Richmond Marketing launches ‘Wine Friendly’
The move into the on- and off-trade wine market follows considerable research on behalf of the company by iReach which found that four out of five alcohol-drinking adults consume wine while 81 per cent of regular wine drinkers would consider drinking wine in a pub. However 67 per cent of ‘home’ wine drinkers would not order wine in a pub.
According to Richomnd’s On-trade Director Flor Prendergast, who’s in charge of the new Wine Friendly initiative, “34 per cent of wine drinkers who go to a pub are not open to drinking wine there while 33 per cent already drink wine in pubs if the offering is right (60 per cent of whom are female and visit a pub only ‘occasionally’)”.
The consumer preference research revealed that 34 per cent chose a wine by the occasion or the colour, 24 per cent made their choice on country or region, 22 per cent by grape variety and 20 per cent on price.
The research also turned up consumers’ preferred wine choices in the on-trade: Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, Australian Shiraz and Spanish Rioja came out on top in the reds while New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Pinot Grigio and Australian Chardonnay scored for the whites.
As a result, Richmond has tailored its new on-trade wine offering to reflect these preferences with three reds and four whites.
In summary, the research found that 52 per cent of respondents would drink wine in a pub if the selection and service of wine was improved, 21 per cent would like to see better value and nine per cent wanted to see more knowledge demonstrated by staff. Eight per cent sought a more wine-oriented atmosphere and seven per cent would drink wine if it were better promoted.
The size of offering was also important. 76 per cent of wine drinkers wanted to order wine by the glass and the same percentage wanted a choice of different-sized servings.
As part of it’s initiative, Richmond has set out five Easy Steps to Win Wine Drinkers in Pubs:
Selection – Richmond’s Wine Friendly range
Serve – the customer wants a sense of theatre when ordering wine no matter what size of serve
Value – Richmond now offers the on-trade wine by the glass at €4 (70 per cent margin), by the karafe at €12 (66 per cent margin) and by the bottle at €17 (66 per cent margin) thus enabling the proprietor to pass the saving onto his customers without eroding margin
Communication – Chalkboards, bespoke wine menus and an outdoor ‘Wine Friendly’ accreditation sign are available from Richmond. A ‘Wine Friendly’ plaque is available to place by the door outside while an easy-to-understand wine list offers the consumer a feeling of comfort when ordering from Richmond’s wine list.
Staff Knowledge – Making wine easy is an important part for employees at all levels of understanding so ‘Cheat Sheets’ have been specially-created for staff offering them a comprehensive reference at a glance.
76 per cent of wine drinkers wanted to order wine by the glass and the same percentage wanted a choice of different-sized servings.
