Spanish spend on wine grows by over 3%

Take-home wine spend grew by 3.3% while out-of-home sales rose by 3.9% in Spain

Spanish consumers increased their spend on wine by over 3% in 2015, with sales growing on purchases for both in-home and out-of-home consumption. The figures, from leading consumer insight provider Kantar Worldpanel, reveal that take-home spend grew by 3.3% while out-of-home sales rose by 3.9%.

The figures are the main finding of Kantar Worldpanel’s latest report, Wine Consumption in Spain Inside and Outside the Home. The study, has found that Spaniards spend an average of €4.60 each time they buy wine to consume at home, compared with €7.90 when in a bar or restaurant.

Edurne Uranga, Out of Home Sector Director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Sales have risen across take-home and out-of-home wine purchases. Consumers are increasingly ordering whole bottles of wine instead of by the glass when they’re out and about. Meanwhile, growth at home is due to more sophisticated tastes with a rise in the purchase of Designation of Origin (DO) wine in the past year, which involves an outlay three times greater than on wine without a geographical indication.

“We tend to play it safe and choose wines of famous origins buying to drink it at home, but in restaurants or bars we’re more willing to follow advice and try other brands or designations. Seven of the country’s major DO wines – Rioja, Duero, Catalonia/Penedés, Valdepeñas, Rueda, Mancha and Jumilla – account for over 80% of wine consumed at home but only 57% of out-of-home consumption.”

Rioja takes the lead both inside and outside the home, accounting for 36% and 27% of sales respectively, followed by Duero, Cataluña/Penedés, Valdepeñas and Rueda.

Of the 76 occasions during which the average Spaniard aged 18 or over consumers wine in a year, only 10 are outside the home and an overwhelming proportion of those at home – 98% – are to accompany lunch or dinner. Out-of-home is more varied, with aperitif or evening drinking accounting for almost half of consumption.

Edume Uranga comments: “Spanish consumers display very different drinking habits inside and outside the home – understanding these differences and consumers’ needs on these occasions is the way forward for brands and producers to correctly position their product and take advantage of the growing market.”