Bill Newlands, president and CEO of Constellation Brands, kicked off the recent 49th Annual Impact Marketing Seminar in New York by addressing the topic, “Facing Realities in the U.S. Wine & Spirits Market.” While acknowledging the difficult conditions over the past two years, Newlands framed his speech around the opportunities that are on offer if marketers focus on fulfilling consumer desires.

He began by highlighting examples of successful drinks innovations of the past, which all had in common the characteristic of appealing to current consumer preferences. In the 1980s, Newlands noted, Sutter Home White Zinfandel brought new consumers to wine, in the 90s Grey Goose made vodka a fashionable spirit for sophisticated audiences, and in the early 2010s Jim Beam Red Stag helped usher in Bourbon’s flavor era and in the process welcomed many more female consumers to brown spirits.

Today’s consumers are focused on refreshment, flavor, and convenience, Newlands observed, and they’re willing to experiment across categories and formats. Constellation is tailoring its new product launches to these preferences, with Newlands citing recent introductions like Corona Sunbrew, which mixes Corona and orange juice, along with Mi Campo Tequila (featuring Tequila rested in wine barrels), and High West’s Bourye, which exemplifies the art of blending.

“All the people in this room hold the cards to figuring out where we are going to create the next piece of excitement that moves the consumer and moves the needle for the category,” he noted.

While zeroing in on the latest consumer tastes, Newlands added that the industry must seek to reframe the narrative around beverage alcohol, which has been heavily influenced by anti-alcohol groups in the past few years. Coalescing as an industry and empowering trade associations to push back on that messaging will be key to the effort, he said.—Daniel Marsteller