Selling Wine in the USA: What Opportunities Exist for Italian Producers Looking to Enter the American Market?

It's Time to Attract Younger Customers for Years of Solid Sales in the United States

The U.S. wine industry has always targeted Baby Boomers, the American consumers born between 1945 and 1964. However, this demographic is aging and will consume less and less wine. Thus, the American wine sector is at a crossroads: to continue selling successfully in the United States, Italian companies must adopt marketing strategies that convince Millennials to buy more wine.

What has been lacking for wine sellers in the USA so far is a strategy capable of expanding the consumer base, steering their brands towards a younger generation that has the power to influence consumption trends in America. A generation that, unlike Boomers, does not seek a particular status in the goods they purchase, but rather an honest reflection of their values: diversity, equity, health, and sustainability.

Wine Sector Marketing in the USA to Engage American Millennials

Understanding the Needs of Millennial Consumers is Essential to Spark Interest in Wine Among the New Generations in the USA

The Silicon Valley Bank report on the state of the U.S. wine industry highlights some recommended strategies to attract younger American consumers, both Millennials and Gen Z.

Companies selling wine in the United States should start highlighting their social values to effectively reach young American consumers. Avoid, therefore, storytelling about wealth and status and adopt a marketing strategy based on causes accessible to American Millennials and Gen Z:

• Sustainability and transparency;
• Health protection;
• Worker conditions.

While Boomers have always been willing to indulge in purchasing expensive wines due to their purchasing power, Millennials and Gen Z will be less inclined to flaunt their wealth, having lived through the financial crisis and a pandemic. The new American wine consumers are more interested in social justice and health and environmental issues, including climate change: the success of the wine industry in the coming years will depend precisely on how willing companies in the USA are to recognize what is important to Millennials and Generation Z.

The Social Values of Wine Brands in the USA Market Influence American Consumers' Purchasing Decisions

The Reality is that the Values of Wine Companies are Already Aligned with Millennials: It's Time to Promote the Hidden Values of the Wine Industry in the United States

The consumption trends of the new generations of U.S. consumers are influenced by the following values:

• Social responsibility;
• Reuse culture;
• Consumption of food products that promote health;
• Friendship comes before family; 
• Everything that makes one feel good matters.

The noteworthy fact is that the values of U.S. wine industry companies have always been in line with those of Millennials (and Gen Z, which is just starting to consume alcoholic beverages). Principles like sustainability, organic farming, locally sourced products, using what the land provides are exactly what young American consumers look for in the brands they purchase. Simply, wine companies in the United States have never been clear enough to show that many of their values already reflected those of the new target audience.

What is the Most Cost-Effective Strategy to Sell Wine to American Millennials? Highlight the Daily Efforts the Company Undertakes to Produce its Wine

Our advice to increase wine sales in the United States is as follows. In addition to being clear about the company's social values in the USA, it is important to list the wine's ingredients and include nutritional values on the label: younger consumers will appreciate it, and the brand will gain an excellent reputation in the American market. Secondly, highlight the company's efforts to combat the climate crisis and the strategies implemented to reduce environmental impact.

There's a reason why Millennials in America are drawn to natural wines and traditional production methods. These niches in the U.S. wine sector meet many of the needs of consumers aged 26 to 40 and have demonstrated the appeal they have on the American public compared to competitors.

In short, the wine we want to sell in the United States can be a luxury product or a mass-market product. What matters is that wine companies start truly addressing the younger American consumer and their values to grow their business in the USA long-term and effectively.