Big data seems to be sneaking into every industry and I was curious how it was impacting the wine industry. After some research, I found some pretty interesting insights:
- Start-ups are beginning to use data analytics to predict customer wine preferences
- A start-up called Bright Cellar leads with its value proposition as the "monthly wine club with the best wine for you". It showcases that the algorithm was developed by MIT grads. When you become a members of the site, the business-model leads you through a quick quiz of preferences (What is your favorite cocktail? Candy? Time to have wine?). For me, the algorithm ultimately suggested two pinot noirs (one from Willamette Valley, which I now know a lot about from the presentations!) and a syrah.
- Here is the wine quiz link in case anyone would like to take it! https://www.brightcellars.com/wine-quiz/
- Big data is enabling smaller wineries to "fish where the fish are" and better target sales to customers in specific locations.
- https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/8527275-181/wine-marketing-sales-big-data
- The EU has funded a big data project called "Big Data Grapes" aimed at helping European producers become more competitive in large-scale international markets
There is still significant growth potential in the wine industry for robust data analysis. As one data analyst put it -- 'wine at it's core is an agrarian business' so it's not surprising that there is still significant growth for technology and artificial intelligence adoption.
I think this is very interesting. Data is playing a large role across multiple industries and to see the role it is beginning to play in the wine industry is great!
ReplyDeleteFrom looking at the Bright Cellar quiz, I think there is potential for something similar to the quiz to be beneficial to consumers as an education tool. Given that most consumers purchase wine the first time in college, but then begin work and want to upgrade their wine tastes, I think this is a key market for a quiz like that. The quiz plays the role of helping a consumer determine their first introductory wine based on preferences. I think the quiz could be enhanced by adding questions on desired price point and potentially other wines the consumer likes (if they have tried wine before).
Not only can big data be used for consumers, but also seeing how it is enabling wineries is great. Using data to determine where key consumers are allows for wineries to cut down their costs since they can be more focused and targeted. While I see this potential extremely interesting, I wonder the long term impact it will have on smaller wineries, especially if larger conglomerates are creating and distributing the data. Will the cost of attaining the data be worth the amount that the smaller wineries save?
Overall, I look forward to seeing how data impacts the wine industry over the next few years!