Before the entry of Finland in the European Union, Alko had a monopoly over wine exportation, importation and distribution. Since Finland has joined the European Union in 1995, Alko has lost its importation monopoly. So when it comes to sell wine in Finland there are nowadays 2 different kind of distribution channels that need to be taken into account by our vineyard for the exportation of the wine AOC Beaujolais Villages:
The first distribution channel is the state monopoly Alko Oy which is under the authority of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Almost only the biggest importers are supplying products to the Alko stores. The large leader among these importers is Altia Oy, which is also a state company depending on the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In 2012, its market shares was 41.8% in spirits and 29.4 % in wines. To succeed by being sold in Alko stores, a wine producer should have a relative sufficient volume of bottles to sell. In addition it should also have a reasonable price, as Finns are mostly buying bottles of wine around 10 Euros in Alko and as taxes are quite high for wines in Finland (45%). There are two methods that can be followed to make an offer to Alko. The first one is to fill a classic offer form on Alko website (3 types of forms: one for supplies from abroad and two for domestic use) and the other one is look at Alko purchase plans and product searches. Indeed, for each month of the year, Alko provide wine importer and producers with a list of the kind of wines they are looking for. For instance in August 2013, Alko was looking for several kind of French wines (mainly red wines and champagnes) in order to sell them in the stores in February 2014, as described in the picture below.
Source : Alko purchase plan 1/2014 (Alko website, 2013)
The timeline for a wine to be accepted as a product sold by Alko is quite long (approximately 7 month). In addition, they are a lot of stages involving several product tastings and during which Alko can decide not to sell a certain kind of wine (as described on the scheme below).
Source : Alko Oy website (2013)
Alko sales are representing around 65% of the total sales of the wines and spirits market in Finland. This figure is quite low, especially when it’s compared with the Swedish monopoly which represents 90% of total sales (Suddefrance-developpement.com, 2013).
- The second distribution channel concerns restaurants, bars and hotels. Before 1995, they were compelled to go through Alko to order alcohol. However nowadays they don’t have to do that anymore. Thus wine producers have now 2 options to reach bars, restaurants and hotels. They be in touch with them directly but this is still quite rare because the costs of getting an importation license are quite high. The other option is going through importers that will present their products to the bars and restaurants in Finland they have in their clients portfolio. For instance, the chains of hotels and restaurants Sokos Hotels and Restel are buying their alcohol through the central purchasing agency Meira Nova. In addition, according to Wine Business International, the two most well-known importers dealing with bars and restaurants are Tampereen Viinitukku and VinDirekt. However, the Swedish company Fondberg has recently entered the market and it is starting to gain more and more market shares. But the most important issue for a wine producer that wishes to export its products isn’t to know what are the biggest importers in one country but to find the right partner that will correspond to its needs. If the importer has the right network of customers it doesn’t necessarily need to be a big leader.
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What is the distribution channel best suited for our product, the AOC Beaujolais-Villages from the vineyard Château Baron de la Voile?
→ We are choosing to distribute our product through bars, restaurants and hotels.
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Why?
- Wines from Domaine Château Baron de la Voila are already distributed in many restaurants all around the world, and even some of the best which are winning Michelin awards. So the wine AOC Beaujolais-Villages could really interest good restaurants, hotels and wine bars in Helsinki.
- The production of AOC Beaujolais-Villages is around 50 000 bottles per year and it is already sold in many different countries. So the exportation of this wine in Finland can’t be a massive exportation as Alko can be looking for and that’s why it suits best restaurants, bars and hotels.
- The price of the AOC Beaujolais-Villages in France is about 10 Euros. Moreover, according to the retail price estimation we made, we can assume that our product will be sold at at least 41€ in bars, restaurants and hotels in Finland. However, most of Finns prefer to buy bottles that cost less than 10€ when they go to Alko. So because the AOC Beaujolais-Villages is more a quality product that a mass consumption product, we think that the best distribution channel for us in Finland will be bars, restaurants and hotels.
- According to Rislakki in Ravintola voi oppia alkoholialasta, Viisi tähteä –arkisto (2004) restaurants, bars and hotels not only care about the main products they are selling (which are food and drinks) but also about a well designed product concept surrounding those main products. For instance, having chairs, tables, lights aren’t enough anymore, they need to have a real concept behind their establishment, such as luxury or ethnic. In addition, alcohol brands can provide products for the restaurant concept or decoration. For example, empty bottle of French wines can be used to create a chic atmosphere and a luxury customer experience in a bar or a restaurant. Or they can also be used as candlestick as in Paris.
- Finally, still according to Rislakki in Ravintola voi oppia alkoholialasta, Viisi tähteä –arkisto (2004), wine producers should enter the Finnish market for the first time through restaurants, bars and hotels in order to test their products. Indeed, it is much cheaper to test through those establishment than through retail in Alko.
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Suggestion of Wine Importers in Finland
Here are some suggestions of wine importers in Finland that we could approach for selling our product. We need to take into account two criteria in the choice of our importers :
- The fact that the wine importer needs to have in its customer portfolio bars, restaurants and hotels that suit our B2C target which is the “wine for pleasure” segment.
- The fact that the wine importer needs also to understand the needs of the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile. Understanding our needs is a very important point because they will constitute arguments to sell our AOC Beaujolais Villages to bars, restaurants and hotels in Finland. What are our main needs? The wine importer should acknowledge that we are not selling a mass market wine but a quality wine that can be enjoyed for itself. This wine isn’t only made to go along with meals but it can also be appreciated alone. We would like the importers to make the bars and restaurants believe that by buying our wine, they will provide to the end consumers an entire French atmosphere and experience.
One of the best importers that the Domaine Château Baron de la Voile could work with is Vindirekt Oy. Vindirekt was founded in 1998 by a French, Jean-François Glatat and it is nowadays of of the biggest and most influential importers for the sector of bars, restaurants and hotels. Indeed, according to an interview that Jean-François Galtat did with the French magazine l’Express, Vindirekt is the supplier of the 50 best restaurants in Finland. In addition, according to Vindirekt website (2013), the mission of the company is to provide wine with “exceptionally high quality in all price ranges”. After an extensive look at the wines sold through Vindirekt, we can notice that the price range goes from around 10€ the bottle to more than 120€ the bottle. Furthermore, Vindirekt seems to have an extensive experience in selling French wines as they represent around 50% of its portfolio. Finally, the AOC Beaujolais Villages we aim to export in Finland has already been served in the best French restaurants. As the chairman of the company is French, he is in the best place to understand that our product could also fit to the best Finnish restaurants.
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Suggestions of bars, restaurants and hotels
According to the website Purefinland.fr which is specialised in the Finnish cuisine, here are some of the best restaurants in Finland where we would like our AOC Beaujolais Villages to be sold.
In Helsinki:
- Ateljé Finne, which was elected 7th best restaurant in Finland in 2009.
- Carma, which has one Michelin star.
- Chez Dominique, which presents a mix of Finnish and French cooking and has two Michelin stars.
- Olo, which was selected the best Finnish restaurant in 2009 and best place to taste scandinavian food according to The Guardian.
In Turku:
- Mami, which was ranked 8th best restaurant in Finland in 2009.
In Tampere:
- Näsinneula, which is known for its Nordic cooking and its good wine selection.
Here is also a selection of wine bars that can be interesting for us to sell our AOC Beaujolais Villages :
- Vin Vin, which is the only wine bar in Helsinki proposing only organic wine.
- Grotesk wine bar in Helsinki, which is known for its great wine list and tasty food.
- Foxy Wine House, founded by two ladies passionate about wines.
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French wines & Exportation 