Using the Bulk Wine Market as a Marketing Strategy

Abstract

To many people, wine marketing is the process of selling bottled wines through the distribution chain to the ultimate consumer. This process incorporates strategies of product differentiation, production and inventory management, pricing, distribution, and promotion. The concept is too narrow because it ignores the strategic use of the bulk wine market. For example, a winery can gear its entire marketing strategy to selling on the bulk market, eliminating the need for bottling, distribution, and related activities. Or a winery can source its product entirely on the bulk market, eliminating the need for production facilities and allowing it to concentrate on marketing. Or a winery may use the bulk market to stabilize production and pricing by purchasing bulk wines in short years and selling bulk wines in surplus years.