How do you reflect on 2024 going into next year - what have been the big moments for you as a business over the last 12 months?
2024 has been an excellent year for Off-Piste Wines, we have really evolved and matured as a business and the team are operating at a really high level. Our key brands such as Most Wanted and The Wanderer are seeing strong growth and we have been working very hard on exciting growth plans for them in 2025.
Off Piste Wines is able to move fast and use its own major brands - like Most Wanted - to keep on top and ahead of major changes such as the new duty system
We have ventured in to new sectors and are really gaining traction in the on-trade, out of home and travel sectors. We have also picked up some great new suppliers and agency brands which has set us up for a very exciting year ahead.
Where were you in terms of achieving your commercial goals and targets?
We have managed to achieve our targets every year for the last five years despite the issues with Covid, the Ukraine war, input cost inflation and now cost of living challenges.
What were the key reasons for those figures?
Off-Piste has always been very fleet of foot, we have really focussed on building a platform business that we are now able to bolt more brands, suppliers and customers into.
We have done a fantastic job with growing our brands as well as agency brands such as Piccini. It is allowing us to gain market share in what is clearly a contracting market and therefore enabling us to continue growing.
We have also executed our brand plans wonderfully and Most Wanted and The Wanderer continue to recruit more and more new customers and we are attracting the key customers retailers want to recruit.
What are your thoughts going into 2025 and what you see as the big opportunities you can build on from this year?
I think the wine trade is all worried by the political environment and it feels like we are not being listened to by government despite the best efforts of the WSTA and industry leaders.
Off Piste Wines says it worked 18 months in order to get the right quality for its 0.5% Most Wanted Fizz brand
Off-Piste is very quick to react and make decisions which has seen us succeed through all the other recent challenges. We are very much ready for 2025 and have some very ambitious plans for the year and some very exciting activation and new launches coming.
There are a lot of concerns over the big changes in duty rates happening in February - how do you reflect on those changes and what impact they will have you and the business?
Everyone is right to be concerned, there is already a global over supply of wine despite the vintage challenges we keep seeing in Europe. The move will certainly mean more volume will come out of the market and also the government will raise less money from duty on wine as the volume drop almost always is larger than the increase in revenue for the government.
We have had a big project going on for three years to be ready for the duty easement and we have already put in place all of the changes we needed to make.
What specific changes will we see?
Longer term how we all quote bids and numbers to our customers will end up changing as they will want to know the ABV before the blend is even finalised. Which is something the supply chain can’t really handle with the accuracy you need.
Will you be actively looking to source lower ABV wines and if so what specific ABVs are you looking for?
Off Piste Wines has introduced a lower alcohol Spritzer wine to its Pinot Pinot range
We already have Most Wanted 0.5% and Pinot Pinot Spritzer in the market. We have looked at lower ABV wines but we don’t think the consumer wants them at this stage. There is a real disconnect between what the government rates want you to do and what the consumers want.
What style of wine at lower ABVs would you consider listing in terms of how they are made - spinning come vs other dealcoholising methods?
We would be led by the quality of the final product, each country has a slightly different approach to it and we have seen all the various options. We are really proud of our 0.5% Most Wanted and it took 18 months of hard work to get to the final product being what we wanted.
Do you see any risks to the overall wine category if we see more lower ABV and questionable quality wines in the UK market?
Absolutely. We have made a strategic decision to stand by our quality but we have seen and benchmarked many of the wines that have reduced in alcohol and overall generally see the product as inferior. We have found the tipping point seems to be when you get to 10.5% ABV and lower, these wines have generally been of a lower quality taste wise, or mouth feel, in our opinion.
Obviously there are some exceptions such as Riesling which can still taste great at those levels, but consumers don’t tend to buy much Riesling in UK supermarkets
There is also the issue around increased Extended Packaging Responsibilities - what impact do you expect them to have and how are you planning for them?
I think this is the biggest current challenge faced by anyone who is selling consumer goods. How can you have a new tax that is also linked to the commodity market and therefore you can’t know what the cost will be?
The cost swings that are predicted could easily take many wine companies from a profit to a loss situation and I worry it will be the final straw for some companies should it come in. We need a cohesive industry approach on it and it’s much wider than the wine trade. It will be yet another inflation driver when the market already feels too weak to handle more inflation
It’s essentially a stealth tax of an amount that no one can predict or plan for that will ultimately hit consumers that are already feeling the pain of many blows in recent months and years. I would hope the government would have the common sense to delay or scrap it. Let’s hope I am not guilty of being an optimist here.
What other major plans do you have for next year in terms of wines, ranges, events, tastings and activity in the trade?
We very much looking forward to Wine Paris, ProWein, London Wine Fair and Cape Wine in 2025.
* You can find out more about Off Piste Wines at its website here.
