A pact between wineries and large retailers to mitigate the impact of the escalation of production costs. This is the proposal that emerged at Vinitaly in Verona to prevent the great growth in production costs in the wine supply chain triggered by the energy bill (the glass and cardboard industries for packaging are highly energy-intensive) from translating into a drop in consumption, from the table. roundabout between manufacturing companies and large-scale retailers.
Hypermarkets and supermarkets represent the first sales channel in Italy for wine and especially in the pandemic and lockdown phase they have seen wine sales grow and have also repositioned their offer upwards. A trend that, however, the current economic situation risks blocking.
A supply chain from the vineyard to the table
The representative of the Italian Wines Union (and marketing director of Caviro) Benedetto Marescotti will break the ice at the round table on the hot topic of prices. «We need sharing and collaboration – explained Marescotti – between producers and trade, a true supply chain from the vineyard to the table. We can face the current inflation crisis only in transparency, to guarantee the production sector, the distribution sector and certainly not least, the consumers ”. “We want to continue – added the beverage manager of Carrefour Italy, Gianmaria Polti – in the process of improving the offer for our customers both as regards the selection and promotion of wineries and our branded products, in a category and for Carrefour remains strategic ».
Concern and optimism
Concern, but also optimism, were expressed by Mirko Baggio, representative of Federvini (and Sales Manager Italy of Villa Sandi. “After Easter – said Baggio – inflation will be felt in the wine and sparkling wines sector, but the strong growth that the types in the premium segment had in 2021 bodes well and makes us think that a repositioning of the whole sector is necessary to compensate for the high increases that have occurred for the wine raw material and dry materials (i.e. bottles, labels , caps and packaging materials ed) ».
The unknown of the coming months
“The real unknown about the market trend – concluded the beverage manager of Coop Italia, Francesco Scarcelli – will concern the next few months when the new price lists will go on the shelves, together with the decrease in the purchasing power of the final consumer, the increases in packaging and energy costs and the social and economic consequences that the Russia / Ukraine conflict is generating: all this will inevitably have effects on sales with a reduction in volumes ».