Interview: Adrian Bridge, CEO, The Fladgate Partnership
November 26, 2012Owner of three of Port’s most recognized brands—Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft—The Fladgate Partnership accounts for around 28% of the U.S. Port market. With Port shipments to the U.S. up 11% to €27 million ($34m) in 2011 (and rising another 5% in 2012 through August), Fladgate, whose brands are imported by Kobrand, sees ample opportunity for expansion. Shanken News Daily recently met with Fladgate CEO Adrian Bridge to discuss progress at the luxury tier, Port’s evolution in the restaurant business and innovations like Croft Pink, the first rosé Port offering.
SND: Within the Reserve level, where growth has been dynamic, which Ports are showing the best progress?
Bridge: In the U.S., the really strong growth is in aged Tawnies. We’re seeing double-digit growth on 20-year-old Tawnies and up, which is phenomenal when you consider that two-thirds of distribution in that segment in the U.S. is through restaurants. The top end of the Port category is 20% of global volume, but a significantly higher share in terms of value. It’s currently worth around €135 million ($172m) annually.
SND: What has prompted the rise of aged Tawnies in restaurants?
Bridge: Aged Tawnies can be an easier sell than Vintage Port on-premise. They’re positioned at $10 for the 10-year-old, $20 for the 20-year-old and on up, and they have a long shelf life. In the 1990s, a good restaurant might have had nine or 10 vintage Ports open at any time. As consumers became more educated, they began to realize that if they were going to pay $65 for a glass of Taylor 1963, they should know when it was decanted. If the answer was “last month,” customers declined. As a result, many restaurants turned away from Vintage Port in favor of aged Tawnies. On Vintage Port, we’ve suggested that instead of opening so many Port bottles, restaurants should offer a “Manager’s Choice” selection for the weekend. That’s a better way to develop a good Vintage Port program.
SND: How else has the marketing of Port shifted in recent years?
Bridge: Historically, you would go into an export market and sell your three brands to three different agents. In more recent years we’ve taken a portfolio approach, which helps provide better category management. Here in the U.S., Kobrand can create after-dinner drinks lists from our portfolio and offer specific solutions, rather than relying on restaurants to do all the selling. That’s increasingly how we see markets developing—suppliers managing the category and providing solutions for the end-seller.
SND: Is Croft Pink gaining acceptance, given Port’s very traditional image?
Bridge: We needed a slightly different approach to get it into restaurants, because sommeliers, even in this day and age, were accustomed to Port being red. So we decided to bring it in through the bar, which meant promoting cocktails and engaging bartenders. But we encourage Croft Pink to be drunk on its own as well. People are receptive to Pink. It’s bringing in a new generation and creating new consumption occasions.
SND: What avenues have been advantageous in growing bigger labels like Fonseca Bin 27 in the off-premise?
Bridge: Bin 27 is a mainstay of the category in the U.S. It’s one of Kobrand’s most widely distributed products. This year we have a limited-edition bottle (10,000 cases produced), proceeds of which will go to the conservation group Waterkeepers Alliance. That has led retailers—like Safeway out in California, who were not listing Bin 27—to take it on and make a major promotion on it. The limited edition is selling ahead of schedule and has given people a new reason to talk about a well known brand like Bin 27.
SND: What issues will be key to Port’s future in the U.S. market?
Bridge: What’s interesting in the U.S. is how distribution channels are developing. You’ve seen a lot of consolidation. In other markets, like Italy, where regional wholesalers disappeared, supermarkets moved into that space. With major supermarket players like Safeway taking a bigger role in the category, it creates competition for independent wine stores, which then must add value through consumer education—or by taking on new products—to differentiate. Safeway will never carry Vintage Port. They want one or two Port SKUs and that’s it. But independents looking for growth will want to carry a 10-SKU Port range and recruit consumers up through it.
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