For legal-age millennials wanting to upgrade their wine selection without breaking the bank, 7-Eleven Inc. is adding Cherrywood Cellars to its best-selling line-up of proprietary wines.
The mid-tier-priced wine ($7.99 – $8.99 per bottle) is available in three varietals – chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
“We are targeting millennials because they like convenience and want to new products, especially if we offer them a quality product at a great price,” said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, 7-Eleven senior vice president of merchandising and logistics.”
The cost for a bottle of Cherrywood Cellars wine falls between Yosemite Road, the company’s first globally sourced product and priced at an entry-level $3.99 per bottle, and Sonoma Crest, a premium wine comparable to a $15 bottle, but value-priced at $9.99.
7-Eleven, Inc. has had great success with its ventures into the proprietary wine business. Within months after being introduced, Yosemite Road Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines rose to No. 1 and No. 2 in sales at 7-Eleven, ahead of the leading branded reds and whites from well-known wineries. Likewise, 7-Eleven’s Sonoma Crest and Thousand Oaks proprietary wines also land among the company’s top-sellers.
Millennial-aged consumers, also called echo boomers or Generation Y, were born between 1975 and 1999. Estimates are that they will soon outnumber once-dominant baby-boomers.
According to Wine Business Monthly magazine, wine marketers have primarily focused on the big-spending baby-boomer generation. The latest to come of legal age, millennials already drink more wine than their older Gen X siblings and have played a significant role in the growing popularity of wine-drinking in the U.S., the Wine Market Council reported in a recent study.
However, millennial consumers may watch their spending more closely than both Gen X’ers and baby-boomers because of the recent economic downturn and resulting high unemployment rate. Gen Y members appreciate quality; however, they are seeking the best value for their dollar.
Cherrywood Cellars was created to compete with the best-selling varietal wines, produced under both domestic and import labels. Even Cherrywood Cellars’ labels, with simple relief-style, wood-stamp artwork, were designed to appeal to these younger consumers.
Wines are categorized by price, and Cherrywood Cellars would be ranked among the popular-premium or mid-tier category of wines that sell for $7 to $10.