Market Development

Description

Mandate: To align the BC wine grape industry with evolving consumer preferences and market dynamics by enhancing market intelligence, strengthening coordinated promotional efforts, and supporting the development of strategies that reflect the diversity, sustainability, and quality of BC wine.

Goal Statement: By 2027, BC’s wine grape industry will present a unified, clearly defined identity that celebrates regional diversity while showcasing a strong provincial brand. This identity will integrate sustainability, emphasize the value of buying local, and be backed by trusted quality indicators. Success will be driven by shared market intelligence, coordinated consumer engagement, and collaborative trade strategies, positioning BC wine as a premium, in-demand choice across British Columbia, throughout Canada, and in select international markets.

Working Group Members:

Severine Pinte, Le Vieux Pin / LaStella (Advisory Committee Liaison)
Jennifer Carter, JoieFarm
Erin Korpisto, Co-Ferment Management
Amy Kneller, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association
Kelly Josephson/Kim Barnes, Wine Growers BC
Travis Bell, Andrew Peller Ltd.
Danielle Robinson, Okanagan College
Andrew Forsythe, L’Abbatoir
Lisa Haley, Boulevard / Sutton Place Wine Merchants

While our working group membership is currently full, if you are interested in joining the Working Group Community, please contact Lindsay Kelm at [email protected]. Community Members will receive early updates, be invited to provide feedback on draft ideas, and help guide the group’s direction through ongoing engagement.

Strategic Priorities

Brand, Quality & Trust

SP1: We must understand and champion a unified BC wine identity that celebrates regional diversity, highlights vineyard and grower expertise, and delivers a cohesive, credible provincial brand rooted in place, authenticity, and quality from grape to glass.

SP2: We must integrate sustainability, land stewardship, and people care into our identity and storytelling to build trust, connect with consumers, and reinforce the BC wine narrative.

SP3: We must strengthen BC VQA by reinforcing its place-based standards and exploring complementary quality cues so they are meaningful, trusted, and understood by both industry and consumers, building brand value.

Market Growth & Consumer Engagement

SP4: We must deepen our understanding of evolving consumer demographics and preferences, leveraging existing research, segmentation, and international insights to inform strategies that resonate with younger audiences and evolving market expectations.

SP5: We must engage consumers through coordinated, multi-channel strategies that blend digital storytelling, social media, tourism experiences, and on-premise activations, while building feedback loops with hospitality partners and ambassadors to ensure messaging resonates.

SP6: We must diversify and strengthen our domestic market presence by growing direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels and leveraging hospitality partnerships as both sales and education platforms.

SP7: We must expand interprovincial trade opportunities by collectively prioritizing high-potential markets (both direct-to-consumer and wholesale), simplifying access, and providing actionable guidance on provincial systems with clear, easy-to-use resources for industry.

Collaborations

SP8: We must collaborate with the tourism sector to create impactful, audience-informed experiences that strengthen BC wine’s market presence and reputation. We will do this by leveraging existing tourism strategies, coordinating events and hospitality platforms, targeting defined audiences, and streamlining marketing processes to make it easier for wineries to participate and reduce duplication.

SP9: We must strengthen industry-wide crisis response by leveraging existing work to build coordinated planning and preparedness processes across organizations and educating growers, wineries, and other key stakeholders on these processes and the benefits of having them, ensuring all stakeholders are informed, prepared, and able to respond effectively if required.

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