Historically the Chinese have consumed rice wine, but this is moving slowly as more people enjoy red wine. They are also attracted to the health benefits of red wine - the most well known of which is heart health. In China alone there are 1.4 billion people and the current wine market is only 5% of that - therefore the potential is clearly apparent.
The upper-income brackets in China are unconcerned with the price of good wine, the longevity of their wines is more important because they revere the concept of wine as investment and will happily spend large amounts on good wine that will mature over a few years - in taste and value.
Currently, the top French chateaux wines are still the most purchased with the top Australian wines also doing well. South African wines are still behind as they are quite new in the market. The interest however is definitely there and the 350 years of history of the local wine market is one that appeals greatly. South African wine brands and industry organizations such as WOSA have noticed this and most have appointed Asian agents and marketing managers who are focused purely on this region and how to maximize market share and positively impact sales.
James Tan, business development director for Asia for Leopard's Leap, has been actively involved in ensuring that broad distribution channels are in place, that these are aware of the product and that this is correctly placed in that market.
“Through the creation of local structure in this region, we have realized that very specific strategies are needed for emerging wine markets, which can be in direct opposition to the marketing plans used locally,” says Hein. “There is a huge gap in the generic marketing of South African wines in Asia - the average Asian consumer does not know SA wine very well so will shy away from buying it. To increase awareness of SA wines as a whole will only benefit the industry, as well as the key players therein.
“Therefore local PR and marketing strategies should widen their view and incorporate global audiences to educate potential consumers on the diversity and quality of our wines and thereby grow our future export channels,” he concludes.
