South Africa Wine Research Projects

4. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECT IN PROGRESS

ACHIEVING INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH AN EFFECTIVE PREMIUMISATION STRATEGY FOR SOUTH AFRICAN WINES IN GLOBAL MARKETS UCT JS 21-01 Dr Jonathan Steyn, School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town Start date: 2021 AIM AND INDUSTRY RELEVANCE: To improve the lives of wine industry stakeholders and rural communities, the SA country brand must urgently undergo radical status and value change. This research seeks to fully comprehend obstacles impacting SA wine’s premiumisation ability compared to direct competitors in the global south. It also intends to surface critical differentiators and compute how they should be developed and leveraged to help shape SA wine’s future premiumisation strategy. Results so far suggest that the SA country brand is neither generating sufficient premium from its resource base to support its stakeholders, nor optimally leveraging sub-categories such as old vines, emblematic grape varieties and regions to improve its image / status. This research will assist the SA wine industry in developing a sustainable strategy based on premiumisation and providing practical insights into the value of balancing collective identity and differentiation.

AVANT-GARDE • 021 863 3165 • JT608

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SOUTH AFRICA WINE RESEARCH 2024