Market Watch, Summer 2020

SUMMER 2020 MARKETW ATCHMAG COM MARKET WATCH 35 PHOTO BY LEFT JOHN DAVIDSON 38 by volume and 17 by value in the 2019 period That was also true for Sutter Home which showed volume and value declines of 4 and 03 last year But in the period ending May 17 Barefoot showed volume and value rises of about 10 while Sutter Home managed more modest increases of 36 and 52 Other brands in IRIs top ten showed similar results with Josh Cellars booming 47 by volume and 466 by value in the year to date period through May 17 Spirits and wine sales of 750 ml bottles have been faring better than those in larger packages another sign of ongoing premiumization But larger format spirits packaging remains an important part of the mix and the move to alternative packaging in wine toward boxed wines in particular has continued apace The boxed segment is led by the 3 liter size which in IRI channels showed a 33 volume increase to 55 million cases and dollar sales rise of 32 to 334 million in the year to date through May 17 Bota Box remains the brand leader having already won Hot Brand status for its performance in calendar 2019 when it rose by 15 to nearly 8 million cases Its case volume in IRI channels for the year to date through May 17 was up a whopping 615 to just over 2 million cases while its dollar rose 627 to 1114 million Bota Box continues to bolster its lineup with new additions such as Nighthawk Golden Buttery Chardonnay which rolled out last year to target new preferences for more full bodied Chardonnays Elsewhere among boxed wines rival Black Box saw its volume rise 223 in the same period with value up 226 to 1177 million The gains represented a major improvement upon Black Boxs calendar 2019 performance which saw its volume decline by 27 to 685 million cases Brand owner Constellation is in the process of selling Black Box and a host of other brands to E J Gallo in a 1 billion deal that was awaiting regulatory approval at press time Elsewhere among boxed wines Franzia was up 12 to 529 million cases and saw a value rise of 167 to 1532 million in the year to date through May 17 E Commerce Explosion The real sea change brought on by Covid 19 has unquestionably been the rise of e commerce Wine com has seen exponential expansion while similar growth patterns were being seen by online delivery platforms such as Drizly Instacart Minibar and Thirstie albeit from smaller bases In total Nielsen estimated e commerce sales to have risen by 255 year on year during the week ending May 30 Wine com was leading the way in the online space even before the crisis with a 25 rise in annual sales to 165 million for its fiscal year ended March 31 Trailing 12 month sales in COVID 19 EFFECT ON OFF PREMISE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE DOLLAR SALES BY WEEK1 percent change 1 1 week percent change compared to the same week the year prior unless otherwise noted 2 Includes flavored malt beverages seltzer and cider 3 4 week percent change Source Nielsen Beer2 Spirits Wine 10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 5 30 20 5 23 20 5 16 20 5 9 20 5 2 20 4 25 20 4 18 20 4 11 20 4 4 20 3 28 20 3 21 20 3 14 20 2 22 203 1 25 203 Despite trending down in Nielsen channels in 2019 vodka shelves at Twin Liquors in Austin left sales were up over 20 in March April and May The sparkling wine category display at Kappys Fine Wine Spirits right saw 30 growth in volume compared to last year