Happy Valen-wine's Day

Consumer trends on Valentine's Day have been an interest of mine for years; having worked in the flower industry (at BloomThat) before business school, I have witnessed firsthand the buying power and huge spikes in sales that can change business' trajectories even after the holiday in an impactful way.  Naturally today, then, I was curious about how the wine industry fares on this holiday.

We'll state the obvious here: people gift or drink wine together on Valentine's Day.  Makes sense.

But just how much?

According to Nielsen, "Valentine’s Day is one of the top holidays for wine sales" and in 2017 came in at $620 million dollars.  That's not a huge surprise, but where my mind goes to is where can those in the wine industry take advantage of trends within a season that already sees an organic uplift?

One way is to watch the trends in types of wine consumed on Valentine's Day. According to Nielsen:

"While red wine remains a Valentine’s Day favorite, Americans increased their spending on white wine in 2017 by about $3 million compared with their 2016 spending. They also ramped up their spending on rosé wine, which boasted total sales of $11.6 million last year, up from $7.2 million in 2016. Sparkling rosé sales also increased nearly 7% last year, with Valentine’s Day sales totaling $5.5 million." (source)

This trend, while not wholly shocking, I believe has implications for marketing for Valentine's Day in the future. Looking back again to the floral industry, red roses are considered "on their way out" in favor of more trendy florals like pale pink peonies or white anemones.  I wonder if there's a way to not necessarily say red isn't trendy, but rather to market the newest, freshest way to celebrate with your Valentine.