Marketing wine to multi-cultural America

Wines & Vines, Jan, 2003 by Sandra Gonzalez

Michael Sherman, general manager of KTSF-TV, one of the nation s primary Asian-language broadcast stations, states, "China Crosstalk is the nation's only live Chinese-language talk show (think Charlie Rose-style format). This show airs live not only in the Bay Area, but is also carried live throughout the U.S. on the International Channel, reaching 12 million cable households." The show features guests and topics covering politics to lifestyle which interest its viewers. Sherman sees wine as a potential topic of interest, as many U.S. Asians purchase wine for gifts to family and friends in the home country.

The American wine industry must look for new ways to approach the diversifying population if it wants to grow its sales. As demographics shift and segmented buying power increases, the wine industry will be more dependent on multi-cultural consumers to purchase its products. Understanding the current and future U.S. population changes, the industry can prepare to invest in an integrated education and marketing program that incorporates messages of wine with meals, particularly those prepared at home. By supporting local ethnic markets and reaching out to ethnic media, wine companies can begin to take small steps toward a best practices approach to a fully evolved ethnic marketing component of their businesses. Soon, conversations at wine industry conferences, seminars and symposiums may begin to look and sound more like the global consumers wineries are trying to reach both abroad and within the U.S. *Salud!

Fig. 1

Total population figures (millions) and percentage aged 21 

                     2000         2020         2050
MARKET            TOTAL  !   TOTAL  !   TOTAL  ! 

U.S. Latino       35.3   59%   55.1   71%   98.2   66%
African-American  34.6   64%   41.5   69%   53.4   72%
Asian-American    10.6   70%   18.5   70%   35.7   71%

Source: U.S. Census 2000

Fig. 2

Purchasing power and projected growth (billions of dollars)

MARKET             1990   2000            2002            2007

U.S. Latino         223  490.7           580.5           926.1
African-American  316.5  588.7           645.9           852.8
Asian-American    117.6  254.6           296.4           454.9
Total             657.1    1.3 trillion    1.5 trillion    2.2 trillion

Source: Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia, 2002

Fig. 3

U.S. ethnic population compared to top 10 U.S. wine export countries
(rank)

                  POPULATION
MARKET            (MILLIONS)

(4)  Japan          126.9
(6)  Germany         82.2
(1)  UK              59.7
(8)  France          58.9
U.S. Latino          35.3
African-American     34.6
(2)  Canada          30.8
(3)  Netherlands     15.9
Asian-American       10.5
(5)  Belgium         10.3
(9)  Sweden           8.9
(10) Denmark          5.3
(7)  Ireland          3.8

Source: The World Bank Group, U.S. Census 2000

Fig. 4

U.S. population of ethnic adult wine drinkers compared to total
population of top 10 U.S. wine export countries (export rank)

                  POPULATION
MARKET            (MILLION)

(4)  Japan          126.9
(6)  Germany         82.2
(1)  UK              59.7
(8)  France          58.9
(2)  Canada          30.8
(3)  Netherlands     15.9
U.S. Latino          11.3
(5)  Belgium         10.3
African-American      8.9
(9)  Sweden           8.9
(10) Denmark          5.3
(7)  Ireland          3.8
Asian-American        3.0

Source: The World Bank Group, U.S. Census 2000; Adams Wine Handbook 2002

Fig. 5

Top Wine Metro Areas


TOP WINE METRO AREAS       LATINO METRO AREAS

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach  Los Angeles-Long Beach
2. New York                New York
3. Chicago                 Chicago

                                                   AFRICAN-AMERICAN
TOP WINE METRO AREAS       ASIAN METRO AREAS       METRO AREAS

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach  Los Angeles-Long Beach  New York
2. New York                New York                Chicago
3. Chicago                 Honolulu                Washington DC

Source: Adams Wine Handbook 2002

Fig. 6

Top Three Wine Consumption States

(buying power in billions)

TOP THREE WINE      LARGEST LATINO       LARGEST ASIAN
CONSUMPTION STATES  CONSUMER MARKETS     CONSUMER MARKETS

1. California       California ($170.7)  California ($104.1)
2. New York         Texas ($93.7)        New York ($31.9)
3. Florida          Florid ($52.4)       New Jersey ($18)

TOP THREE WINE      LARGEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN
CONSUMPTION STATES  CONSUMER MARKETS

1. California       New York ($67.1)
2. New York         California ($52.3)
3. Florida          Texas ($46)

Source: Adams Wine Handbook 2002; Selig Center for Economic Growth, The
University of Georgia