Champagne no longer pops as Nigeria’s cash-strapped middle class opts for red wine

Between 2011-2014, Bimpe Ige, an event planner used to get champagne requests frequently from clients on the type of alcoholic beverage drinks to be served at their events.

But from 2014 till date, she noticed that those requests have been reducing with her client’s now preferring red wine.

Bimpe’s clients are not the only ones reducing their consumption for champagne commonly referred to as “sparkling wine” but a lot of consumers are now opting for red wine due to its affordability.

According to BusinessDay conversation with wine dealers, the champagne market used to boom before as Nigerians used to consume more of it. But now, the import volumes are coming down based on the shrinking consumers’ wallet.

“When there was money in the economy, people were using it as far as to bath with it but now that era has gone. Generally, the wine market is growing while the champagne one is shrinking because their prices are different,” a top wine dealer told BusinessDay.

“People prefer red wine than the white one because it is cheaper. We can now afford to buy a cartoon of red wine for between N2, 000-N4, 000 as against the cheapest bottle of champagne for like N25,000,” the source added.

Nigeria’s consumption of champagne imported from France dropped by 24 percent in the past 5 years since 2014, according to data compiled by Comité Champagne, a trade associationthat tracks the volume and value of exported wines from France.

The data showed that Nigerians swigged 582,243 bottles in 2018, a 24.2 percent fall from the 768,131 bottles it consumed in 2014.

“It is quite an expensive choice,’’ Amaka, a sales representative at ShopRite told BusinessDay “ patronage has been low because not everyone can spend so much for a drink”

Despite Nigeria’s exit from recession in mid-2017 from 2016, it has failed to lead to an improvement in the living condition of Nigerians and also their purchasing power.

Consumer experts said that due to the nature of the product being a luxury good, consumers have now shy away from it due to its expensive price and now go for cheaper ones.

“This simply explains the reality of the Nigerian consumer market. Pressured consumer pockets mean a cut down on consumption of luxury products. As I always say, Nigerians now buy price and not necessarily quality or favourites,” Ayorinde Akinloye, a consumer analyst at CSL Stockbrokers said to BusinessDay on phone.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Income and Expenditure approach at 2010 purchaser’s values show that consumption expenditure of households has been declining at varying pace since it rose by 1.5 percent in 2015

Also, the country’s per capita income declined to $2,049 in 2018 from $3,268 in 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Champagne has always been associated with luxury and has long been the go-to drink to mark any happy occasion. Be it a promotion, a celebration even a wedding.

The champagne brands are at the higher end of consumer lifestyle with the prices of its lowest brand averaging around N25, 000, since they are majorly imported from France. While a bottle of red wine can go as low as N500.

“With still red wine being by far the biggest category within the wine, and most economy brands found within this category, growth in overall wine was driven by economy brands in 2018. Still, red wine is generally cheaper than white, and many consumers are introduced to wine through the cheap Baron Romero, Don Simon, and Baron de Valls red wine brands,” a Euromonitor report that analysis consumers tread stated.

Nigeria usually imports wine from countries like Spain and South Africa. It is not locally produced in the country as the country does not have favourable weather conditions and good soil for its production.

According to health magazines and reports, a moderate amount of red wine has been linked to more health benefits than any other alcoholic beverage such as fighting free radicals, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, increasing bone density and reducing cancer and risk of type 2 diabetes.