The Future of the English Wine Industry - Assignment Example

The Future of the English Wine Industry Introduction The report will first present the secondary research trough its first part and next willbe the literature review. The primary research will be carried out in the methodology and will include qualitative and quantitative methods of eliciting information about the knowledge people have about the UK wine industry and about how much pubs, restaurants and hotels are ordering UK wine from their suppliers. All that will lead to the findings which will give an idea about the future of the UK wine industry and in which direction it is heading. In this project it is hoped to analyze about the beginning, development and the future of the UK wine industry. The historical context of the UK wine industry will be analyzed in that the people and firms who decided to develop the wine industry in the UK will be focused upon. Factors which were vital in the process of early development in order to continue the production of wine and maintain its success will be looked at. The competition in the market for the wines produced in the UK will be researched. It would be analyzed just how conducive the prevailing climate in various parts of UK are for the growth of grapes and the availability of land. The government policies and rules and regulations with regard to the production of wine in the UK would also be considered. Whether these are supportive to the UK wine industry or not will be highlighted. Research will be conducted to find out the general popularity of wine among British people and whether the popularity is increasing or not. The awareness and knowledge about the British wine in the hospitality industry such as among the restaurants and hotels in the UK would also be considered. That is how much restaurants and hotels are ordering British wine from their suppliers and the demand for these by the customers will be looked at. It is also hoped to highlight upon how the hospitality industry can contribute and support the development of wine industry in the UK such as with different ways of advertising and promotion. Finally this project hopes to give an insight about the future of the UK wine industry and in which direction it is heading. The popularity of UK wine is at an all time high. This has prompted some research in this area. Literature review Wine, which could be considered as a convenience product is taken by UK people with their daily meals. The wine industry could be defined with reference to enterprises mainly involved in producing wines, brandy sprits and brandy. This enterprise also includes bonded wine cellars who are engaged in blending wines. Therefore this study covers virtually every characteristic of the novel theoretical and conceptual framework of analysis on the concept of the future of the UK wine industry. Research conducted by independent researchers in recent times into the wine industry in the UK indicates the way the industry is affected by economic, social, environmental and technological connotations and denotations (ONeill, & Palmer, 2002). This literature review would highlight on the future trends related learning outcomes of the UK wine industry and also the theoretical and conceptual framework and the industry contribute and support development, its overall effect on the wine industry in the UK in various ways. However according to the Anderson (2005) the modern conceptualization of the UK wine business as a paradigm that sets trends to be followed by societies, in which they operate thus, is influencing the very behavioral dynamics of those industry trends and practices, is far more appropriate to UK wine industry’s revolutionary and thought provoking future initiatives. Selley (2008) in his book of ‘The Wine lands of Britain: Past, Present & Prospective’ indicates that history of UK wine industry dates back to the Roman times. Even though UK is one of the smallest wine producers in the EU, it is the biggest importer in the world by value. Uk consists of a booming wine industry and in fact is assumed to be the center of the international trade in wine encompassing importers and bottlers through to freight forwarders and retailers. There are 362 registered vineyards in the UK, consisting of 923 hectares (www.englishwineproducers.com). The author, Selley has highlighted that rising summer temperatures could have a direct impact on some parts of the UK, Thames Valley, parts of Hampshire and Severn Valley, which presently consists of a number of vineyards, will be too hot to support wine production within the next 75 years. In the current literature on the aspect of wine industry evolution, according to Barty-King (1977) the UK wine industry isn’t simply a SWOT-based story of growth and success. In fact it is placing in the environment of competition and marketing requires a much greater analytical focus in reference to its value creation within and without the wine industry. Its internal value chain management process is not similar elsewhere within the industry. Likewise its external supply chain management process of wine is probably one of the best in creating a systemic approach to managing supplier networks that are synonymous with product homogeneity and uniformity in industrial culture. Skelton (2009) says that social, economical and environmental transformation processes can assume such extreme characteristics on wine industry as that of other food industries in UK. This is of theoretical and conceptual significance in the context of the evolving industrial culture. In the first instance the industry’s capability to leave an imprint on the transformation process by enticing its activities to adopt the former’s characteristics would inevitably have an impact on the long term industrial outcomes that concern both the wine industry and UK. For example, New Zealanders, Australians and the Americans are highly influenced by wine as a beverage in their food habits. According the Levin (2004) Australia consists of the highest per drinker consumption of wine when compared to the top exporters in the wine market. The US is a large market and their per-drinker consumption is very low. However critics have indicated that the wine industry will need to deal with the numerous issues and increasingly complex environment within which it operates. It provides little help in thinking about the deep, but as yet, unidentified or unclear implications for the wine industry of such things as, Oversupply and proliferation of supply Consolidation of retailers – e.g. a tighter control over distribution Retailer "Private Label" strategies. As a result the current strengths of UK wine market are based on aspects related to a very strong market presence associated with its high demand from the other countries. Apart from this its geographically diversified presence in different parts of the world including those of the emergent markets like India has allowed it to achieve growth across a broader spectrum of market segments for a variety of wine brands (Quinton, 2008). UK wine industry has also been strategically positioned throughout the world. Its current strategic operational strength lies in this latter capability built through sustained efforts over the years. Thus exponential growth figures in demand have almost favored by UK wine industry. Drummond (2005) highlighted that the United Kingdom (UK) is one of the worlds most booming markets for wine. Almost the entire product sold in the British market is imported, with 5.9 million hectoliters (hl) coming from countries outside the UK, as against 710,000 hl produced locally. Per capita consumption of wine has increased considerably in the UK - from about 2 liters in 1967 to about 12 liters today. The United Kingdom has in fact become one of the key growth markets for wine in Europe. With 43 supplying countries, the UK has also become the worlds most intensely contested market. The UK wine tastes have become more complex recently. There has been a tendency to go for drier wines in recent times. Apart from this, the medium to high alcohol wines have not caught on among younger consumers. Due to the fact that most consumers are health conscious, wines made by controlled fermentation and having an alcoholic strength near to 9 percent by volume are in high demand. The tastes of consumers are also drifting towards red and rose wines (www.allbusiness.com). According to the Roy Morgan Research (2004) on Wine Industry Outlook, age of the current wine consumers have been considered as a threat to the future of the wine industry as most of the older groups are still drinking sherry as their beverage. Vineyards in the UK are mostly situated in the south east of England, in the counties of Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. The weather plays an influential role on the character of a wine. However it should be noted that the climate is not the only aspect that should be taken into account when growing a vineyard, as both the soil and orientation of the land are also important. Wines are then planted to match both the climate and the soil. The UK is currently at the fringe of the vine growing region, but with climate change, more areas of the country should be conducive for growing the correct grapes. The demand for British wine at restaurants and hotels in UK is at an all time high because of its high quality and improvement in reputation (Cohen, 2009). Unprecedented "perfect growing conditions" throughout the season is likely to make 2009 a vintage year. The hospitality industry in UK can further contribute towards the demand and popularity of British wines through innovative advertising methods. From the above findings it can be safely inferred that the demand and popularity of UK wines in the UK market is bound to grow. REFERENCES 1. Anderson, K 2005, The Worlds Wine Markets: Globalization at Work, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. 2. Barty-King, H 1977, A tradition of English wine: the story of two thousand years of English wine made from English grapes, Illustrated Press, Oxford. 3. Cohen, E 2009, ‘A cross-cultural comparison of choice criteria for wine in restaurants,’ International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol.21, no.1, pp.50-63. 4. Drummond, G 2005, ‘Consumer confusion in the UK wine industry’, Journal of Wine Research, vol.16, no.1, pp.55 – 64. 5. Levin, M 2004, Wine Industry Outlook: Consumption Demographics, Market Segmentation, Trends and Opportunities, Roy Morgan Research, Australia. 6. ONeill, M & Palmer, A 2002, ‘Wine production as a service experience – the effects of service quality on wine sales’, Journal of Services Marketing, vol.16, no.4, pp.342-62. 7. Quinton, S 2008, ‘Trust and online wine purchasing: insights into UK consumer behaviour’, International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol.20, no.1, pp.68-65. 8. Selley, R 2008, The Wine lands of Britain: Past, Present & Prospective, Imperial College, London. 9. Skelton, S ‘UK Vineyards Guide 2010, Retrieved from, www.lulu.com on March 08 2010. 10. The future of wine: 2015, Retrieved from, http://www.wineintelligence.com, on March 08 2010. 11. ‘The History of English Wine Production’, Retrieved from, www.englishwineproducers.com on March 08, 2010. 12. Westering, JV 1993, ‘Developments in UK Pub Wine Sales: Responses to Growing Public Consumption of Wine International’, Journal of Wine Marketing, vol.5, no.4, pp.35-41. Read More