Exporting eco-friendly wine

He recommends research to any business considering a new market. “You need to get in the market when it’s developing so people will take up your wine for distribution and then you’ve actually got the chance to manipulate your wine style to what people want,” he says. “In our main markets, which are the UK and USA, we actually got there early enough. And at the moment we’re doing very well in China as well.”

Always keep your consumers in mind, says Peace. “You need to make sure you do consumer research and let your consumer tell you what products work,” he explains.

“We try and open up in one or two markets a year, and we’ll go and get a feel for the product and label, maybe bringing back a couple of bottles of wine so we can taste them and do some analysis, try and target our style to their style and look for a distributor; that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

When deciding on label changes, Peace visits different label companies and graphic designers, gathering ideas to create a shortlist, and makes his final decision based on consumer research and focus groups. “I’m not saying that’s the be all and end all, but we try to take some advice before making a change,” he says. The Andrew Peace Wines label was recently changed in the UK, and sales jumped seven percent within the first few months.

Peace prefers a hands-on approach to business, and spends time in each marketplace talking to buyers and distributors. “If you went out there without talking to the market, it’s more of a risk.” He also takes part in larger events and fairs, where he can talk to hundreds of people each day.

Having taken the time and care to create a popular product, Peace spends about $20,000 each year on trademarking. “Trademarks are underestimated,” he says. “Especially in a business like ours; at the end of the day your brand is very important because it’s the future of your sales.”

Trading in foreign currency is also taken too lightly, says Peace. “The exchange rate is a big problem for exporters, if you get paid in Australian dollars, that’s a plus,” he says. “At the moment we’re doing business in the USA and Canada in American dollars and that’s an absolute nightmare; we’re making a conversion loss.”

With his sights firmly fixed on the business’ future, Peace explains that his five-year plan still includes increasing sales, despite worries about another drought. “Currently our packaged sales are about 750,000 cases; we’d like to get that to about a million cases. That’s a big ask, but that’s what we’re looking to do in the next five years.”    

The Face of Wine

What does the move to ratify the World Wine Trade Group Agreement on wine labelling requirements mean for exporters?

“If we could have a standard label for a group of countries, it would be much better,” says Andrew Peace, from Andrew Peace Wines. “Especially if you look at it from Australia’s point of view; 80 percent of Australia’s wine exports are to six or seven different countries. Now if you could have one standardised label for all of those markets, that’s a saving right there.”

Having to print multiple labels is also a strain on our already struggling environment, he says.

Peace’s advice when it comes to labels? “Make sure that before you print your label you get the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation to approve it. A lot of people have a problem when they jump the gun.”