Constellation Brands has revealed the success of its Crafters Union canned wines means a similar concept is on the table for fellow NZ brand Kim Crawford.
CEO William Newlands noted during the company’s latest earnings call that it was bullish on the potential of canned wine.
The drinks giant recently tied up an NFL deal for Crafters Union in the hope US footy fans will embrace drinking wine while they watch a game.
“We have forged a relationship with the NFL to introduce our new Crafters Union wine in a can, which is the perfect format for football games and tailgating,” he said.
“We’re also looking at the idea of other can opportunities. I’ll give you an example – Kim Crawford. We’re looking at single serve Kim Crawford in a can as well.
“It is a great packaged for on-the-go and for certainly summer events and it seems like the consumer based on our research, the consumers are comfortable with a can format for wine. And therefore, we will participate with the brands that we feel are appropriate and where there is going to be real consumer demand within our portfolio.”
Newlands said Kim Crawford “continues to align with consumers” through its partnership with the US Open and other major tennis events and it recently launched a new TV and digital advertising campaign that will be featured during the US summer.
“These campaigns and sponsorships are just a few examples of the initiatives we have planned to strengthen the portfolio, drive consumer awareness and incremental growth,” he added.
Newlands said Kim Crawford was one of the brands Constellation expects to be the key drivers of the business long-term and had been out-performing the market.
“In addition, our Wine and Spirits innovation agenda has been successful with a focus on fast-growing categories, emerging formats and new flavor combinations.”
“As we begin the transformation journey for our Wine and Spirits business, I would like to reiterate our long-term goal for this business as we intend to grow net sales in the mid single-digit range with operating margins migrating to 30%. This quarter, we have made progress toward that goal and we look forward to shaping our Wine and Spirits business to be a best of class consumer goods portfolio with a market leading sales and margin profile.”
Sales of canned wine soared 43% between June 2017 and June 2018, according to BW 166, an alcohol market research firm. More than 20 wine brands sell close to 400 different wines in cans in the US, according to Nielsen, generating $US81 million in annual sales.
The canned wine category has gone from zero to hero in Australia as well – it’s predicted to hit $30million in sales in the next three years. Canned wine sales are currently around $7million.
