The invasion of Ukraine it is wreaking havoc on an economic level as well. The Spanish wine exports they are accusing the current situation, since despite being waged in a single country, it affects all of Europe and also Asia. Asia is precisely one of the markets that Spanish wineries have targeted in recent years, along with Latin America.
However, at the moment, according to experts, The United States is emerging as the ideal market for Spanish wine: in particular, for the more than 4,500 wineries in our territory, of which a large part are small and medium-sized.
The five reasons to export wine to the United States
Alvaro Gimenez, CEO of the consulting firm specializing in internationalization Gimenez & Sigwald Wine Associates, knows the US market well and considers it a safe and lasting alternative to the volatility of the Asian and South American markets. According to this expert, Spain could pass the one billion euros in wine exports to the United States in five years and double its market share. An opinion shared by many other experts: during the annual meeting of the Spanish Wine Federation, held last week in Toledo, all the speakers cited the United States as the preferred market for wine made in Spain.
According to Giménez, these would be the reasons for choosing the United States as a destination for Spanish wine exports:
- growth margin: “Spanish wine only represents 6% – 7% of the market share in the United States, while other countries such as France or Italy triple our presence, so it still has a long way to go to grow.”
- Loyalty and vision of the future: “American clients are interested in establishing a lasting relationship with the winery: they know that introducing a new wine to their catalog is an effort that is rewarded in the long term. It is a philosophy of action that is different from that of other continents, where immediate supply is worked more on”.
- traceability: “In the United States there is much more bureaucratic transparency, solid regulation of firm trade agreements, reliability and stability of the legal, business, customs environment… In addition, communication is much more fluid and constant, and buyers are more open to establishing a strong personal relationship.
- Worth: “In North America there is indeed a wine culture, given that it is also a producing market. It is about positioning the genre in a place where it is appreciated by the consumer, emphasizing its quality”.
- cultural closeness: “The cultural and business codes between the United States and Europe are closer. There is a greater probability of establishing strong and lasting commercial ties”.
“In Spain we produce great wines that have good opportunities in the US market, but it is essential to know how to arrive with a solid strategy, with well-defined objectives and audiences”, concludes Álvaro Giménez.
