By Isabelle Escande - Photographs: courtesy of the company, posted on 11 April 2024
E-commerce wine sales are posting strong growth worldwide but their development is perhaps most spectacular in Brazil. Traditionally, Brazilians show little enthusiasm when it comes to drinking wine, but in just a few years – since the pandemic – the country has become the world’s third largest online wine market, after the United States and China. This small revolution is partly due to the sector’s dynamic and innovative stakeholders, which include Víssimo. The company is one of the largest wine e-tailers in Latin America, through its Evino platform, and is also one of the biggest importers of international wine in the Brazilian market after buying major Brazilian importer and wine merchant Grand Cru in 2021.
Although the figures are still low in comparison to other countries, since the pandemic in 2020 Brazil has been experiencing a boom in wine. According to Wine Intelligence, there were 36 million regular wine drinkers in 2019 in the country, rising to 45 million in 2022. Until recently, wine was reserved for celebrations, but now, it is enjoyed all year round, “for more relaxed everyday occasions like some Netflix back-to-backs or for drinking with pizza”, explains Evino’s supply chain buyer, Carlos Moura.
Carlos Moura, Supply Chain Buyer at Víssimo.
Ari Gorenstein, CEO of Víssimo.
Several factors explain the new trend but undeniably the pandemic, with the newly-minted behaviour patterns it created and the surge in e-commerce, helped foster a general interest in wine and allow it to go more mainstream. The changes have been made all the more effective by the strategies utilised by e-tailers to familiarise consumers with wine and demystify it. Evino, for instance, has always been mindful to make the purchasing experience as simple and as intuitive as possible, perfecting its chatbot with Eva, the virtual sommelier, using artificial intelligence to make her answers increasingly accurate and help customers more effectively.
Making the wine world more accessible, however, is obviously also about focusing on the variety of wines available and spanning the price ranges. Although Evino offers a premium section, it also markets sizeable mid-range and entry-level selections, thus meeting the needs of new consumers looking for more affordable wines for casual enjoyment. “We have wines for every customer profile, every occasion and every budget”, sums up Moura perfectly. And the variety is not just in the pricing – alongside local wines are products from neighbouring countries like Chile and Argentina, and also Europe (France, Italy, Portugal etc).
So did the e-commerce boom lead to an increase and greater diversification in imports? “Absolutely”, answers Moura, who believes the explanation is simple: “The e-commerce ecosystem, with its unique marketing resources (newsletters, advertising, notifications etc), allows us to guide and direct purchases much more than in traditional channels. In supermarkets, consumers are left to their own devices and tend to pick wines with familiar origins, whereas e-commerce customers are more inclined to explore and follow recommendations. It is easier for us to suggest wines that are off the well-trodden path”.
Providing a guiding message also implies supplying international listings that are highly sought-after by Brazilian consumers, adds Moura. “As the level of wine knowledge in the country is not very high yet, medals like those from Gilbert & Gaillard are a guarantee of quality and play a significant role in guiding choices and reassuring buyers about their decision”.
Faced with a broader range of products, Brazilian consumers have honed their interest in imported wines even though, as Moura points out, Chile dominates sales in every price range, followed by Argentina and Portugal. Conversely, in the high-end and ultra-premium segments, the share of French and Italian wines increases significantly. As a reminder, Evino is the largest importer of French and Italian wines in the Brazilian market.
Brazilians, who are traditionally fans of beer and cachaça, are drinking more and more wine.
Through its brand Evino, Víssimo is a key player in the Latin-American e-commerce space but since it purchased Grand Cru (founded in 1988) in 2021, it has also become the largest import and distribution company for quality wines in Brazil. On acquiring this benchmark business, the group took over a portfolio of over 1,300 labels from across the globe and countless shops spread across the entire country – there are now more than 140 Grand Cru and Evino sales outlets. “The aim is to develop this huge asset”, admits Moura. “Through the many bricks and mortar stores, we can guarantee express deliveries in just a few hours, both to private customers and B2B clients like restaurants and wine merchants. Restaurants carry fewer and fewer inventories and demand increasingly higher levels of service – with fast and cost-effective deliveries, for instance. We are very well placed to meet these needs and go beyond them”.
Whereas traditional importers focus on the premium segment, the e-commerce boom has helped diversify the range.
Through its various interfaces, Víssimo is particularly geared to fulfilling the needs of today’s customers who “navigate, experiment and travel along a criss-cross of journeys through a variety of channels and every time expect to enjoy seamless experiences (click and collect, express deliveries, collection and returns in stores etc), but also customised ones”. And for all of these, Víssimo ticks all the boxes.
