benchmark has the wine in the market as well as the packaging – which means, said Schaafsma, “We have a reliable supply of glass, and UK stock, so we can deliver day 1 for day 3, guaranteeing supply – and one of the biggest issues for supermarkets is reliability with all the freight problems at the moment.”

Speaking more generally about working with Kylie, Schaafsma said, “She’s visited all the wine facilities, been involved in all the final blends, been to all the major fairs – it’s clear to the industry that she is committed, and this is something she wants to do for the rest of her life.”