Drinks Insider

Who truly understands what people are drinking? In this episode of Drinks Insider, host Felicity Carter chats with Gary Ross, Chief Growth Officer at Union, a point-of-sale and guest ordering platform that gives new meaning to the phrase “data mining”.

There’s not much he doesn’t know about drink trends and consumer behaviour, because Union sees what’s happening in real time. From the meteoric rise of tequila to the enduring power of celebrity brands, Gary dissects the forces shaping what we drink and how we drink it.

More importantly, he explains the inner workings of the Mexican Candy Shot. You'll never look at your drinks menu the same way again.

Here are just 7 of the insights:

Who are the people behind the anti-alcohol movement? And why are there so many anti-alcohol stories appearing in the media? One of the harshest critics of the anti-alcohol movement is Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the free market think tank Institute of Economic Affairs in the UK. In this wide-ranging discussion, we delve into the anti-alcohol movement, exploring its implications on personal freedoms and public health.

Topics covered include:

Relevant documents:

While many entrepreneurs are backing away slowly from both the wine industry and China, Don St Pierre Jr is rushing back in — because he sees plenty of opportunity.

In 1996, two Don St Pierres — senior and junior — changed the world of wine forever when they founded ASC Fine Wines in Shanghai.

Don St. Pierre Snr saw an opportunity in wine: as he later wrote about China’s 1.2 billion population, “all of these folks had to drink and eat something.”

Before long, the St Pierres were distributing Beringer and Bollinger, among other fine wines. They pretty much singlehandedly established China’s fine wine market.

Don St Pierre Jr. retired from the business in 2015, and shortly after became CEO and co-owner of California’s Vinfolio. Don St Pierre Sr died in 2023.

Recently Don St Pierre Jr founded AdaptEdge, an investment and advisory company. One of its first investments was in Vino Joy News, the media company founded by Natalie Wang.

And on St Pierre emains bullish on China, even though wine consumption there peaked in 2017. In this podcast, he explains why he believes so strongly in the country, and why he remains so optimistic about the wine industry in general.

In this wide-ranging conversation he reveals:

As always, the takeaways will be in the newsletter, which you can sign up for at drinksinsider.com

Entrepreneur and co-founder Marian Leitner-Waldman has single handedly overcome all the problems facing the wine industry. Archer Roose has a thriving audience of young consumers, who can’t get enough of high-quality wine in cans and bagnums, which appear in more than 6,000 outlets.

The reason that sales are up 35% year-on-year? The brand is built on a combination of high-quality wine, total transparency, and plenty of data.

In this fascinating episode, Marian talks about:

Not only is Marian a fount of useful knowledge and advice, she’s also a great speaker. Tune in to learn more — and all the takeaways can be found in the Drinks Insider newsletter. Sign up for it here.

Why do winemakers add chemicals to wine? Are these additives dangerous? How do we know? And why do winemakers take the risk?

The person who knows more about this topic than almost anybody alive is pharmacologist and toxicologist Creina Stockley, who has been not just in research, but in the regulatory process. In this episode, she delves into the use of additives and processing aids in winemaking, and explains how they’re developed, why winemakers use them, and what it takes to get them through the regulatory process. 

Health policy

Creina has also had a front seat to worldwide discussions about wine and health, from the uprush of research in the 1990s, to the current situation. She discusses the politics of research and funding, and how we know what we do about the impact of wine and other alcohol on human health.

The conversation covers:

Increased sales of more than 40%. High customer loyalty. And the ability to spot a customer who’s about to unsubscribe.

As Ben Gibson explains, there is still plenty of growth to be found in direct-to-consumer sales. He’s the founder of WineHub, the wine and spirits plug- in for Shopify, which is enabling exponential growth in wine sales.

Ben explains how and why he created WineHub, and explains how wineries can use the tool to increase their average order value and maintain customer relationships. Ben also discusses the importance of having a loyalty programme and how it can help retain customers. He shares insights on the changing demographics of wine consumers and the opportunities for growth in the wine industry.

There is a massive fight brewing in the United States, and it's over the question of how much alcohol people can safely drink.

Every five years the US government updates its dietary guidelines, and in that process outlines what the limits of alcohol consumption should be.

The process has been fraught, with claims and counter-claims of bias and irregular dealings.

David Clement, North American Affairs Manager for Canada’s Consumer Choice Center, based in Ontario, saw the exact same fight play out, involving some of the same scientists. At the time, he wrote about what happened for the Canadian media.

In this lively episode, he discusses:

Relevant articles:

What does science tell us about hangovers? Frustratingly, very little is known about them, apart from the economic havoc they wreak.

But everyone who has experienced them knows exactly how evil they are. Wouldn’t it be great if it was possible to drink without any side effects?

Professor David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist, has been hard at work on that very thing. In this episode, he discusses the work he’s doing on a molecule called Alcarelle, which is currently going through regulatory testing. In the meantime, he’s introduced a vermouth-like drink called Sentia to market.

In this episode, Felicity Carter and Dave, as he likes to be known, talk about how alcohol affects the brain, the misery of hangovers, and how Dave devised and created Sentia, and brought it to market.

The conversation covers:

Alcohol consumption is predicted to drop precipitously in the next five years. What actions should wineries (and distilleries) take to ensure their business is one of those that comes out the other side in good financial shape? What opportunities are there for wine-adjacent products?

In this episode, wine data guru Lulie Halstead shares insights on branding, consumer behavior, and practical research tactics, offering valuable advice for wine enterprises of all sizes.

Lulie co-founded Wine Intelligence and is regarded as a leading thinker in the world of wine business strategy. Prior to co-founding Wine Intelligence, she developed expertise in the wine industry, with hands-on roles in importing, marketing and retailing. She is an established marketing academic, focusing on wine consumer behaviour and continues to teach and supervise on master’s programs around the world. Alongside her passions for food and wine, she focuses on exploring what makes consumers behave the way they do. She specializes in qualitative research practices and trend research, constantly developing new ways to uncover the processes of the subconscious mind. Lulie is a frequent and valued speaker at many international wine industry and academic conferences around the world.

How do you turn your customers into fans? How do you even connect with your customers—and how do you do it if you have a wildly diverse customer group?

The man to ask is Justin Noland, who recently became VP of Digital Experience at Treasury Americas. Treasury Wine Estates is a multi-national company headquartered in Australia, which has 20 wine brands in its portfolio including the blockbuster 19 Crimes and some luxury brands.

Justin is an acknowledged expert in all things digital, and in this wide-ranging conversation he talks about everything from wine as entertainment, to whether demographics are a useful way to segment the market.

We’re going to talk about wine, obviously, but this is a conversation that is relevant across the beverage space, whether you’re in spirits, tea or non-alc.

The conversation covers: the complexities of modern wine marketing; exploring strategies for engaging younger audiences; the challenges of social media, and the intricacies of managing a global content strategy. 

The episode is packed with practical advice on how to stand out in a competitive market.

Key Topics:

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