sometimes you need to take a hike

July 1st 2024

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to getting into our consumer’s shoes

...none more so than in the wine trade, where let's face it, we are waaay more into our own product than 99% of the people we are selling to

It can be hard to shake the curse of knowledge. But on a recent holiday to Switzerland (aside -> can we please have your trains - they even had a kids car with an actual slide?!?) I genuinely felt like I got an authentic wine consumer experience.

Here is the magic recipe:

✅ - Highly limited german language skills = can't read the winespeak
✅ - Next to zero knowledge of Swiss AVAs = no idea what to expect
✅ - Grocers in a hiking mecca = great views but nobody to ask

All of a sudden it was interesting what mattered to me:

🥇 - Loved a gold medal winner - highly reassuring
❤️ - Pairing suggestions so helpful (saved me from buying one wine when I realized the suggested pairing was a dessert - I was cooking pork!)
💵 - I confess, absent any knowledge, I found myself using price to assess brands

Now a trip to the alps might be an extreme way to get inside the average wine buyers head (ed. have you seen the views though -> go!) but it reminded me the value of making sure you get out of the wine bubble

🍷 - Make sure you are testing your product with everyday drinkers
🍷 - Get out and meet your consumers in their real world
🍷 - Focus groups where everyday consumers interact with your (and competitor!) products can give you some of the insight I got on holiday

ps - how much fun is it to see your kids out hiking and loving the outdoors!