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"Merely knowing the market does not suffice to export wine to India, as a good communication policy must be developed"

The Indian Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Sap Media Worlwide and Editor of the magazine Ambrosia, Vicent Fernandes, has offered a lecture at FENAVIN called: India: Market Opportunities and Barriers to Entry, highlighting the good moment that the country is undergoing in that pertaining to the importing of wine

FENAVIN has been host to the conference India: Market Opportunities and Barriers to Entry, imparted by Vincent Fernandes, Indian Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Sap Media Worldwide, Editor of the Magazine Ambrosia and Organizer of the country"s most recognized trade fair on wines and spirits, Indspirit.
This country is worthy of very special attention due to its growing demand for wines. India is different with regards to other markets in the area because this beverage is a very recent phenomenon –only since 2004- in that pertaining to their consumption preferences in comparison with other Asian countries. "Spanish wine is still truly unknown in India, although it has gradually started to be known since about two years ago, in particular with the entry of sangrias", Fernandes has mentioned.

Notwithstanding, this Indian expert assures us that this is a great moment for the exporting of wine to his country. "Per capita consumption of wine is just 10 ml and there is a very young middle class population of around 250 million people who can afford a bottle of wine per year, which could be a big driver of sales", he affirmed.

Fernandes also assured that although the potential of the Indian market is enormous and there are many business opportunities, it must first be understood and that is anything but easy because there are quite a few cultural barriers. At an administrative level it is not easy either, as there are 29 states in India, each one with its own particularities, its own different way of working and different regulations.

Investing in marketing is one of the main pieces of advice that this Indian expert has given us. "To export wine to India it does not suffice to know the market, as a good communication policy must also be developed and a good marketing plan", he said. Likewise, Fernandes recommends that Spanish companies should undertake India as if they were a series of regions or wine growing areas, as doing this together will allow them to find better distribution channels and lower the cost of implantation in the market.

On the other hand, the Editor of the magazine Ambrosia, has highlighted that a good price of the wine is also a variable to be taken into account, as taxes in India are very high and although the Indian consumer is willing to pay somewhat more for an international wine, the lower the price the more possibilities of success it will have.

Quality is another of the characteristics that must be taken into account when exporting to India, as according to Fernándes, the Indian consumer is travelling more and more all the time and is starting to have quite a bit of knowledge of wine and of its culture.

Finally, Vincent Fernandes hopes that his visit to FENAVIN will awaken the interest of the Spanish wineries for this market that is still to be tapped, with a slow and gradual demand that is however on the increase.