Wine consumption in Asia 2012

Rossi&Bianchi - Milano – Tel. 02 31810072 – www.rossiebianchi.it - [email protected]

Flash Report

Wine consumption in Asia 2012

China, India, Singapore


The Research

In 2012 Rossi&Bianchi and Insintesi Ricerca & Comunicazione, in partnership with AIP, a Japanese Institute leader in online market research, launched a market research project with the objective to collect information on wine consumption in three Asian countries: China, India and Singapore.The research was based on a questionnaire of about ten questions, which was submitted to the AIP online panel in the three countries during the month of June 2012.The sample who participated in the research was made of 1000 respondents respectively in China and India and 500 respondents in Singapore, for a total of 2.500 people.As it is an online panel, the data is representative limited to the population who has Internet access, which was distribuited as follows: (as of June 2012):China 38,4% India 10,2%Singapore 77,2%


The Questionnaire -1-

1. How often do you go out to have something to eat or drink?NeverA few times a year About once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday

2. Using a scale from 1 to 4 where 1 means “I completely disagree” and 4 means “I completely agree”: how much do you agree with the each of the following statements?

Wine has a good taste Wine is healthyWine is trendy My friends and/or relatives drink wine regularly Wine is expensive Wine is easy to find Drinking wine is not wise

3. How often do you drink wine?I never drink wineA few times a year About once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday

4. Where do you normally drink wine? Or, if you never drink wine, where do people you spend your time with usually drink wine? - multiple choice

At homeRestaurant / hotelWine barCaféNight clubOther


The Questionnaire - 2 -

5. Who do you normally drink wine with?Or, if you never drink wine, who do people you spend your time with usually drink wine with? - multiple choice

AloneWith relativesWith friendsWith business acquaintancesOther

6. What aspects do you mainly take into account when choosing a bottle of wine?Or, if you never drink wine, what aspects do people you spend your time with mainly take into account when choosing a bottle of wine? - multiple choice

PriceWine characteristics (colour, age, grape variety, etc.)External features (label, bottle)The country in which the wine is producedWell knownEasy to findNone of the above

7. Where do you buy wine more frequently? (please consider only take away)Or, if you never drink wine, where do people you spend your time with buy wine more frequently? (please consider only take away) - multiple choice

Wine shopGroceryRestaurant / hotel Café /wine bar / night clubSupermarket /HypermarketOther

8. Usually, when you drink or you buy some wine, how much money are you willing to spend?Or, if you never drink wine, when do people you spend your time with drink or buy some wine, how much money are they willing to spend? (please consider 4 price ranges)

I prefer to pay as low I can I prefer to pay between low and mid priceI prefer to pay between mid and high priceI prefer to buy the most expensive


The Questionnaire - 3-

9. Which type or types of wine do you prefer?Or, if you never drink wine, which type or types of wine do people you spend your time with prefer? - multiple choice

White RosèRed SparklingStillDryAromaticSemi sweetSweetYoungAgedOther

10. How do you get information about wine?Or, if you never drink wine, how do people you spend your time with get information about wine? - multiple choice

Word of mouthPress and guidesWeb and social mediaEventsRetailer’s suggestionsOtherI do not get information about wine

11. Did you buy any Italian product during the last 12 months? If yes, which ones among these?

Wine LiquorCheeseHam or other cured meats Olive oilConfectionery (ice cream, chocolate, panettone)PastaOtherI had dinner at an Italian restaurantI did not buy any Italian products


The Analysis

1. How often do you go out to have something to eat or drink?NeverA few times a year About once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday

china

india

singapore

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

NeverA few times a yearAbout once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday

All three samples show a noticeable inclination to go out, especially Singapore, where almost 85% of respondents go out at least once a week. Indians like to stay at home more often.


The Analysis


Wine has a good taste

The national samples show different ways of appreciating wine’s taste: the Chinese are the most appreciative, as more than 80% like wine’s taste, while Indians are the least wine lovers: only little more than half of respondents declare they like the taste.

china

india

singapore

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1I completely disagree234I completely agree


The Analysis

3. Using a scale from 1 to 4 where 1 means “I completely disagree” and 4 means “I completely agree”: how much do you agree with the following statement? scala 1-4

Wine is healthy

In this case, too, those who most appreciate the healthiness of wine are the Chinese, who are almost all convinced of its qualities. Indians are once again the most careful respondents, as only little more than half of them think that wine is healthy.

china

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The Analysis


Wine is trendy

About 80% of Chinese respondents think that drinking wine is also a matter of being trendy. Indian respondents are more cautious, even though only 21% do not agree at all with this statement. Singaporeans are less polarized on this topic, the vast majority of them (78%) are in the middle.

china

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The Analysis


My friends and/or relatives drink wine regularly

About 75% of Chinese respondents report their friends and family drink wine regularly, while the percentage of positive responses from Indians and Singaporeans is less than 50%. Wine consumption seems to be a social phenomenon, especially in China.

china

india

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The Analysis


Wine is expensive

In all three countries examined the cost of wine is considered quite high, since more than half of respondents agree with that statement. In Singapore, possibly because of a different distribution of income, price seems a little less relevant.

china

india

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The Analysis


Wine is easy to find

If the Chinese and Singaporeans have no problems to find wine, Indians show more uncertainty on its availability. Especially the Chinese declare they have easy access (91%) to wine.

china

india

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The Analysis


Drinking wine is not wise

In coherence with the data above, the most passionate wine lovers/buyers are the Chinese, who are very much convinced that drinking wine is wise. On the other hand, more than one third of Indians think that drinking wine is not very wise.

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The Analysis

9. . How often do you drink wine?I never drink wineA few times a year About once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday

More than half of Chinese respondents drink wine at least once a week, while only 20% of Singaporeans and Indians do the same. Indians are the least frequent wine drinkers, 80% of them drink wine no more than once a week and more than one third never drink wine.

china

india

singapore

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I never drink wineA few times a yearAbout once a monthAbout once a weekAlmost everyday


The Analysis

10. Where do you normally drink wine? Or, if you never drink wine, where do people you spend your time with usually drink wine? - multiple choice

At homeRestaurant / hotelWine barCaféNight clubOther

The most popular places for wine consumption in all three countries are at home and at the restaurant/hotel. Also wine bars and night clubs have an interesting market share. The Chinese, who drink more wine, are also the ones who drink it more frequently at home and at the restaurant/hotel.

china

india

singapore

0%10%

20%30%

40%50%

60%70%

80%90%

100%

At homeRestaurant/hotelWine barCafeNight clubOther


The Analysis

11. Who do you normally drink wine with?Or, if you never drink wine, who do people you spend your time with usually drink wine with? - multiple choice

AloneWith relativesWith friendsWith business acquaintancesOther

If all three countries drink wine mainly with family and friends, there is also a quite interesting amount of lonely drinkers. Wine also seems to be a useful business tool.

china

india

singapore

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

AloneWith relativesWith friendsWith business acquain-tancesOther


The Analysis

12. What aspects do you mainly take into account when choosing a bottle of wine?Or, if you never drink wine, what aspects do people you spend your time with mainly take into account when choosing a bottle of wine? - multiple choice

PriceWine characteristics (colour, age, grape variety, etc.)External features (label, bottle)The country in which the wine is producedWell knownEasy to findNone of the above

Price and characteristics of wine are certainly the major factors related to the choice of a bottle of wine; brand and country of origin are also important. Availability is not a problem, as already seen, and packaging is also not very relevant in the choice of wine. Indians are less concerned with price and more attracted by brands.

china

india

singapore

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Price

Wine characteristics (colour ， age ， grape variety ， etc.)

External features (label ， bottle)The country in which the wine is producedWell knownEasy to findOther


The Analysis

13. Where do you buy wine more frequently? (please consider only take away)Or, if you never drink wine, where do people you spend your time with buy wine more frequently? (please consider only take away) - multiple choice

Wine shopGroceryRestaurant / hotel Café /wine bar / night clubSupermarket /HypermarketOther

The main sales channel in China and Singapore is supermarkets/hypermarkets, closely followed by wine shops. In India this relationship is reversed, as wine shops are more used, while in all three countries there is a quite noticeable take away business in restaurants and similar venues.

china

india

singapore

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Wine shopGroceryRestaurant/hotelCafe/wine bar/night clubSupermarket/HypermarketOther


The Analysis

14. Usually, when you drink or you buy some wine, how much money are you willing to spend?Or, if you never drink wine, when do people you spend your time with drink or buy some wine, how much money are they willing to spend? (please consider 4 price ranges)

Usually I prefer to pay as low I can Usually I prefer to pay between low and mid priceUsually I prefer to pay between mid and high priceUsually I prefer to buy the most expensive

The consumers in the present sample are mainly looking for medium priced wines. In Singapore lower priced wines are more sought after, while Indians show a certain willingness to spend more money for wine.

china

india

singapore

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I prefer to pay as low I canI prefer to pay between low and mid priceI prefer to pay between mid and high priceI prefer to buy most ex-pensive


The Analysis

15. Which type or types of wine do you prefer?Or, if you never drink wine, which type or types of wine do people you spend your time with prefer? - multiple choice

White – Rosè – Red – Sparkling – Still – Dry – Aromatic - Semi sweet – Sweet – Young – Aged - Other

All countries love red wine, with reasonable preferences also for white wine. A relevant preference for sparkling wines can be seen in Singapore, but this factor does not seem to be very important for the majority of respondents. As for taste, if the Chinese prefer dry wines, there is a noticeable bent towards aromatic, semi sweet and sweet wines in all three countries. The age of wine does not seem to be a relevant factor, even though aged wines are more popular than young ones.

china

india

singapore

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 300.0

WhiteRoseRedSparklingStillDryAromaticSemi sweetSweetYoungAgedOther


The Analysis

16. How do you get information about wine?Or, if you never drink wine, how do people you spend your time with get information about wine? - multiple choice

Word of mouthPress and guidesWeb and social mediaEventsRetailer’s suggestionsOtherI do not get information about wine

Word of mouth is the main information channel in all three countries, together with the Internet and the press/guides. Among more interactive information tools, events and retailer’s suggestions stand out (which confirms the positive role of wine shops and restaurants as places to buy/consume wine). There is also a large amount of people who do non collect any information about wine (maybe because they don’t drink it).

china

india

singapore

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 300.0

Word of mouthPress and guidesWeb and social mediaEventsRetailer's suggestionsOtherI do not get information about wine


The Analysis

17. Did you buy any Italian product during the last 12 months? If yes, which ones among these?

Wine LiquorCheeseHam or other cured meats Olive oilConfectionery (ice cream, chocolate, panettone)PastaOtherI had dinner at an Italian restaurantI did not buy any Italian products

The replies to this last question reveal a great interest in Italian food and beverage. Though respondents may have referred to products made in Italy or products used in Italian cooking or Italian taste, this is very encouraging for distributors of Made in Italy products as in all three countries respondents declare a keen attention to Italy and its oeno-gastronomy. This type of ”extended interpretation” could be more significant in understanding how Italian oeno-gastronomy is considered in these countries.

china

india

singapore

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0

Wine

Liquor

Cheese

Ham or other cured meats

Olive oil

Confectionery (ice cream ， chocolate ， panettone etc.)

Pasta

Other

I had dinner at an Italian restaurant

I did not buy any Italian products


Conclusion

From the analysis of the answers to the questionnaire on wine consumption emerge a few interesting aspects, both from the whole sample and with reference to single countries.In all three countries the online population (and thus presumably the most advanced share of the total population of a country) shows a clear bent towards social life, in and out of home, in various types of venues, often in the company of a glass of wine.The consumption of Italian products also seems quite popular, and is not limited to wine, but many different items. Among the three countries analyzed, the most enthusiastic about wine is certainly China, while for the time being India is the farthest from the world of wine. This country is more cautious or at least indifferent to wine even with reference to large shares of the most advanced population (and it can be easily imagined that this would happen all the more among those who are still offline, about 90% of the total population). Singapore is in the middle, probably also because the population is more diverse from an ethnic point of view (mainly of Chinese, Malesian and Indian origin, with a strong presence of Western inhabitants) and because wine is widely available due to the urban dimension of this city-country. For instance, Singapore shows a strong bent towards buying wine in large retail trade, which on the one hand requires access to this type of sales channel and on the other hand requires more autonomy in the choice of wine than other venues. The choice of Singapore in comparison with China and India may therefore suggest a sort of “benchmark” role related to more mature wine consumption patterns.

Business

Wine consumption in Asia 2012