Development Opportunities for Swiss Sparkling Wines

Global wine sales have been falling for several years and the Swiss market has not been bucking this trend. Nevertheless, the growing consumption of sparkling wines in Switzerland and the interest in local products are creating new prospects for leveraging wine production.

For several years now there has been a drop in global wine consumption reflected in falling sales volumes. In spite of this, one segment of the market is characterised by a different trend: sparkling wines and other alternative products (alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines, wine-based products) are gaining in popularity. This trend can also be observed in the Swiss market, where sparkling-wine imports have increased significantly over the last few years (Figure 1).

Sales and imports of sparkling wines

The phenomenon can also be observed in the major retail outlets, where a drop in still-wine sales contrasts with a rise in sparkling-wine sales. The trend in imports and sparkling-wine sales also depends on the price segments they occupy. Italian sparkling wines that are less expensive than the average are the big winners of the growth in this market in all of Switzerland’s linguistic regions. They account for over half of supermarket and hypermarket sales of sparkling wines and continue to record a high growth rate.

Low representation of Swiss sparkling wines

Despite the growing popularity of this wine category, the share of Swiss sparkling wines remains very low (5%). The gap between the growing demand for sparkling wines and the low representation of Swiss products on the market may represent a development opportunity for local producers, but also poses challenges for Swiss wine sector actors.

Changes in consumption habits

The results of the MIS-Trend survey conducted as part of the study reflect a change in consumption habits. They reveal a certain interest in the population for sparkling wines of Swiss provenance, not only for products with a more traditional image such as sparkling wines based on Chasselas – the most widely cultivated white grape variety in Switzerland – but also for products based on Swiss sparkling wines such as cocktails or wine seltzers (Figure 2). A growing demand for local sparkling wines can be observed, especially in the case of young consumers.