With the new policies of allowing sales through the retail and supermarkets, this segment is about to grow exponentially, what with Wal-Mart, Tesco, and our own desi Food Bazaar and Reliance etc ready to spread their wings. Currently, wine retail accounts for less than 10% of total sales. Most countries peg this figure at 50%. In India , this figure can easily reach 60% if the hotels continue to extort, thus offering a huge sales potential in this sector. A recent study by Technopak estimates that the number of super-rich households with an income of over Rs. 40 lakhs (US $ 90,000) will be about 1.8 million by the end of 2007 and the number of consumers in such households will exceed 6 million. If 10% of this population can be tapped for drinking one case of wine a year (regular wine drinkers in this category already consume more than 10), this implies a potential sale of 600,000 cases, an increase of more than 400%- from this segment alone. And premium wines (Retail Price Rs.1200-3000) will find a ready market with this set provided there are distributors willing to tap this segment.

Fortunately, there is a change in the offing. Many new and serious players are entering the fray- UB group being just one of them. Smaller players with bigger dreams, like A Votre Sante, Amfora Wines, Chateau d'Ory, Pearl wines are a few of many new entrants. Maureen Kerleau a French exporter has been focusing on India with blinkers on. After participating twice in IFE – India , a premier food and wine show held in Delhi every December, she has firmed up her distribution set up and is ready to charge. Marlies Grumbach of Wineland, Germany brought Gunderloch and Dr. Loosen wines at the same show and was able to sign up Brindco after proper follow ups.

Wine shows like IFE India or Vinitaly India are a perfect hunting ground for locating new distributors. There are many passionate entrepreneurs who are hungry for new business and are looking for good products. Such shows provide a common meeting ground, apart from providing the F & B personnel an opportunity to expose to the unexplored world of wines, without moving out of the city. A word of caution to the wine producers though- watch out for the fly-by-night operators. Consultants like Indian Wine Academy should be engaged to check out such rogue importers before shipping the container-full of wines and celebrating hitting the jackpot.

The wine market will continue to expand even within the current scenario. If you are a producer, remember patience and perseverance is the mantra for this difficult market. If you are an Indian entrepreneur with passion for wine and penchant for selling, importing wines could be yours to reach that pot of gold. Even if you fail to become the top importer, the journey through the world of wine would be a reward in itself. And you would have helped de-clog the choked wine distribution channel!

Cheers,

Subhash Arora