Several time per year a consumer insights team at LVMH, the luxury products company headquartered in France, conducts market research on trends, occasions, behavior and spending habits of shoppers. Headed by Emma de Szoeke, SVP of Moët-Hennessy Consumer Insights, Analytics & Business Growth, they track big and small trends to stay ahead of what consumers desire during key occasions throughout the year. This season they have identified 3 trends that are influencing consumer purchases for wine and champagne.
“The holiday season is a time that people spend more money on celebrating,” states De Szoeke, in an online interview. “However we have seen a spike in year-round celebratory moments – especially in this post-pandemic era. The one mainstay from the pandemic is people enjoying elevated celebrations and experiences at-home.”
So what are the three hot consumer trends that the team has identified that impact wine and champagne? De Szoeke describes each of them below, with examples of new product innovations they have created to match the trends.
Trend #1: Personalization in Gifting
“One of the main trends this season has been personalization,” reports De Szoeke. “People continue to look for gifts that feel tailored and customized, and show increased thought, intentionality and quality.”
An example of a personalized gift is the ability for consumers to include a personal message on the product, or something that has been engraved to commemorate an occasion. It could also be a special package with a personalized design, color, logo or other option to communicate the amount of care and thought that went into the gift selection.
At Moet-Hennessy, they have created a special e-commerce site, Our Cellar, which allows consumers to select and personalize wine and champagne options. De Szoeke provides some examples of products they have developed to match the personalization trend.
“The Moët Imperial Brut “Cheers to You” Gift Box, which is also available in rosé, (has) messaging like “To Your Future”,” she explains. “The Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut Customizable Gift Box allows you to write your own message with a gold pen that accompanies the gift. Additionally, some of our prestige bottles like the Krug Cuvée 170th Edition allow for customized engraving on the gift box.”
Emma Szoeke, SVP of Moët Hennessy Consumer Insights, Analytics & Business Growth Division
Trend #2: Sustainable Packaging for Wine and Champagne
Though many of the boxes and fancy packaging that adore high-end wine, champagne, spirits and perfume bottles are quite attractive, increasingly consumers are feeling guilty about throwing them away into garbage landfills. Thus sustainable packaging is a growing trend.
“Sustainability continues to be a huge priority among consumers,” reports De Szoeke. “They are looking for brands that offer eco-friendly products or packaging. Our oldest champagne maison, Ruinart, offers a beautiful sustainable “Second Skin” packaging that protects the sleek bottle with a modern, eco-friendly alternative to the traditional gift box. This “second skin” case preserves the quality of the wine while reducing its carbon footprint by 60%.”
Another LVMH brand that features sustainable packaging is the Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label, which comes with a newly designed 100% ice jacket made of recycled knitted fibers. According to De Szoeke, this iconic brand makes up 46% of champagne sold during the holiday season – especially for New Year’s.
Over the past decade, many wineries have been focused on creating sustainable wine, but not as many have tackled the important issue of sustainable packaging.
Trend #3: Unique and Exclusive Options
The third trend has to do with consumer desire for a product that is unique and exclusive. This could be special holiday packaging, a limited gift box, or just purchasing an expensive bottle of wine or champagne that is well-known for making a luxury statement.
“A bottle or packaging that sparks and expresses holiday joy and cheer,” explains De Szoeke, is an example of this trend. “It could be a limited-edition bottle or an elevated and exclusive gift box.”
Moet-Hennessy matches this trend by offering many gift box options, including the customizable ones included in the personalization trend section above. From their Chandon winery in Napa, California, they have created several gift box sets. One that taps into the post-pandemic behavior of celebrating all year long is the Chandon Spontaneous Set, which features 3 magnums of sparkling wine and 6 large glasses.
Note: It seems as if many Champagne houses have tapped into the special gift set option, as featured in this Forbes article.