Italian wines gaining stronger foothold in China, as consumers become more experimental
A growing interest in Italian wines in China driven by increasing incomes and more sophisticated tastes is encouraging consumers to look beyond the traditionally popular French and Australian offerings.
Italy has been aggressively marketing its wines in the Asian country where the bulk are sold in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Sichuan and Liaoning provinces, as well as Shanghai and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
And Southern Italian wines have been particularly well received, according to producers, with their reasonable price tags selling in the region of around 100 yuan ($14) per bottle, according to Fabio Marini, export manager of Italian winery Cherri.
"Most wineries in Italy are not big, and they have different focuses. Italian wines are relatively fresh for Chinese consumers,” he told China Daily. “Most Chinese prefer strong wines with high alcohol content, and Italian wines cater to that appetite.” He added that while the costs and taxes they faced in China were “relatively high”, he said he hoped there would be “improvement in that area”.
Last year, SinoDrink part of the Genagricola group, sold 1.3 million bottles of Italian wine in China, and it's sales have grown byt nearly a third (30%) in the past few years.
"E-commerce platforms are a new form of sales channel and we have launched our flagship store on Tmall,” said Liu Qiang, general manager of Genagricola in China. Yet, wine is a relatively special product, as it embodies unique culture and needs to be appreciated and tasted personally," he said.
"Some wines that are widely promoted and have strong brand impact in China will be better sold through e-commerce channels."
Chengdu Two Lions Trading Co, which acts a dealer for an Italian winery in Chengdu, has also reported success in the Chinese market, with sales in the past three years up by 20% annually. The company’s general manager Augusto Bordini said he intended to invest three million yuan in promoting Italian wines in China, and had plans to team up with e-commerce platforms JD and Tmall to sell its wines.
Last year, the total export value of Italian wine reached 6.2 billion euros ($795 million), and the bilateral trade value between China and Italy reached $54.24 billion, up 9.1% year-on-year.
"China has entered a period of accelerated consumption upgrading, and the consumption structure has improved from survival to growth and enjoyment,” said former Italian prime minister Massimo D’Alema.
"Guizhou province……..has rich resources, a pleasant climate, and huge potential for development. It is attractive to investors. Guizhou has many similarities with Italy, and there are many areas available for potential cooperation," he said.