How Wine Reaches Consumers: Channel Relevance and a Typology of Multichannel Strategies

The beverage industry is undergoing a dynamic transition in terms of how and where consumers buy products. In an era of rapid digitalization and shifting consumer behaviors, this study investigates how Germany’s wine producers reach consumers and how the distribution landscape of German wine has transformed. A survey of more than 1000 German wine producers allowed us to explore multichannel strategies. Home-country distribution stands for 84% of the production, while export represents 16% of sales. Indirect sales via food retail safeguard a large portion of distribution, but direct sales to consumers matter in value-driven sales. The findings confirm the continued dominance of indirect retail, particularly food retail, while also highlighting a rebound in direct-to-consumer sales, value market approaches, and on-premises distribution. The results of this study contribute to closing data gaps by underlining that gastronomy has been re-established as a relevant distribution channel and that German wine has not profited from global growth in wine trading. Multichannel strategies are increasingly common, but they vary significantly in their depth and reach depending on different business models. We conducted a cluster analysis and identified three strategic groups: (1) consumer-centric, predominantly direct-to-consumer-oriented estates (63%); (2) industrial, multichannel producers with a strong presence in food retail and export (8%); and (3) hybrid operators balancing value and volume strategies (29%). This study contributes to the development of a more nuanced understanding of multichannel distribution in the wine sector and provides empirical insights into the strategic implications of firm heterogeneity.