Wine in Switzerland

2020 IMPACT

Wine sees continued decline in 2020, with no apparent shift in favour of the off-trade channel

Both off-trade and on-trade sales of wine were already in decline before the pandemic, and the closure of horeca establishments exacerbated this trend in the latter channel in particular, with no discernible shift in favour of the former. Availability was not an issue for off-trade wine due to the dominance of supermarkets, which were deemed essential during the lockdown.

Schenk SA retains leadership of fragmented competitive landscape in 2020 but experiences increasing pressure from private label

Schenk SA retained its overall leadership of the category in 2020 due to its strength in still light grape wine thanks to its brand Schenk Ungarischer Pinot Gris. The player continues to benefit from a broad portfolio of renowned and award-winning domestic wines and a wide variety of imports.

Government support encourages local wine production, but lack of opportunities for socialising reduces demand for sparkling wine in 2020

The Swiss government has been highly supportive of local vineyards, actively promoting local wine production during the review period. Local wine producers also received financial support during lockdown, as did other small and medium companies, quickly accessing credit in order to alleviate the liquidity problems associated with the COVID-19 measures.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Supermarkets will continue to dominate sales of wine in Switzerland thanks to a wide range of products across the price spectrum

Supermarkets will remain the dominant distribution channel for wine for the foreseeable future, thanks to its ability to offer local consumers a wide range of products across the price spectrum. Nevertheless, e-commerce will retain a marginal but growing share of off-trade volume share of sales of wine in the coming years, with players, especially retailers, increasingly investing in this channel as a means of reaching more consumers.

Enthusiasm for dining outside of the home once more will lead to an increase in demand for on-trade sales of wine

As lockdown measures are gradually eased and horeca establishments reopen in Switzerland, local consumers will regain confidence and venture outside of the home environment to socialise. This will result in an upturn in demand for wine through the on-trade channel in 2021.

Local wines are set to benefit from sustainability and authenticity trends in Switzerland

Although wine tends to be relatively fragmented in Switzerland, there has been increasing consolidation amongst the leading producers and distributors. Furthermore, there has been an increasing appetite for domestic wines in Switzerland and thus a growing share of Swiss wines in the local retailing landscape, with this trend expected to grow over the years.