Dive Brief:
- The ongoing popularity of rosé, especially among millennials, has boosted recent sales by double digits, according to Fortune. Rosé orders spiked 300% between June 2015 and June 2016, reported the Los Angeles-based Winc wine club, with French imports representing much of that growth.
- Prices per bottle are climbing along with sales, although value and quality met in the Exquisite Collection Cotes de Provence Rosé 2016 sold at Aldi for about $10, according to judges for the International Wine Challenge’s Great Value Awards.
- As further proof of its appeal, Fortune noted that rosé exports to the U.S. from France's Provence region are up an incredible 4,852% from 2001.
Dive Insight:
Driving the current rosé craze are higher-quality products that pair more easily with some foods than white or red wines, greater acceptance among men, and the drier offerings available today.
"In the U.S., the consumer mindset remains that rosé equals sweet," Aygline Pechdo, champagne and sparkling wine brand director at Pernod Ricard, told Fortune. "For the longest time, people might try to stay away from the category. But the fact is we have an opportunity to introduce dry rosé, and that can help the category overall."
Beverage makers have responded to the trend by developing rival pink drinks such as Código 1530 Rosa Tequila, Sweet Revenge Whiskey and Gordon's Pink Gin, which get their newly rosy tint from strawberries and raspberries or time spent in former red-wine barrels.
Manufacturers also anticipate greater year-round appeal of rosé compared to champagne, which consumers tend to view as a special holiday buy. About 36% of annual champagne sales occur in the last seven weeks of the year, while rosé purchases may peak in summer but linger over a longer time.
A Wine Intelligence report published in April 2016 noted that, of the estimated 93 million wine drinkers in the U.S., 66 million enjoy either dry or sweet rosé, and that many are trendsetting millennials who not only drink wine more frequently but are willing to pay more per bottle. According to Nielsen, the average retail price for premium imported rosé hit a record high last year of $17.09 per bottle.
Industry observers suggest that the current trend toward pink drinks is not just another flash in the barrel and suggest that rosé is here to stay. Such buzz is bolstered by several rosé-related Twitter pages and efforts by retailers such as Whole Foods to focus consumer attention on National Rosé Day, celebrated since 2014 on the second Saturday in June.