Who's that you're drinking?

According to a new study conducted by research company Nielsen, "celebrity wines" are in particular on the rise - released by celebrities as diverse as film director Francis Ford Coppola, former NFL coach Mike Ditka, golfer Greg Norman or recent releases from Martha Stewart and Paul Newman.

The study finds that celebrity wines are up nearly 19 per cent in grocery store sales since last year and represent 0.9 per cent ($US41.8 million) of total wine sales. Celebrity spirits sales also show 19 per cent growth rate in grocery stores and represent 0.3 per cent ($7.5 million) of the total spirits category.

In liquor stores, celebrity spirits are growing at an even faster rate, showing a nearly 21 per cent increase since last year, compared to celebrity wines' liquor store growth rate of 8 per cent.
"Celebrities are increasingly lending their names to wine and spirits, for a variety of reasons,” says Richard Hurst, senior vice president, Beverage Alcohol, The Nielsen Company.

"While some celebrities have had a long-standing personal affinity for these product categories, others view these products as extensions of their established 'lifestyle brands' and have connected with willing supplier partners to produce and market them," he says.

"Some suppliers, particularly wine suppliers, do not have the resources to launch big advertising and promotional campaigns and a celebrity can lend a brand instant recognition. Ideally, the celebrity's reputation also helps reinforce the company's image in the marketplace.”

"Several factors are fuelling the growth of celebrity wines,” says Hurst. "First, existing brands are expanding and gaining new distribution through new line extensions. Second, more celebrities have launched their own brands in the past year or have had suppliers launch products under their names.

"As these brands have proven themselves, they've gained distribution in other retail outlets, which has further stimulated growth. And third, savvy marketers leverage the 'celebrity' benefit into expanded marketing programs via in-store vehicles, outdoor events and traditional and online media.”

Nielsen's research shows that while promotions, such as in-store advertising, are driving incremental sales, celebrity wines do not necessarily receive much more "retail paparazzi” support. Fifty per cent of celebrity wine volume is sold on promotion – about the same as the table wine category as a whole.

When it comes to pricing, however, consumers are paying an average of $US8.50 per 750ml bottle of celebrity wine, versus $5.75 per bottle of table wine. Most celebrity wines are priced between $12 and $15.

Geographically, celebrity wine sales tend to mirror table wine sales. Some markets however, particularly those on the west coast, are more receptive to celebrity brands.

Nielsen's analysis of grocery store sales in 52 US markets shows that consumers in Phoenix purchase 68 per cent more celebrity wine compared to table wine, relative to their national share, with Los Angeles and San Francisco, Dallas and San Diego also showing above average sales.

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